Selecting a site

Focus on your goals

The first step in selecting an overseas studies program is to think about your academic goals for study abroad. Choosing a program based on location alone, and then trying to make it fit your major, generally leads to frustration and disappointment. Although many overseas studies programs offer courses appropriate for CULP, you need to find one that meets your specific needs and goals. Consider these questions:

• How does foreign study fit in with your major program as you defined it in your major declaration essay? Your dean can give you a copy of your essay if you need one.
• What kinds of courses will complement the work you do at Georgetown?
• Are there topics you could explore better overseas than at Georgetown? Professors, as well as the study abroad adviser for your region of interest, can help you find out about the specialties of individual programs and universities abroad.
• Do you have the necessary background knowledge to take major courses at a foreign university, or can you acquire it before you go? Remember that in many other educational systems, students study only one subject at the university level. Talk to your faculty mentor or other professors about what you can expect at the universities you are considering.
• Is attaining proficiency in another language your primary goal? Your language professor can help you decide whether a language program or a direct matriculation program will be more appropriate for you.

In addition, you need to evaluate your language skills.

Direct matricultion

If you are considering a direct matriculation program,

• Would you enjoy taking university courses in another language?
• Are you prepared to write papers and exams, give presentations and discuss issues in another language?
• Are you willing to devote the necessary time and effort to honing your language skills, both before you leave and during your time abroad?

Language immersion programs

If you are considering a language immersion program,

• Are you excited about the opportunity to focus exclusively on the language, or will you miss taking other kinds of courses?
• Will spending a semester or year taking elective language courses make it difficult for you to graduate on time?

Programs in English

If you are considering a program in English,

• Will you be ready to pass the proficiency exam in another language before you go abroad?
• If not, are you prepared to make the necessary effort to ensure that you can pass the proficiency exam before you graduate, whether by auditing language classes abroad, taking summer courses, or devoting extra time to language senior year?
• If your program is not in an English-speaking country, are you interested in starting another language ? especially one in which you may never become proficient? Will you find it frustrating to live and study in a country where you cannot speak the language?

A note on split-year progams

Although spending one semester in each region of study sounds like the perfect overseas studies option for a comparative studies major, you should consider a number of factors before committing yourself to a split-year program. 

• Will you be able to experience cultural immersion and really get to know your host country in one semester? Students who spend only one semester at any site often have difficulty making non-American friends and feeling integrated into the host culture. By the time they adjust to the new system and feel comfortable in their host city, the semester is nearly over. Moving to a second overseas studies site and repeating the process second semester can be extremely frustrating, especially when it means adjusting to a new language as well as a new location. 
• Will a split-year program serve your language needs? If the two sites you have selected require different languages, and especially if the spring semester program is in English, will your year abroad really help you toward proficiency? Or will you return to Georgetown only slightly more comfortable in your foreign language(s) than before you left? 
• Do both sites offer courses that are relevant to the program you laid out in your major declaration? Will you be able to draw meaningful comparisons of your two regions after your return? You may like the idea of studying race relations in Capetown and sustainable development in Costa Rica, but doing so will not give you a solid basis for comparing Africa and Latin America in a meaningful way. You will need to make a compelling argument about the academic soundness of any split-year program you design; if you can't articulate why study at both sites is crucial to your major program, your split-year application may be rejected. 
• Is it possible to study both of your regions at a single site? For example, if you are comparing Europe and Latin America, you may get much more out of a full-year program in Spain or Argentina, where you can take courses on both regions and still have the time to feel at home in your host country. Remember that you will need to make a compelling argument about the academic soundness of any split-year program you design. Be sure to talk with your faculty mentors, the study abroad advisers for both regions, and your dean if you are interested in a split-year program.

Office of International Programs: a critical resource

Once you have an idea of the kind of program you want, go to the resource center at the Office of International Programs. Look for programs that have the courses you need to meet your goals. Most direct matriculation and English language programs offer courses relevant for RCST ? the question is whether a given program has a broad enough selection of courses that are appropriate for your individual major program. A program might have many courses that would count toward RCST, but if only a few of them seem to relate to the intellectual project you set out in your major declaration, it probably isn?t the right program for you.

Finally, sit down with the study abroad adviser at OIP and your dean to discuss your options. Ask the study abroad adviser about details of each program, such as class size, living arrangements, support services, and registration procedures. Your dean can show you how overseas study will affect your progress toward graduation and identify courses you can take abroad to fill requirements. Your faculty mentor and the chair of the field committee for RCST can help you craft your study proposal and your application essay.

For additional information on selecting an overseas study site, please see ?Steps to choosing a program? at the Office of International Programs (OIP) website.