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Location
  • United States of America
    • Chicago
Length
52+ weeks
Program Tags
Adventure Travel

Program Details

Primary Language
English

Pricing

Starting Price
10000
Price Details
Costs: Our tuition is $13,000 for the duration of the 12-month program. This covers classes, space, faculty and mentorship, student resources, events, and our end of year celebration.

Additional: Students will need to set aside personal funds for travel, food, lodging during their apprenticeships, and any further resources.

Funding: Many companies offer stipends for apprenticeships to help offset the costs of tuition, travel, and living. We have some scholarships available. For additional funding, we have negotiated a special partnership with Earnest, a personal lending company that provides low-interest loans to financially responsible individuals so that they can achieve their goals.
Jan 31, 2019
Jun 05, 2014
Wish List
3 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Design your education through Experience Institute. We’re an innovative 12-month program that combines a focused curriculum with a flexible learning model to provide students with the opportunity to learn hands-on within their industry of preference.

Whether you’re interested in design, business, technology or social innovation, we create the curriculum and build the network that best allows you to gain the skills, confidence, and creative agency you’ll need to take the next step. From a remote village in the Philippines to a renowned architectural firm in Seattle, from downtown Chicago to the Australian outback, students engage in immersive and unique portfolio-enriching experiences including apprenticeships, workshops, conferences, and volunteer positions. You define your goals. You determine your experiences. You design your future.

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Experience Institute

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Program Reviews

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Showing 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
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Muffadal
39
Male
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

The Most Transformative Year of My Life

Jun 5, 2014

The Experience Institute provides a system and flexible structure to help make chaos of our crazy world. I'm no stranger to learning by doing and experiences, I had worked, studied and traveled through more than 50 countries before joining Ei and attribute much of my being and attitude to these experiences. The differentiator with Ei is that you're armed with tools to help process and reflect on your experiences, this is where I've learned some of the most valuable lessons of my life. We do three 3-month long apprenticeships working on a project that you have the opportunity to define and then we come back to Chicago in between the apprenticeships to regroup with fellow classmates and leading industry professionals. Knowing this community is in my corner and being able to come back to them so we can learn together is a game-changer. If you're considering Ei, get ready for a fantastic learning journey.

What would you improve about this program?
I wish we were able to spend more time together as a class, maybe even work on a project together for a month or two.
39 people found this review helpful.
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Default avatar
Dane
39
Male
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Learning by doing

Jun 4, 2014

This program offers an opportunity to jump into real-world projects alongside professionals and creative leaders in a variety of industries. Never before have I been so challenged, yet encouraged by the support and insights provided by the program's staff and the professionals I was able to collaborate with.

What would you improve about this program?
I would like to have more time with my classmates. Or, I think the program would benefit from having classmates go out to do projects and apprenticeships in tandem. This is totally a possibility within the current framework of the program, but I think it could also be an expected part of the program's model.
42 people found this review helpful.
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Questions & Answers

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Muffadal Saylawala

Program
Experience Institute
Graduating summa cum laude from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Muffadal earned dual degrees in Finance and Accountancy, then worked as a consultant and auditor to large banks. But it wasn’t long before Muffadal decided to shift gears and advance his data analysis skills by using them to explore relevant metrics for sustainable design. He is currently a founding student of the Experience Institute where he is focused on exploring the intersection between business, nature and society.
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Why did you decide to study abroad with Experience Institute?

I was volunteering in Central America on permaculture farms, racking my brain trying to figure out how I could use my skills from business and what I'm learning about nature to start something remarkable. I decided I needed to spend more time learning, immersing myself with people who are already doing this because I learn best by doing. A few days later, I got an email from Victor announcing the Experience Institute, it was a no brainer.

What made this study abroad experience unique and special?

I'm no stranger to experiences. Before joining Ei, I had already studied abroad five times, completed 2 internships abroad and had independently traveled in more than 30 countries around the world. The gamechanger here at Ei is the intentionality of reflection.

We go off on an apprenticeship and then return to Chicago after each experience to meetup with our fellow classmates where we sharpen our tools of self awareness, storytelling, community building, operations and design thinking, it's where we process, reflect and consequentially learn together. So, of course I've learned from the experiences themselves, but the depth of what I'm learning with my classmates as we reflect together has been transformational. The difference here is that what I learn doesn't remain an intellectual stimulation, it becomes ingrained into my being.

What is one piece of advice you'd give future Experience Institute students?

Be ready for the wildest adventure of your life. Experience Institute is not for the faint of heart. This isn't your typical study abroad deal about exploring faraway, exotic lands.

It's moreso about exploring the potential of what lies inside yourself, and sometimes this process might lead to faraway, exotic lands as a means. Be open to ambiguity and excited to embrace challenges, uncover hidden opportunities and have fun while doing it. Always remember, you are not alone. We're behind you.

Describe your most meaningful souvenir and why you love it?

In the first meetup, we had an activity where I was assigned to be the gift giver for the class. Intuitively, I didn't give myself a gift, nor did I even think twice about it. After I finished handing out the gifts and explaining them for each person, then totally unexpected, each of my classmates and our professor handed me a gift. They taught me that in order to truly give, I must learn to receive first. I've carried these gifts with me in a little plastic container the whole year and everywhere I go, I set it up as a little alter for myself.

Do you think your program changed you as a person?

Most definitely so. This program has been the most transformative thing I have ever embarked on and I'm only 2/3 of the way through so far. I'm learning deep lessons about life, creative agency and confidence that can never be taught in a classroom.

I'm learning how to make sense of the chaotic, ever-changing landscape of our world. I have a new set of eyes to see the world with now and I will never be the same. I feel blessed to be part of the Experience Institute.

About Experience Institute

Experience Institute (Ei) is creating a new type of higher education rooted in transformative experiences. At Ei, undergraduate and grad-level students learn within their industry of preference through immersive and unique portfolio-enriching experiences that include apprenticeships with innovative companies, mentoring from industry leaders, group...

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