Study Abroad and World Youth Day in Spain

Seton Hall's University's Center for Catholic Studies and the G. K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture announce the 2011 Study Abroad in Spain including World Youth Day in Madrid.Foundations of Christian Culture: Spain will be conducted in two parts. Six required lectures will be given during the Spring 2011 semester at Seton Hall University’s South Orange Campus. The second part of the course will be held in Summer 2011, at Pamplona’s University of Navarra in Spain. To obtain credit, all course requirements must be fulfilled. The Spain summer study abroad is an experience of living and learning in community in the very heart of the university. During the first week, classes will be held at the University of Navarra and accommodations and meals are provided by Colegio Mayor Santa Clara. The Chapel is available for private prayer as well as the Daily Office. During the second week, accommodations and breakfast will be provided by Colegio Real Universitario Maria Cristina at El Escorial and there will be curriculum related excursions as well as attendance and participation in the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid activities.

Drawing on a variety of sources historical, literary, philosophical and theological this course examines the origins and nature of Christian culture within the Spanish tradition. The course will explore the history of the Iberian Peninsula, with attention to the inter-religious encounters of the Middle Ages and early modern era that shaped Spanish society. The Christian experience will be examined further through the writings of seminal figures such as St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Spanish mystics, St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Site visits during the foreign study portion of the course will highlight the cultural legacy of Catholicism in Spain and its continued role in shaping the local community.This trip is part of the Catholic Studies Foreign Study Tour Program and is being held in conjunction with World Youth Day in Madrid. Richard M. Liddy will coordinate the course and other faculty members and special guests will give lectures to the students prior to the trip and Prof. Isabel Warleta of Universidad Complutense of Madrid, will give lectures and lead the site-visits in Spain.

Big demand for Arts, Science courses

While Anna University expects more than 25,000 engineering seats to go vacant, there has been an overwhelming demand for arts and science courses this academic year, which has forced the Madras University to increase the number of seats in certain colleges.This trend has come as a striking surprise for many academicians and experts, who feel the sudden increase in employability of arts and science graduates and high course fee for studying engineering could be the driving factors. B.Com, Visual Communication, Bachelors in Computer Applications and Basic Sciences are turning out to be the hot subjects chosen by the students.

There has been a 30 per cent increase in the number of applicants opting for arts and science courses this academic year, according to Madras University Vice Chancellor G Thiruvasagam. Following this, more than 19 colleges had approached Madras University asking for permission to increase the number of seats per course by 20-40 per cent.On an average, the demand was to increase the number of seats by 30 per cent. After a university council meeting on the subject, we have allowed the colleges to increase the number of students per course by 10 per cent, Thiruvasagam told Express. Hence, in the 159 colleges coming under Madras University, each course in Arts stream can now admit 70 students and each course in Science stream 50 students.

While academicians and experts attribute the numbers to increasing availability of jobs, the Madras University V-C pointed out that an increase in first generation students could also have influenced the numbers. Irrespective of economic status, there is a wider awareness on need for education. And going by the trend, we have reasons to believe that most students are first generation learners, which is a good trend,he said.Since most government and government-aided colleges for arts and sciences provide free education and since cost of studying engineering is higher, many first generation students could have preferred the former.”

So, what has suddenly turned the employability wave towards arts and science courses? “The ever expanding services sector is absorbing the arts and sciences students like never before, almost equal to the number of engineering students,the V-C said.Professionals in the field claim that hiring arts and sciences graduates make more economical sense to them.Be it engineering or arts and science, all students need to be trained before they can handle the job. Hence, it makes no difference if the student is from basic sciences background or engineering background, in certain sectors of the job. Further, we can afford to pay lesser to a student from an arts and science college compared to an engineering student, said Jayesh M, HR manager with a top IT firm.Revision of syllabus with the addition of basic computer subjects even for humanities courses has increased employability of our students,said Thiruvasagam.The V-C also said that the employability benefits were not restricted to cities, but had extended to rural areas also.We made recommendation to HCL-BPO to recruit from rural areas. They shortlisted close to 1,600 students from various rural colleges and recruited 1,300 so far.

