Program Reviews

I am extremely grateful to have spent a summer with SIT in Buenos Aires. By learning about memory and trauma through art, I was able to learn how people begin the path to heal while also demanding their stories be heard. This topic is always important to reflect on, but it is particularly relevant today. I got the opportunity to learn about a history not commonly taught in the United States, and was so lucky to live with a wonderful host mother who I saw in a subsequent trip to Buenos Aires. This program inspired me to focus on immigration patterns in Buenos Aires in research I conducted following the program, and is the reason why I ended up going back to Buenos Aires a year and a half later. A huge thank you to all of the people who made this program so impactful!

I really enjoyed going on this program. It is, however, very different from the standard study abroad program at a foreign university, and prospective students should be aware of this. For example, I didn't find the courses to be particularly academically rigorous because there were relatively few assignments. Instead, the experience was mainly bulked out by site visits and a focus on experiential learning, which I felt definitely worked to its benefit in creating a different experience every semester and for every student. In order to ensure that get as much out of these experiences as possible though, there are mandatory programmed events for debriefing and synthesizing them. Students thus should be prepared to deeply discuss events and their reactions to events that are both scheduled and unexpected. There can also be uncertainty in the program scheduling due to its release on guest lecturers and site visits, and the program itself is densely packed and will probably feel restrictive if what you want out of your study abroad experience if absolute freedom to explore.

This program also invokes a lot of in-group bounding. Since the student group is pretty small (mine was 22 people) and, due to the active nature of the program, pretty isolated, relationships within the group are very important but can also feel stifling at times. A key relationship you will probably develop will be with your homestay families: homestays really help to ground you in each host country on this program. I also got pretty close with the administrators in each country, who were all incredibly talented, knowledgeable, and accessible. As a whole, this program is pretty safe. However, there were incidents of people being followed and phone theft. The administration will give formal safety orientations in each country — definitely pay attention to those and follow the buddy policy — but the country coordinators and their assistants will also offer informal advice and support that is invaluable.

For some more technical details, SIT gives a food and transportation stipend in each country. Depending on the country, it may or may not actually be enough: Morocco was more difficult food budgeting-wise, but the San Francisco and Vietnam stipends were especially generous. I personally enjoyed all the food and had no problems, but I know that vegetarians on the program had some difficulties staying vegetarian both in homestays and while eating out, and many people went through adjustment periods to new diets. I was also lucky enough to not experience any health issues during the program, but other people did and the administration was very prompt and helpful in responding to the problem. My experiences with my host families were all positive and all the hotels were quite nice, but there were issues with wifi accessibility in certain hotels, which could get really annoying. And because there's not only movement between countries but also a lot of movement within countries, there is a lot of time spent driving and traveling in general, which can get exhausting.

IHP Climate Change was incredible to experience and eye-opening to synthesize. So much happens on this program, and the explicit focus on interconnectivity and intersectionality helped to integrate every event into the learning. But the definite highlight for me was the people: from homestay families to guest lecturers to administrators to the other students, I met so many intelligent, thoughtful people that I am so grateful to have gotten the chance to meet. What this program offers is a very specific experience to allow you to learn from a vast variety of people and places, to show you how to learn both globally and locally, and to analyze the world around you and your place in it. I can't recommend it enough.

During my time on this program, through conversations with locals, visits to organizations, and participation in different events, I witnessed first hand and felt deeply the ways in which existing oppressive systems and institutions have negatively impacted the livelihood of specific groups of people. I appreciate this program because I learned so much and felt immersed in each country as a result of all of the country coordinators' efforts to make this happen. The importance of empathy and taking action was evident every day.

The program exceeded my expectations almost across the board. The emphasis on environmental justice was not something I was aware would be central but was so grateful it was. The staff/program directors, country coordinators and traveling support were all so incredibly inspiring, and committed to listening to students, supporting them and creating the best all-around experience possible.
It had:
Opportunities - connections to speakers, local knowledge about sites, complementary readings that I would not be able to compile learning/traveling on my own

Traveling - I loved that I got an introduction to visiting three incredibly different countries

Freedom - heavy/intense programming at times but appropriate respect and deference to student freedom

My semester abroad with IHP Human Rights was truly eye opening and changed the ways in which I interact with people and think about issues in my daily life. In a group of 30 students, we traveled to Chile, Nepal, and Jordan and learned from local human rights practitioners, activists, and community members about what is happening in their communities. This program is non-stop; from morning breakfast with your host family to afternoons spent meeting with community leaders or in the classroom, to conversations with your fellow students about the days lessons before you all fall asleep, you are constantly thinking about, learning, and practicing human rights. If you are interested in issues of justice or social organizing this is the program for you!

