Contemporary India: Development, Environment, Public Health

  India

Pune

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer 

Description: It is with great pleasure that the Alliance announces its launch into India, with programs beginning in Spring 2009.

Our vision is for this program is to introduce U.S. undergraduates to some of the most dynamic, exciting areas of Indian society, politics, economics, and culture today. Environmental issues, development, social justice, economics and public health are areas in which India both faces unprecedented challenges and is on the global cutting edge of finding solutions.

The program is designed for students from a wide variety of majors and academic interests, with a curriculum that spans development studies, business, economics, public health, environmental studies, international affairs, political science, film and media studies, anthropology, history, and women's studies.

By providing a core academic base and allowing progressing specialization though electives, culminating in an internship or directed research project of the student's own choosing, the Alliance's Contemporary India program takes an interdisciplinary yet focused approach to these timely and provocative issues, both as they apply to India and in their global context.

Pune (pronounced Poona), a vibrant, dynamic center of both traditional and modern India with a wide and varied array of academic, cultural, professional offerings, has been chosen as our location for this program. Our students will have access to the best of Pune's academic institutions and research facilities, its rich cultural life, its thriving student scene, and its leading NGOs and multi-nationals. Our Pune staff, who have extensive professional experience in study abroad in India and a well-connected local network, will work to maximize students' learning both inside and outside the classroom, while maintaining the highest standards in health, safety, and professional program management.

In all, through this lens of Contemporary India, the Alliance seeks to turn highly-motivated, adventurous U.S. undergraduates into sensitive and sophisticated global citizens, with a nuanced understanding of complex international, regional, and local issues.

Pre-Requisites:
A 3.0 minimum GPA. Enrollment in an undergraduate degree program at an accredited U.S. institution. Permission from the home institution to study abroad. No prior knowledge of Hindi is required.

Scholarships
The Alliance offers scholarships ranging from $500-$6,000, awarded according to need and merit. Please contact us for scholarship information and applications.

Highlights:
* Internships Available! The Alliance arranges student placements within Pune's most forward-thinking and well-respected NGOs, as well as multi-national businesses, IT companies, research institutes and think tanks.
* The Alliance offers scholarships ranging from $500-$6,000, awarded according to need and merit.
* Directed Research! Students are paided with a faculty member of otehr expert in the area of their interest: students in the arts are paired with accomplished performers and artists, and students with interests in photojournalism or documentary film-making are be placed with faculty at the Film and Television Institute of India or the National Film Archives of India.
* Small, intellectually rigorous classes taught exclusively by Indian university professors and experts in the field.
* Faculty drawn from across Pune's prominent academic insitutions, think tanks, research institutes, and NGOs. Alliance faculty are among the best in the their field, have experience working with foreign or U.S. students, and are committed to the high standards of academic excellence for which our programs are known.
* On-site Resident Directors
* Field Study Trip to Mumbai and a 4-day stay in a rural village
* Numerous local activities
* A range of housing options: from apartments shared with Indian roomates, to semi-independent living arrangements with Indian families.

Cost in US$: $5,500- $13,500

The program price includes tuition and fees, housing, some meals, pre-departure materials, student visa authorizations, orientation, organized activities, field study trips, course materials, the services of a full-time resident staff, and medical/evacuation insurance. The program price does not include airfare to India, most meals, passport and consular visa fees, independent travel, and other items not mentioned as included.

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel Independently Or in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Essay
• Letters of Reference
• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Resume
• Transcript
• Written Application