MTSU scholars to study abroad

Four MTSU students are recipients of the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships for fall 2011. With these stipends, the students will study in Jordan, Japan, India and Thailand.Funded by Congress and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Gilman Scholarship program provides grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies abroad,according to the program’s website.

Recipients are selected competitively for these grants, which are used for such expenses as program tuition, room and board, books, local transportation, insurance and international airfare.Kristofer Hallfrisch of Westmoreland got a head start on his studies by moving to Irbid, Jordan, in May. He will continue studying Arabic there at Yarmouk University with his $4,500 scholarship until December 2011, when he will return to MTSU to graduate.A Global Studies major with double minors in English and Middle Eastern Studies, Hallfrisch taught English at an orphanage in New Delhi, India, in the summer of 2009.

Kimberly Puckett, an advertising major from Nashville, will delve into Japanese culture with a $2,500 stipend while enhancing her expertise in her minor, Japanese Language.I am hoping since Japan is known for its technology, media and its crazy commercials that maybe I could do something that is related to both my major and minor,said Puckett.Karissa Senn departed for India earlier this month with a $5,000 scholarship for studies at the University of Hyderabad and volunteer work with Asha for Education, a nongovernmental organization that helps residents of India’s urban slums.

Senn, who hails from Kingston Springs, will work to finish her International Relations degree, then pursue a joint graduate program for a master’s degree in International Public Affairs and a law degree.Yosaton Tungmanelatkul, a Global Studies major from Nashville, will study in Thailand equipped with a $4,000 stipend.To find out more about MTSU’s study abroad opportunities.

Universities offering courses to foreign students

In 2001, the Interdisciplinary Center, a small private college in Herzliya, inaugurated a new era in Israeli higher education by offering the country's first bachelor's degree taught entirely in English.For decades, Israeli universities have offered semester, one-year and summer study abroad programs for English-speaking students from around the world, but the Interdisciplinary Center, popularly known as IDC, started a trend that is now being duplicated at universities across Israel.

Israeli universities are now investing their energies in internationalization, says Prof. David Newman, dean of the faculty of humanities and social sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.Universities now understand that they have to promote an international profile which focuses on research and full degree programs. Teaching an entire undergraduate course in English is seen as one way of bringing serious students from abroad.

Today, some 25 percent of the 5,000 students at IDC come from abroad. The Raphael Recanati International School at IDC offers undergraduate degree courses in business administration, government, communications and psychology as well as master's degree programs in government, business administration and organizational behavior and development.That makes up close to 1,100 students from 60 different countries all studying for degrees and all taught in English," says Jonathan Davis, IDC vice president and head of the Recanati International School. "That sets and creates a very special atmosphere on this campus. For years, there were many individuals overseas who wanted to come and study in Israel and do a full degree, but because of their lack of knowledge of Hebrew, they couldn't do that.A large percentage of our faculty comes from some of the top universities in the world, and there's a tremendous added value to being in an atmosphere where you have students from so many different countries, says Davis.

Master's programs taught in English:

English-language master's of business administration (MBA) programs are available at a number of Israeli colleges, including Ben Gurion University in Beersheva, Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv University which also offers master's programs in Middle Eastern history; teaching English to speakers of other languages; and conflict resolution and mediation.
The University of Haifa also offers an MBA taught in English and plans to increase its annual enrollment of foreign students to 3,000 within five years by launching 20 new international master's programs and strengthening the existing University of Haifa International School.Among the new international MA programs, Haifa is offering graduate degrees in global law; peace and conflict management; creative art therapies; applied child development; Holocaust studies; and interdisciplinary programs in marine sciences.In 2008, Haifa's Technion-Israel Institute of Science switched the language of instruction for its MBA to English for all students. The Technion American Medical School offers a full four-year medical degree for overseas students. Its International School of Engineering, founded in 2009, offers bachelor of science programs in civil engineering and water resources as well as environmental engineering, and master's degrees in environmental engineering and structural engineering.

