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STUDY ABROAD IN THE FAR EAST: NEPAL
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Program: Nepali Studies Program / Pitzer College
Location: Kathmandu, Nepal
Is this Program Right for You? Pitzer College’s semester and year-long study abroad programs are informed by a strong commitment to cultural immersion and sustained engagement in local communities. To help you connect deeply in those host communities, the Pitzer program model integrates classroom instruction with active learning experiences in a variety of settings, including homestays, volunteer internships, independent research projects, and study trips. This academically and personally challenging combination encourages you to think in ways that cross over disciplinary, cultural, and social boundaries. It combines cognitive and affective learning to allow you to live successfully and appropriately in new cultural contexts and recognize how you have been shaped by your own culture. It can powerfully transform the way you look at the world and yourself.
Nestled between India and China, Nepal is the only official Hindu kingdom in the world. Ninety percent of the country’s 25 million people believe in this “eternal faith” or Sanatana Dharma, the Hindu name for one of humanity’s oldest religious traditions. Nepal is one of the few countries in the world where daily life and social order are still guided by the ancient rhythms of subsistence agriculture and religious beliefs. Pitzer in Nepal is affiliated with Tribhuvan University, Nepal’s premier national institution for higher education, and its Office of International Relations.
The Courses/Program: The Nepal Studies course combines lectures, readings, discussions, and extensive writing with the more experiential components of family stays, study trips, and field assignments. Lectures are given by professors from Tribhuvan University as well as scholars and specialists from government and private organizations. Through the course, you will become acquainted with some of the main historical, social, cultural and political issues fundamental to Nepal’s modern identity.
The key to realizing your educational goals in Nepal will be your ability to communicate in Nepali. Drawing on some of the best language teachers in the country and with a 1:3 teacher-student ratio, Pitzer in Nepal offers a highly effective language program. Classes take place in village homes, bazaars and along mountain pathways as well as in small classrooms at your program house. A vital component of your learning will be the commitment you make, along with staff and fellow students, to creating a Nepali-speaking environment both in and out of class.
You will explore in-depth an aspect of Nepal through a directed independent study. Projects are guided by local scholars or specialists and program staff and require a significant analytical component in the form of a written report. The program strongly recommends you select a project that involves field research, oral interviews, ethnography, and other techniques that facilitate cultural immersion and use of your Nepali language over those involving library research.
To deepen your understanding of topics covered in the core course, you will travel to various locations in Nepal. Destinations may change from semester to semester, but past excursions have included: A trek and village stay, national parks, and local half-day trips.
Housing: The heart of the program is the family stay near Kathmandu and a middle hill village. The chance to become a member of these Nepali families and to develop a personal relationship with the individual family members is a privilege seldom experienced by most trekkers, diplomats or researchers. The families often speak little or no English and live in brick houses with mud floors, little furniture, and no bathrooms or running water. There is little chance of privacy. Lifestyles are heavily informed by subsistence farming practices and by traditional Hindu beliefs. Students often consider the family stays to be the most meaningful dimension of the program.
Should conditions in Nepal not allow the program to be offered, you will study in Darjeeling, India.
Duration/Deadlines:
• Fall Semester: August to December/ Application Deadline: March 15th
• Spring Semester: February to June/ Application Deadline: October 15th
Requirements:
• 3.0 GPA
Program Cost Includes: Tuition, room, board, program-related study trips, a portion of the round trip airfare, evacuation insurance provided through the international student identity card (ISIC), and the overall supervision and administration of the program. Students should budget for their own personal expenses, passport fees, visa fees, medical insurance, etc. Please note: The information on this sheet is for reference purposes only. It is your responsibility to confirm details and deadlines.
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