My semester in Peru with SIT Study Abroad was all I could have hoped for and more. I entered the program with big goals and I can proudly say that I achieved them. I am now an advanced Spanish speaker, I completed an intensive research project I am passionate about, I am a capable traveler and can engage across cultures. This is not an easy program - it takes commitment, drive, focus. I was so pleased with my professors and the program staff for how they facilitated the program while providing space for independence and challenge. Further, they made me think in new ways and valued curiosity above anything else. Peru as a country and culture is incredible, and being in Cusco offers so much opportunity to learn, practice Spanish, and become comfortable in a vastly different culture. In the end, I am so grateful for all I learned and accomplished and I am confident this experience will benefit me hugely in the future.

IHP is not an average study abroad program. When trying to describe my average day with IHP health and community, I realized it's nearly impossible because there was no average day. One day may have been a site visit to a traditional medicine hospital while another may have been a lecture about environmental health on a nature reserve. This is even more complicated by the fact that we spent the semester in 4 different continents! I was on track 2 so we launched from Washington D.C. and went to Vietnam, South Africa, and Argentina.

Everyday brought new challenges, surprises, and learning experiences. I chose this study abroad program because I wanted something that was academically challenging, focused on global health, which is a topic I am passionate about, and allowed me to have many new, unique experiences. This program met all of those needs. The experiential learning aspect allowed us to see global health framed in a very local context and from unique perspectives.

Despite this, there were also challenges. Throughout the semester, you are traveling with the same 25-30 people--being in this insular group can become tiring and draining. Class time is also significantly longer than at your university. "Class" time lasted from 9-5 monday-friday. Although this takes some adjusting, it is part of the reason the program is so academically-rich. Lastly, you will never feel ready to leave a country and move on to the next. One month in each place barely gives you enough time to see everything you want, much less immerse yourself in the location. If you are looking to do that, this program probably isn't for you.

Despite these challenges, I cannot recommend the program enough. My perspectives have shifted so much, and I feel much more knowledgeable about global health and medical anthropology.

When looking at study abroad programs, I knew that I wanted a program that not only would be academically enriching, but that would also provide a fun and adventurous experience. Due to my focus on International Relations, the programs focus on globalization seemed like a great way to put into practice that which I had learned through my college classes. Throughout my semester abroad, I was constantly learning new information which was enhanced by our field based experiences. The staff of the program did everything that they could in order to make sure that we felt safe, comfortable, and engaged throughout the program. Each of the trips we did throughout the program allowed us to learn about indigenous communities while getting to see beautiful sites. I will forever remember all the amazing places that we got to visit. Something else that was great about the program was the host family I was placed with. They did everything possible to make sure that I felt like I was a part of their family and always checked in to see if there was anything they could do so I could feel more at home. Another great thing about the program was the research component. The way the program spaced it out made it a lot less daunting to complete the research project, there were also multiple check-ins as well as due dates which broke up the project in little parts. I will actually be using my research as the foundation for my college thesis. Overall, I would highly recommend this program to anyone who wants to explore and go on fun adventures while being academically engaged in a supportive environment.

Wow, I wish I could to this program a million times. This program is wonderful for anyone interested in food, no matter if you're in STEM or Liberal Arts or Business. Every day was completely different and exciting; from working on a farm, visiting an agricultural commune and speaking with a director at the FAO all in the same week. We were taught by such passionate farmers, scientists, anthropologists, community activists, etc.
Living with homestay families in each country really allowed us to gain a deeper cultural understanding while forming relationships with awesome people!

The program offered everything I was looking for personally and professionally. It gave me an introduction to global health. It increased my awareness and knowledge of human rights. It propelled me to tackle a new language that I love and will continue to learn. It empowered me by putting me in places I only dreamed of, but now I know that I can one day go back to as a professional.

It was extremely worthwhile. I was able to expand my global lens and really learn what it means to be a citizen of the world! I gained a new perspective on the issues that our world is currently facing, and how I can utilize my education and skills to tackle these problems. I stepped out of my comfort zone and was able to become more confident in my abilities and discover new things about myself. The small and big experiences I had each taught me something either about myself, others or some aspect of the world we live in. I gained a greater appreciation for nature and other things. Lastly this experience and the individuals I met influenced the life I want to live as I move forward!