Study in Asia

Coe's Semester in Asia

Students enjoy a traditional Northern Thai Khantoke dinner during Coe Semester in Asia 2007.

The purpose of this course, first offered during the Spring Term of 2007, is to give students an intensive look at Asian cultures in Thailand and Vietnam, with a brief look at Laos and Cambodia. A faculty member accompanies the students to each site, with an additional faculty person accompanying the students and staying for the first few weeks. In each country, students study language, read works in English about the culture, and work with students at the two host universities to gain a functional understanding of how each culture works.

• Thailand: The host university, Payap University in Chiang Mai, provides the language instruction and facilitates the interaction between the students in the program and the Payap English majors. In addition, they provide lectures on religion and culture. Payap has an international dormitory in which our students are housed, and it already has an established international program. The Thai portion of the program is in two parts. It will begin the middle of January and run into the beginning of March. (There will be a side trip of about three days to Luang Prabang, Laos, at the end of January).
  
  During March, we visit Cambodia - Angkor Wat - for five days and spend a few days in Bangkok. After about three weeks, we return to Chiang Mai, and Payap University for the month of April. Then we'll enjoy the Thai New Year celebration (three days of parades and water pouring) and continue with independent projects.
  
  
• Vietnam: The host university, the National University of Vietnam in Hanoi, will make available to our students fast track English students who serve as conversation partners and hosts for our students. The language portion of the three weeks spent in Hanoi will involve these students and will focus on everyday structures and vocabulary. Their students also take our students to various sights in and around Hanoi.
  
  
• Side Trip:  Luang Prabang, Laos: We'll visit Luang Prabang, the royal capital of Laos, which preserves traditional Lao culture as it was years ago. 
  
  
• Side Trip: Cambodia: Angkor Wat will be our destination in Siem Riep, and we'll spend 4 or 5 days exploring the ancient ruins.

Coe Exchange Programs in Asia

A Coe student studies a map during a recent trip abroad.

Coe's foreign exchange programs offer students the opportunity to study abroad at cooperating foreign universities. Students must have completed at least one year of continuous study at the home institution before applying for one of these programs. Academic credit is transferred back to the home institution in accordance with the rules of that institution. A student may not study on an exchange program for longer than one academic year, and, when the study abroad term is completed, unless he or she is a graduating senior, the student must return to the home institution. Registration and payment of tuition and fees is done at the home institution. At the end of the school year, the host institution submits to the home institution a report on the students’ achievements and official transcripts of grades and credits earned. Students are responsible for the following expenses: meals; transportation to and from the host institution; medical insurance or medical expenses; textbooks, clothing, and personal expenses; passport and visa costs; and all other debts incurred during the course of the year.

ACM Programs in Asia

The Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) are 14 academically excellent, independent liberal arts colleges located in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Colorado. ACM's 15 off-campus study programs encompass a wide array of settings and academic disciplines. Some include courses at a host university, while others emphasize experiences outside the classroom, such as internships. Several offer research opportunities rarely available to undergraduates.
India Studies - (Hugh Nicholson, adviser) From the high tech industries of Bangalore -- India's answer to Silicon Valley -- to thousands of rural villages seemingly untouched by time, India encompasses both the dynamic forces of globalization and the deep-rooted traditions of an ancient culture.   The dichotomy is woven into everyday life in India -- cows interrupt the streams of cars and trucks on the roads, and farmers work with hand tools in fields under the flight paths of jumbo jets.  India is also a nation marked by diversity, encompassing a multiplicity of religions, ethnicities, political states, languages and art forms. Its founding democratic principles continue to unfold and adapt amidst political, economic and social restructuring.

On the interdisciplinary ACM India Studies Program in Pune, students have the rare opportunity to experience India’s dynamism and diversity firsthand through courses, independent study and daily life in an Indian home and community.

Japan Study - Established in 1963, Japan Study is one of the oldest and most comprehensive programs in educational exchange and development linking colleges and universities in the United States and Japan. Based at Earlham College, Japan Study links member colleges of the Great Lakes Colleges Association, Inc. and the Associated Colleges of the Midwest with those of Waseda University in Japan. These colleges and universities are recognized as among the leading educational institutions in their respective societies. Waseda University has about 45,000 students; the combined student body of students who attend GLCA and ACM member institutions is about 42,500. Japan Study has made important contributions toward fostering the growth of international and intercultural understanding among a significant number of Japanese and American students and faculty. Participants have gone on to distinguished careers in academics, industry, and governmental and non-governmental organizations. They play an important role in a wide range of settings linking Japan, the United States, and the rest of the world.