Off-Campus Study, Fall 2013

Samreen Fatima'16 mesmerized by the beauty of a mosque in istanbul, Turkey. Photograph by Phillip Dube'16/ Bates College

Samreen Fatima ’16 mesmerized by the beauty of a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photograph by Phillip Dube ’16/Bates College)

One hundred and forty-six Bates students have left or will soon be leaving to study abroad for the fall semester or entire year. Among them are 17 students who will study in St. Petersburg, Russia, with Dennis Browne, associate professor of Russian, and biologist Karen Palin.

As in the past, Bates students in the Junior Year Abroad and Junior Semester Abroad programs will cover the globe. They will visit Europe from Italy to Sweden, Africa from South Africa to Morocco, Latin America from Costa Rica to Argentina, Asia from China to Sri Lanka, and Oceania from Australia to Samoa. Many students studying in the Southern Hemisphere are already there because the “spring” semester at universities began in mid-July.

Of course, the most rewarding experiences occur when students become “worms” while abroad, burrowing into their settings, rather than birds, observing from afar and landing only lightly.

In the fall, we will welcome back 140 students who studied off-campus for part or all of the 2012-13 academic year. We look forward to the wisdom and insight they bring back to the campus. A “welcome back” reception is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, in Commons 221. We encourage these students (and other seniors as well) to investigate the fellowship opportunities for additional international study and work through the Dean of the Faculty’s Office.

Information sessions about off-campus study opportunities and procedures take place at 7 and 9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the Mays Center.

These are followed by a Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday, Oct. 2, with representatives from programs and universities abroad. This will include information on the Bates Fall Semester Program in Austria planned for fall 2014. This summer, Dean Stephen Sawyer sent a letter home to sophomores with information on study abroad. More information is on our website: bates.edu/offcampus

The “Study Abroad Is for Everyone” program continues this year. SAFE facilitates study abroad for students with limited family resources and no prior international travel experience. SAFE has three components:

  • outreach to ensure that all students recognize that this part of the Bates curriculum is available to them;
  • special efforts to identify lower-cost programs and special federal and program grants;
  • and for six students in the upcoming year, extra financial support from the Barlow Endowment for Study Abroad.

We like to say, “At Bates, everyone studies abroad.”

Learn more about off-campus study.