SIT Study Abroad


SIT Study Abroad is a university-level study abroad program administered by World Learning, a 501 international non-profit organization based in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. Like its sister-program the SIT Graduate Institute, the program is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.
SIT Study Abroad offers semester and summer-long thematic programs in over 40 countries around the world. More than 25,000 students have studied abroad with SIT. All programs are run by Academic Directors who are residents of the host country and experts in the specific academic subject area of the program. Programs incorporate classroom-based and field-based learning as well as an independent study project component. Students live in homestays, are involved in host community cultural activities and participate in excursions. All programs study a particular global issue such as health, ecology, conflict transformation, or development.

Academics

SIT Study Abroad’s academic programs use a field-based, experimental approach. Students complete undergraduate research through an Independent Study Project, the content of which is supervised by their advisors. The students have access to SIT’s local resources and networks during their stay, including a small group of their peers that participate in each program. The foundation of SIT’s educational philosophy holds a strong commitment to reciprocity that is fostered through the students experience abroad.
Students may elect to participate in an International Honors Program. This type of program involves studying in multiple destinations while exploring social justice and sustainability which can offer a more cross-cultural educational experience. IHP and SIT Study Abroad have long shared a profound and defining commitment to intercultural communication, social justice, and experiential learning. IHP’s partnership with SIT Study Abroad and World Learning dates back to 2007, when SIT became IHP’s official school of record. The integration between the two partners deepened in the 2011-2012 academic year, when IHP was first included in SIT Study Abroad’s portfolio of programs. Building on a distinguished 50-plus-year history, IHP comparative programs continue to challenge students to ask new and better questions about their lifelong roles in a global community. Comparative programs offer students the opportunity to investigate significant global issues in at least three countries. Some topics include: Cities in the 21st Century, Climate Change, The Politics of Food, Health and Community, and Human Rights.