Tuitions attractive to overseas students:

This fall, Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan will welcome its first class of students for a BA in interdisciplinary social sciences taught in English. The university offers graduate programs in English in linguistics, clinical research and creative writing, and an international MBA.The university is home to about 400 English-speakers. The campus dormitories and surrounding neighborhoods Ramat Gan, Ramat Amidar and Givat Shmuel are teeming with English-speaking students, as well as alumni who still consider Bar-Ilan their home, notes Rachel Sarafraz, Student Union coordinator of activities for BarIlan's large English-speaking community.Other major universities are expected to follow Bar-Ilan's example. With fees for overseas students at Bar-Ilan set at just $7,500 a year, a decision by Israeli universities to offer a broad range of first-degree courses to English-speaking students could prove an attractive alternative for students faced with rising tuition costs at their home country's universities.

Ben-Gurion University has established a wide variety of international programs for studying in English offered to foreign students. They include an international MD program at the medical school taught jointly with Columbia University in New York, and graduate degrees in linguistics, literature, communications, Middle East studies, mathematics and the politics of conflict.Foreign students can join Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian classmates for graduate degree programs at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem offers a wide range of MA programs in specialized fields including biblical and Jewish studies. Courses include the Bible and the ancient Near East; religion, Islamic and Middle Eastern studies; Jewish education; Israeli society and politics; and community leadership and philanthropy studies.The Hebrew University has a number of graduate programs that offer practical skills for work in the developing world and society. They include master of science degrees in plant sciences and nutritional sciences at the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Environment in Rehovot and an international master of public health program taught at the Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine at Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical center since 1970.

In fall 2011, the university's Federmann School of Public Policy and Government will launch its global community development studies a new MA program taught in English designed to teach volunteers and professionals working to assist impoverished communities across the world. A new LLM degree in human rights and international law will also be introduced in the coming academic year.At the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, the Feingold Graduate School offers graduate programs leading to master of science and PhD degrees in five major fields of study: physical sciences, chemical sciences, life sciences, mathematics and computer science and science teaching all available to English-speaking graduate students.

DFCC Bank provides loan facilities for Sri Lankan students

DFCC Vardhana Bank, the commercial banking arm of, DFCC Bank provides loan facilities for Sri Lankan students aspiring to engage in higher education activities or to further their professional qualifications in either Sri Lanka or overseas .You may find that a good education can be very expensive to obtain, making you think that the pursuit of higher studies is simply out of reach for you or your child. Our Nenasa student loans will help you or your child reach new heights and go places, said Rohan Tillekeratne, Manager Personal Financial Services of DFCC Vardhana Bank in an interview with Free Hold section of Sunday Times. He noted that the bank is keen to help Sri Lankan students overcome financial obstacles and pursue educational goals.

DFCC has continuously served to empower the youth of the country, through building skills, capacity and general knowledge. DFCC group's popular television quiz program Mind Star which is an example of their commitment to the development of human potential through higher education.The Vardhana Nenasa educational loans scheme has been designed to cater to both undergraduate and postgraduate students seeking education in Sri Lanka and abroad. A special feature of the loan scheme is that it helps youth who are already employed obtain professional qualifications from leading educational institutions such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, as well as locally based private higher educational establishments providing degree programs of reputed foreign universities.

Under the Vardhana Nenasa loan scheme customers have options of obtaining either short or long term facilities at competitive fixed or variable interest rates. Students are benefited by the convenience of being able to obtain these loans within a short period by providing all necessary documentation in a streamlined manner, where the Bank's officers will provide all necessary documentation and instructions to the loan applicant at the initial meeting. Loans can be obtained by parents on behalf of children who are looking to gain professional or higher educational qualifications, he revealed.

DFCC Vardhana bank has grown from strength to strength over the past eight years since its inception, and has over 44 branches that offer lending facilities including Nenasa student loans he said. DVB is one of the fastest growing commercial banks in Sri Lanka to have achieved in excess of 100 presences including Sri Lanka post office locations in regional and rural areas within a very short time period.This rapid rate of expansion coupled with the bank's vast network spanning every single district in the country, ensures that they are with the reach to every single one of its consumers and the majority of Sri Lankans. Therefore parents almost anywhere today in Sri Lanka are able to reach the bank for these loan facilities conveniently he added.. This is a uniquely styled education loan where customers can select a repayment scheme and interest rate to suit their budget. This loan scheme enables coustituents to apply for loans based on their income levels, age and purpose of the loan, all of which gives them full flexibility.

