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Information for Faculty and Advisors

Academic Study

IPSL students engage in a full semester, summer, or year's worth of academic coursework related to the host culture. The academic portion of the program is required. Each program page on this site includes detailed course descriptions; just follow the links under "Academics."

Academic courses in IPSL programs are :

• conducted by in-country, professional academics.
  IPSL believes that students learn the most about other cultures when teachers are themselves from the culture, so we do not send U.S. teachers to teach the students. In almost all locations, a distinguished and recognized university, offering baccalaureate and graduate degrees, administers the program. (The Italy and Russia programs are based at language institutes.) The faculty for IPSL programs are selected on the basis of their academic credentials in the discipline they are teaching and on their ability to use the student's experience of service and living as a resource for learning. They utilize the content and methodology of traditional disciplines in their teaching.

• readily credited.
  IPSL has from the beginning set a high standard for the academic work. The professional staff of the central office works closely with the in-country host institution and its faculty. The national reputation of IPSL programs is such that most colleges and universities readily accept the transcript issued by the host institution when the student has successfully completed the program. Credit is given for the demonstrated learning (papers, journals, presentations, and examinations), not for the service alone. An official transcript is issued by the host institution.* Students may earn 12–18 U.S. credits for a semester; 6–12 for a summer; or 24–32 for a year.
  
  *NOTE - For Siena, Italy, Program ONLY: For students whose home institution requires a U.S. transcript, academic credit will be awarded upon completion of the semester on an official transcript issued by Siena College. Siena College is a four-year, fully accredited U.S. college located in Loudonville, New York.

• interesting & immediately useful.
  IPSL students find that the program studies in history, language, literature, sociology, and other disciplines come alive because they are able to put their new knowledge to immediate use in their service agencies and homestays, with local students on campus, and in their travels. Their previous assumptions about the culture are challenged and tested in real situations. Students in countries requiring a language other than English find their language skills develop in giant steps.

Curriculum

Each IPSL program has a curriculum designed to integrate the studies and the service to give students the most coherent experience in learning about the host culture. Students take courses examining the host society from the perspective of several disciplines, such as history, sociology, political science, humanities, literature and, where appropriate, a foreign language. (Note that the IPSL program in the Galapagos offers an option for a biology/natural sciences focus in addition to a social science focus.)

Most of the programs also involve one specially designed course called "Institutions in Society," in which participants study the ways social institutions relate to and reflect the larger society. For this course, they prepare a major paper on their service agency, discussing its mission, history, governance and the socio-economic background of its clientele, relating its internal workings to the political, social, economic, and demographic conditions of the larger society. The exact title of this course varies from program to program.

Some programs have options for electives or additional or independent studies in selected areas. If students need additional credits or special topics beyond those in the program descriptions, we encourage them, along with their advisors, to call and discuss this with us.

Because we believe that the integration of service and learning provides a stronger and more genuine experience for the students, we require that students participate in the academic studies whether or not they are seeking credit.

Questions? If you have questions about the academic portion of the programs, please contact Martha Merrill, Dean of Academic Programs, by email or by phone at (212) 986-0989.

Language Study

Language studies are offered in several IPSL programs, as follows:

Language	Program	Level	Required	Language Pre-Req
Bengali	India	Basic	Optional	No
Czech	Czech Republic	Basic	Optional	No
Filipino	Philippines	Beginner	Required	No
Italian	Italy	Beginner through advanced	Required	No
Lakota / Dakota	Lakota Nation, USA	Beginner	Optional	No
Russian	Russia	Beginner through upper-intermediate	Required	No
Spanish	Ecuador - Galapagos	Basic	Optional	No
Spanish	Ecuador – Guayaquil	Advanced beginner, intermediate, advanced	Required	Yes
Spanish	Ecuador – Quito	Upper-intermediate, advanced	Required	Yes
Spanish	Mexico	Beginner through advanced	Required	Yes
Thailand	Thai	Beginner	Required	No

 

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