Grenoble Program
The University of Ghana
Poland Environmental Studies Program
Performing Arts in Poland
The Cloud Forest School Program in Costa Rica
Swarthmore in Buenos Aires
The Northern Ireland Semester
Swarthmore Program in Grenoble, France
Located in SE France, at the foot of the Alps, this is an outstanding program, the best program in France and one of the few very best programs in Europe. The faculty is drawn mainly from the University of Grenoble; courses - focusing on French language, society, and culture - are available in most social science and humanities fields; instruction is in French, and students live with French families. Extensive travel in France is provided by the program, as is attendance at cultural events. There is a strong presumption that Swarthmore students studying in France will attend this program. Contact Eleanor Baginski in the Modern Languages Department, 610-328-8143 for more information. (Click here to visit Grenoble web site)
University of Ghana
Swarthmore has established a special collaborative arrangement with the University of Ghana, under the provisions of which our students can study there with individualized faculty supervision. With prior approval, Swarthmore students at the University of Ghana can work in a tutorial relationship with a University faculty member on an independent project of the student's own design; very strong on African Studies, including especially music, dance, and the performing arts. So also, with prior arrangement, can students do internships and/or research project under the supervision of members of government agencies and NGOs, especially in economic development and related areas. Arguably, there is no more warmly welcoming - and, therefore, accessible - culture in the world than Ghana. For a fuller description of these possibilities, please see the College Catalogue, Music and Dance section, and contact Professors Sharon Friedler, Director of Dance and Professor Steve Piker. (Click here to visit Univ of Ghana web site)
Poland Environmental Studies Program
The Department of Engineering, along with the concentration in Environmental Studies, has developed possibilities for Swarthmore students to do a semester’s work in Environmental Science and Environmental Studies in Krakow and adjacent regions of Poland. Both university work and field projects will be emphasized. Instruction will also be available in the areas of Polish language and culture. For further information, contact Professor Arthur McGarity, Engineering DepartmentArthur McGarity, Engineering Department.
Performing Arts in Poland (Click to visit)
The programs in Theater Studies and Dance have jointly developed a semester program in Poland for Swarthmore students. The program will be based at the Silesian dance Theater in Bytom (Silesia), with
work available at the Jagiellonian University of Cracow and other institutions in the area. The main emphasis will be dance,
but work also will be available in the areas of Polish language and culture. The work in dance will include especially performance,
arts administration, and scenography. For a fuller description of these possibilities, please see the College catalog,
Theater Studies section and talk with Professor Allen Kuharski in the Theater Department.
The Cloud Forest School
Program in Costa Rica (Click to visit)
Swarthmore has developed a new, primarily field based program at The Cloud Forest School in Costa Rica, a
bilingual elementary /middle school serving local children in Monteverde. The school's core curriculum
focuses on promoting academic excellence within a framework of environmental education. Its goal
is "to encourage a new generation of ecologically aware, bilingual people with the skills and motivation
to make educated land use decisions and create positive changes." It is a school that uses child centered,
progressive forms of curriculum and instruction that mirror the kind of work we encourage students to think
about here at Swarthmore. The program of study for the semester abroad would include a full time 3-month
internship at the school, Spanish language instruction, and an independent study. The program is available
to students at any level of Spanish (including those who have no prior Spanish instruction). For further
information, consult the file in the Office for Foreign Study or talk to Lisa Smulyan, Department of Educational Studies.
Swarthmore in Buenos Aires (click to visit)
Swarthmore in Buenos Aires provides individually-crafted programs of study with total immersion in the academic, artistic, social and political life of Buenos Aires. It aims at serving students in social sciences, the humanities, and applied sciences interested in taking their Spanish to an advanced level of fluency, as well as those at beginner or intermediate levels. But along with its language improvement component students participating in the Swarthmore in Buenos Aires program will organize their work around three or more areas of interest (in any field or discipline) that may include directed reading on a chosen subject, a research project, community work, an internship in a lab or in a cultural institution. They will participate in individual weekly discussion meetings with their mentors – university professors, artists or researchers- as well as in open courses at several public and private universities. Academic oriented traveling (from Patagonia to Iguazu Falls to areas of the Argentine interior with a strong native American presence) is part of the program’s offerings. Students may enroll for one semester, the full year, or the summer. For a fuller description of the different ways in which you can plan your stay in Buenos Aires. Contact Professor Diego Armus, History Department, for more information.
The Northern Ireland Semester
The Northern Ireland Semester will focus upon ongoing and productive efforts to foster peace in Northern Ireland. For students who attend the program, the centerpiece of the semester will entail participating with local community groups dedicated to and heavily involved with creating civil society organizations pursuing peace. The semester is based in Derry/ Londonderry, but student involvement with community groups may take place elsewhere in Northern Ireland. Swarthmore students will do the program under the College's Semester/Year Abroad Program. They may do it for one semester or two. There will be possibilities for summer research and/or service work in Northern Ireland arising from participation in the program. The establishment of this program is grounded in exploratory work that has been under way for several years, involving a number of Swarthmore faculty members, partners and colleagues in Northern Ireland, colleagues from other American schools, and Swarthmore's Foreign Study Office. Contact Professor Steve Piker for more information. View program web site