The Vardhana Nenasa loans are currently one of the few grants which support undergraduate, post graduate and MBA studies as well. Permanently employed parents can borrow with the student as co-borrower. These loans will cover majority cost of course fees, living expenses etc while direct remittance to the university is also possible he said.The Vardhana Nenasa lending scheme, backed by the strength and stability of the DFCC Group, is mainly targeted at the increasing demand for the funding of foreign education by Sri Lankans. DFCC holds education in high esteem and this corporate attribute is reflected in financing higher education countywide, Mr. Tillekeratne said.Referring to The Vardhana Nenasa students loan scheme being offered for both Undergraduate and post grad studies here and abroad, he added this scheme provides parents the comfort that their child's future higher education is financially secure.

Sri Lankan parents pay over 60 million US dollars annually to educate their children overseas. The actual figure could be much higher. "Every year 8,000 to 10,000 student leave Sri Lankan shores seeking foreign education, in the UK, US, Australia and Canada.Under such circumstances the Vardhana Nenasa student loan scheme will be of immense benefit to such students he said. Through this education loan scheme, parents will be able to have an affordable option to meet the financial burden of their children's higher education be it here in Sri Lanka or overseas, making it possible for students to gain even an internationally recognized qualifications with relative ease, he said.

Low fees, star lecturers and good facilities are proving increasingly attractive to British students

When the next generation of bright young architecture students begins plotting its route to Arb-registration, language lessons and visa applications are increasingly likely to feature.With tuition fees about to go through the roof in Britain, US scholarships and the continent’s state-subsidised schools will seem pretty tempting, even if you need fluent Italian or German to land a place.It has been an open secret among part IIs for a while, but doing the full five years abroad may soon become more common. At £900 a year in Switzerland instead of up to £9,000 in Britain, it’s easy to see why.

Breathtakingly low fees are by no means the only attraction, though. The first-class facilities and variety of courses at places like ETH and Mendrisio, both in Switzerland, are putting the pressure on UK schools.But the single biggest draw is the tutors. Some of Britain’s best architects names like David Chipperfield, Tony Fretton, Jonathan Sergison and Adam Caruso are taking up professorships in Europe and the States and the most ambitious students are following them.Since so many students get jobs at practices with links to the colleges they studied at, this exodus is motivated by more than purely intellectual interest.

Francis Fawcett, now working for Herzog & de Meuron in London, was taught by the Swiss architects in his second year at ETH. He is one of a dozen or so recent Cambridge graduates to have studied at the Zurich school, a trend bolstered by Cambridge’s lack of a design-led diploma.When I was looking around in 2005 there was nowhere in the UK I really wanted to study at, he recalls.I did interviews and had places in the UK but didn’t see the attraction of the teachers and the work that was coming out of them.The chance to be taught by his idols in Switzerland was a head-turner, but other selling points included the facilities and the number of projects.

We did one per semester instead of one a year which meant you could do a completely different thing with a new professor every 12 weeks.If you end up with your third or fourth choice it will only last a semester, so you learn something and move on. I had a fantastic time and would totally recommend it.The most popular professors, like Peter Märkli, are reserved for second-year students so patience is required. But Fawcett, 30, says the variety of tutors was part of the richness of studying abroad.ETH is a technical university so architecture is taught as a technical subject,he says.They lay it on quite heavily but it’s really good to come out with these skills. In the later stages there is more freedom to try things out but it is quite formal compared with UK.

Annie Blackadder, another Cambridge graduate mid-way through her masters at ETH, says one of the frustrations is not being allowed to design in the first year. This is partly because the school’s popularity is placing space at a premium, which led to protests last year. The staff are addressing this but the result may be higher entry requirements in future.For Fawcett and Blackadder the toughest hurdle was the German test. Though once in, British students face a barrage of catch-up exams to prove they have reached the same standard as nationals.It was easy to get a place but harder to do the course. The workload is quite crazy, says Blackadder, 24.
The masters programme is three terms of lectures and design followed by a term of final design work. Students earn two points per lecture course at ETH; two and a half at Mendrisio.

