UVA in India – Spring Semester Program in Delhi
The UVA in India spring semester program in Delhi offers an immersive experience for students interested in India, Global Studies, South Asian Studies, Media Studies, Democracy and Public Space, and Hindi-Urdu language. Students who have not taken courses about India are also encouraged to experience India this way for the first time.
Program Dates: January 13 – May 15, 2020
Deadline for applications: October 15, 2019
Admission decisions are rolling.
The program is open to second, third, and fourth years.
The program is conducted at Jamia Millia Islamia (a Central University). Two classes are taught by UVA faculty, with local Jamia students also taking those courses. Students take four courses for direct UVA credit, and a fifth at Jamia for transfer credit. The course list includes:
- Literature & Society in South Asia: Breaking the Cast(e), taught by Mehr Farooqi
- India in Global Perspective, taught by Rich Cohen
- An internship or research project (past students have worked on health, media, technology, children's rights, right to schooling, safety, land use)
- Beginning, intermediate, or advanced Hindi language, which is optional but highly recommended. Urdu or Bengali language may also be available.
- An elective course at Jamia chosen from options to be finalized
Spring 2020 highlights include:
- Engage with environmental issues, justice and inequality, human habitation
- Take courses at an Indian University in addition to the ones offered by UVA professors
- Opportunities for pre-med students to shadow a doctor
- Internships can be tailored to suit your major
- Experiential learning model for Public Health, Environmental Studies, Gender Studies majors
- Special opportunities for Media Studies
- Explore thousands of years of history and culture
- Excursions to the Taj Mahal and the Himalayan resort of Dharamsala
- Interact with UVA alumni in Delhi. Read the letter from the president of the UVA Club of India.
- Opportunity to participate in a research internship with SEWA Bharat, a national federation of SEWA organizations of women working in the informal economy. (Students may contact Research Manager Dr. Paromita Sen for more information about this internship opportunity).
The American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) will teach Hindi and assist with internship/research arrangements. AIIS has an extensive list of NGOs, organizations, independent scholars, and companies, and we place students according to their interests. Options include media and film organizations, historical associations, NGOs of various kinds, art/music/dance organizations, businesses, energy, environment, architecture and art NGOs, as well as those that do work on sexuality, health, history, public affairs, and politics.
Students live together in a house with shared common spaces. A resident advisor will stay with them, and a cook/chef provides meals. The housing is a short walk from one of the newest lines on the Delhi Metro. Delhi is an amazing historical and contemporary city as well as the capital of the country, so students will have many opportunities for research, as well as opportunities for site visits.
Students can email Program Directors Mehr Farooqi and Richard Cohen for additional information or Ryan Hathaway with Education Abroad with questions about the application process.
Find more information about the program, and start your application, at http://educationabroad.virginia.edu. Applications are due October 15.