Programs

SIT has many programs in countries all over the world with a particular focus in developing nations. Each program is designed around a different theme that is relative to the country the student will study in. The website has a full list of current programs.
Africa: South of the Sahara
Cameroon: Development and Social Change
Ghana: Africa in the 21st Century
Kenya: Urbanization, Health, and Human Rights
Madagascar: Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management
Madagascar: Traditional Medicine and Healthcare Systems '
Rwanda: Post-Genocide Restoration and Peacebuilding
Senegal: Global Security and Religious Pluralism
South Africa: Community Health and Social Policy
South Africa: Education and Social Change '
South Africa: Multiculturalism and Human Rights
South Africa: Shelter Innovation Lab '
South Africa: Social and Political Transformation
Tanzania: Zanzibar—Coastal Ecology and Natural Resource Management
Tanzania: Wildlife Conservation and Political Ecology
Uganda and Rwanda: Peace and Conflict Studies in the Lake Victoria Basin '
Uganda: Development Studies
Asia and the Pacific
Australia: Rainforest, Reef, and Cultural Ecology
Australia: Sustainability and Environmental Action
China: Community Health and Traditional Chinese Medicine '
China: Health, Environment, and Traditional Chinese Medicine
India: Food Innovation Lab '
India: Himalayan Buddhist Art and Architecture ' Available for graduate credit
India: Public Health, Policy Advocacy, and Community
India: Sustainable Development and Social Change
India: Traditional Medicine and Healthcare Practices '
Indonesia: Arts, Religion, and Social Change
Indonesia: Community Nature Conservation in Bali '
Mongolia: Nomadism, Geopolitics, and the Environment
Nepal: Development and Social Change
Nepal: Geoscience in the Himalaya '
Nepal: Tibetan and Himalayan Peoples
Samoa: Pacific Communities and Social Change
South Korea: Digital Futures '
Vietnam: Culture, Social Change, and Development
Europe
Czech Republic: Arts and Social Change
Iceland and Greenland: Climate Change and the Arctic
Iceland: Renewable Energy, Technology, and Resource Economics '
Netherlands: International Perspectives on Sexuality and Gender
Serbia, Bosnia, and Kosovo: Peace and Conflict Studies in the Balkans
Switzerland: Banking, Finance, and Social Responsibility
Switzerland: Food Security and Nutrition '
Switzerland: Global Health and Development Policy
Switzerland: International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy
Switzerland: International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy ' Available for graduate credit
Latin America
Argentina: Art, Memory, and Social Transformation '
Argentina: Public Health in Urban Environments
Argentina: Social Movements and Human Rights
Argentina: Transnationalism and Comparative Development in South America
Bolivia: Multiculturalism, Globalization, and Social Change
Brazil: Public Health, Race, and Human Rights
Brazil: Social Innovation and Community Development
Chile: Comparative Education and Social Change
Chile: Cultural Identity, Social Justice, and Community Development
Chile: Public Health, Traditional Medicine, and Community Empowerment
Ecuador: Comparative Ecology and Conservation
Ecuador: Development, Politics, and Languages
Nicaragua: Youth Culture, Literacy, and Media
Panama: Tropical Ecology, Marine Ecosystems, and Biodiversity Conservation
Peru: Indigenous Peoples and Globalization
North Africa and the Middle East
Jordan: Geopolitics, International Relations, and the Future of the Middle East
Jordan: Intensive Arabic Language Studies '
Jordan: Refugees, Health, and Humanitarian Action
Jordan: Water Innovation Lab '
Morocco: Arabic Language and Community Service '
Morocco: Field Studies in Journalism and New Media
Morocco: Migration and Transnational Identity
Morocco: Multiculturalism and Human Rights
Tunisia and Italy: Politics and Religious Integration in the Mediterranean
International Honors Program - Comparative Programs
IHP: Cities in the 21st Century: People, Planning, and Politics
IHP: Climate Change: The Politics of Food, Water, and Energy
IHP: Health and Community: Globalization, Culture, and Care
IHP: Human Rights: Foundations, Challenges, and Advocacy
IHP: New African Diasporas: Transnational Communities, Cultures, and Economies
IHP: Rethinking Food Security: People, Agriculture, and Politics

History

For more than fifty years, SIT has provided carefully designed and thoughtfully facilitated study abroad programs rooted in the experiential education learning model. This model, as popularized by David Kolb, guides students through an intentional approach to structured and unstructured experiences and a facilitated and mentored process of translating experience into learning in order to prepare them for more independent inquiry. Most SIT programs have 20–25 students led by one academic director plus a number of local staff. Semester programs last 15–16 weeks and summer programs are 4–9 weeks. All programs begin with a thorough orientation that incorporates health and safety information and tools for cross-cultural adaptation. Every program is framed around a critical global issue, which provides a lens through which students explore the issue through theory and its local manifestation. Student learning happens through multiple formats — lectures, field visits, language study, homestays, and day-to-day interactions with local communities — in classroom and field-based settings.
SIT students learn to put into practice appropriate field research methods such as participant observation, cultural analysis, interviews, transects, oral histories, and quantitative data collection. They apply tools of investigation and analysis and develop greater curiosity, confidence, and self-awareness. Every program concludes with a guided reflection and discussion period that examines the impact of the experience. Through this reentry preparation, students are encouraged to consider how they can incorporate their experience in the future. During this time, students also have the opportunity to provide feedback on their program.

Returnees of SIT programs

Even prior to the explosion of the popularity of study abroad SIT was generating effective leaders, professionals, and citizens. SIT has a worldwide network of individuals and organizations committed to responsible global citizenship. Those who have completed SIT programs have an understanding of global issues, such as globalization and development. Students are immersed in language while in country and learn new research methods.
There are also many opportunities for those who have returned.
The Alice Rowan Swanson Fellowship: http://www.worldlearning.org/theexchange/alice-rowan-swanson-fellowship/
UGRAD : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0LKWUb0RYE
And many more.