The number of points required to graduate in Switzerland depends on whether a student’s previous university is affiliated.Cambridge is not, so students must cram in extra courses. At times the academic requirements, plus the bureaucracy involved in moving countries, can be overwhelming. But this is balanced by the chance to study under the likes of Märkli, Roger Diener and Hans Kollhoff.The facilities are also amazing,adds Blackadder.There’s a laser workshop with four lasers, a metal workshop, a wood workshop, a huge engineering hall, eight plotters. Everyone gets a desk in a studio.And the range of subjects you can do is vast from a digital fabrication course where you write a complete script, generate architecture and build it 1:1, to a column course where you design a classical temple and draw it in pencil.

The four Swiss schools Lausanne and Winterthur are the others are highly regarded by UK employers. Tom Emerson of 6a Architects, who has taught at ETH and London’s AA, says they have a brand value few others can match.But there is something about the Swiss system that is especially appealing at the moment, he says.The whole architecture scene is quite tribal so someone from the Bartlett would have something different to say,he admits.But there’s a certain scene of British architects that’s quite drawn towards Switzerland because over there they see teaching, practice and research as part of the same discourse. That’s hard to achieve in the UK.

We have people in the office from ETH and Mendrisio and they are really very good,he says.They have a very powerful set of practical and intellectual tools. They all want to make really good buildings which is not the priority at every school. If you go round the summer shows you’ll see the agenda at some schools is more experimental.The calibre of tutors at US schools is similarly high David Chipperfield and Chris Lee of Serie Architects are among new signings at Yale and Harvard this year.However, since the average student there graduates with $250,000 of debt and takes out a 25-year mortgage to pay it off, low fees are not one of the attractions.But there are ways round this. Lucy Pritchard transferred from Cambridge into the fourth year at New York’s Cooper Union on a scholarship, though she still had to pay annual admin fees of $1,000. Her application was her portfolio plus Cooper’s infamous home test”with questions like “do a self-portrait with no reference to body. Once there, she was required to do extra work including physics to catch up.

If you get a place you get a full-fee scholarship which makes for an interesting, diverse year group,she says.Moving country is a big hassle but I couldn’t find any courses I desperately wanted to do in the UK.At Cooper she was able to pursue interests in film and the historical and cultural context of architecture. She is now doing a PhD at London Met. Would she recommend studying abroad? “It turned out to be an invaluable education. I had the time of my life.

Students Receive Scholarships to Study Abroad

SUNY Cortland recently awarded nearly $17,000 in scholarships to help 22 students expand their educational horizons in Australia, Europe or South America.The students will study in Belize, Costa Rica, Spain, the Dominican Republic, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Germany or France this summer or during the fall semester. Six different scholarships with awards ranging from $400 to $2,500 were offered through the College's James M. Clark Center for International Education.

We believe all students should have potentially transformational experiences as part of their college education,SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum said.By studying abroad, students are immersed in a new culture and given an opportunity to develop a much broader and more diverse view of the world. Scholarships help make this experience affordable for many deserving SUNY Cortland students who might otherwise not have the opportunity.

Recipients were selected based on criteria that included high academic achievement, financial need, involvement in extracurricular activities, a personal essay and letters of recommendation.A description of the six scholarships and the students who won each award appear below:Overseas Academic Program Award Overseas Academic Program scholarships are awarded to students accepted in a study abroad program. The scholarship is $400 for summer recipients and $500 or $1,000 for fall recipients. The OAP Award recipients for the summer of 2011 are:

Christine Capobianco, a senior adolescence education: social studies major from Glen Cove, N.Y., to attend the Belize Summer Teacher Institute; and,

Kaitlyn Jaskot, a sophomore childhood education major from Blauvelt, N.Y., for study in Konstantz, Germany.

The OAP Award recipients of $500 for the fall of 2011 are:

Monica Bailey, a junior biological sciences major from Buffalo, N.Y., for study in York, United Kingdom;

Katilyn Boehm, a senior childhood education major from Port Washington, N.Y., to complete her student teaching in Australia;

Jessie Ford, a senior physical education major from Westbury, N.Y., to complete her student teaching in Australia;

Chelsea Leon, a senior psychology major from Northport, N.Y., for study in Dunedin, New Zealand;

Sara Pick, a senior childhood education major from Westmoreland, N.Y., to complete her student teaching in Australia; and,

Jillian Walsh, a senior physical education major from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to complete her student teaching in Australia.

The OAP Award recipients of $1,000 for the fall of 2011 are:

Brianna Carolini, a senior childhood education major from Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y., to complete student teaching in Australia; and,

Abdoul Diallo, a junior international studies major from Bronx, N.Y., for study in LaRochelle, France.

Willi Uschald Scholarship

Created in 1991, the Uschald Study Abroad Scholarship is named for Willi A. Uschald, professor emeritus of foreign languages and director emeritus of international programs at SUNY Cortland. Uschald Scholarships are open to students accepted to a study abroad program who are U.S. citizens.

The Summer 2011 recipients of the $875 scholarships are:

Mallory Gorman, a sophomore adolescence education: Spanish major from Syracuse, N.Y., for study in San Jose and Costa Rica;

Maria Leonardi, a senior childhood education major from Spencer, N.Y., for study in Barcelona, Spain; and,

Jenna Wright, a senior childhood education major from Lockwood, N.Y., for study in the Dominican Republic.

The Fall 2011 Uschald Award recipients of $1,000 are:

Laura Emerling, a senior speech and hearing science major from Williamsville, N.Y., for study in Queensland, Australia;

Grace Wheeler, a senior international studies and anthropology major from Ballston Lake, N.Y., for study in Salamanca, Spain;

Morgan White, a senior English major from Binghamton, N.Y., for study at London Metropolitan University, United Kingdom; and,

Dustin Verga, a senior physical education major from Delmar, N.Y., to complete student teaching in Australia.

Gregory R. Huether '10 Scholarship

A scholarship was created in 2010 by Ronald and Marguerite Huether and family, who wished to honor the memory of their son, Gregory R. Huether '10, and the wonderful international education experience he had through SUNY Cortland. The Gregory R. Huether '10 European Sport Study Seminar Memorial Scholarship offers the College's sport management majors an opportunity to attend the annual European Sport Study Seminar. The inaugural scholarship of $2,500 for Summer 2011 was awarded to:

Rebecca Rooney, a senior sport management major from Middletown, N.Y., for an internship in Australia.

Gail Reed '67 Scholarship

Created in 2007, the Gail Reed '67 Scholarship is open to students who are U.S citizens and accepted to a study abroad program in destinations other than Great Britain for the sake of encouraging cross-cultural experiences. Reed created the scholarship to recognize the profound impact studying abroad had on her own life and to acknowledge the College's study abroad program founder, Willi Uschald. The $500 scholarship for Fall 2011 is awarded to:

Jessica Wilson, a senior childhood education and mathematics major from Medford, N.Y., to complete her student teaching in Australia.

Kevin A. Rowell '83 Award

SUNY Cortland graduate Kevin A. Rowell '83 created the award in 1998 to support the overseas studies of a student who has participated in club sports, student government and volunteer work. The recipient of the $750 for the fall of 2011 is:

Heather Schowe, a senior childhood education major from South New Berlin, N.Y., to complete her student teaching in Australia.

Marcia Spaeth McDermott Scholarship

The Marcia Spaeth McDermott Professional Study Abroad Scholarship was created in 2009 by the late Professor Emerita Marcia Spaeth McDermott, former acting dean of the School of Professional Studies, to support the overseas studies of a SUNY Cortland student majoring in a School of Professional Studies program. The recipient of the $750 scholarship for the fall of 2011 is:Vanessa Gibson, a senior outdoor recreation major from Auburn, N.Y., for an internship in Belize.