For greater flexibility in your study abroad experience, Netherlands: Choose Your Track—Health, Sustainability, Migration OR Culture has tracks to individualize your studies: Public Health, Sustainability, European Politics, or European Cultural Studies.
16
None
Dutch
English
Aug 31 – Dec 11
Netherlands
Morocco
Amsterdam
Required
Students may focus on any critical global issue, depending on their chosen track.
Immerse yourself in Amsterdam’s unique blend of historic charm and cutting-edge modernity, set against a backdrop of picturesque canals. Study in a vibrant, international hub renowned for its progressive culture, innovative spirit, and world-class artistic heritage. By enrolling in this Netherlands: Choose Your Track—Health, Sustainability, Migration OR Culture program, you’ll have the opportunity to select a specialized track that builds on the shared foundational learning you will do in the core ‘Future of Europe’ course. Track options for this program include public health, sustainability, European politics, and European cultural studies. Your coursework will be enhanced with field visits, community engagement, and local guest lecturers, which will show you how the theories and policies that you will discuss in the classroom translate into practice. All students complete independent research or internships projects that connect their area of study to real-world challenges facing Amsterdam and the Netherlands. An excursion to Morocco will help expand your perspective about the future of Europe by tracing the points of contact between Europe and Morocco, particularly in your chosen area of study in this program.
None.
Embark on an illuminating excursion to Morocco, a nation profoundly intertwined with Europe’s past, present, and future. This journey offers firsthand insight into critical issues like migration, geopolitical relations, and cultural exchange, providing an essential external perspective for understanding the evolving challenges and opportunities facing the European continent.
Each semester, students get the opportunity to spend a day in the Dutch city of their choice. You can either choose a city close to Amsterdam, like Haarlem or Utrecht, or you can travel to the far corners of the country, like Groningen in the north or Maastricht in the south.
Please note that SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, however, SIT may have to change or cancel programs.
Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:
The following syllabi are representative of this program. Because courses develop and change over time to take advantage of dynamic learning opportunities, actual course content will vary from term to term.
The syllabi can be useful for students, faculty, and study abroad offices in assessing credit transfer. Read more about credit transfer.
Future of Europe – syllabus
EURO3053 / 3 credits
This course focuses on the key questions that shape Europe’s future, including the continued existence of the European Union, the division and balance of power sharing between the EU and its member nations, the threat of member nation “exits,” the pitched battle over migration policy and politics, and Europe’s approach to climate governance. In order for students to engage meaningfully with these questions, the course will begin with an in-depth overview of the institutions, laws, and policies that govern the European Union, while tracing the tension between these and the national sovereignty of EU member states.
Elective Options, choose 1 of 4:
From Public Health to Healthy Publics: Comparative Strategies for Care in Europe – syllabus (Health Track)
(IPBH3000 / 3 credits)
While healthcare delivery is a critical aspect of any health system, a healthy society depends on public health initiatives that prevent disease and promote health at a larger scale. This course examines the evolving relationship between public health and care, focusing on community strategies for promoting well-being and addressing health inequities. After providing students with an in-depth overview of the Dutch healthcare system (and the ways in which it is similar to – and differs from – the systems in place in neighboring and peer countries in Europe), this course will explore how community-based and community-led organizations and initiatives employ strategies of harm reduction, mutual aid, and solidarity to fill the gaps that exist in the formal healthcare system.
Water Management and Urban Sustainability in Amsterdam – syllabus (Sustainability Track)
3 credits
If the history of the Netherlands runs parallel to – and can be mapped onto – the country’s shifting approaches to water management, then the development of its capital city represents a case study for foregrounding water management in the design of a sustainable city. Against the backdrop of rising sea levels and the increasing frequency of extraordinary weather events, this course will examine both how the Netherlands’ long history of managing and redirecting water (culminating in the Delta Works project in particular) has impacted the historical development of the city of Amsterdam writ large, and how the city has more recently leveraged the ubiquity of water in an effort to create a sustainable city.
A Country Out of Sorts: Migration Politics and Policy in the Netherlands – syllabus (Migration Track)
EURO3060 / 3 credits
Like many other countries in Europe (and around the world), the political landscape of the Netherlands has been restructured – and reconstituted – around the issue of migration. In this course, students will interrogate how both the real and perceived effects of global mobility movements have reshaped Dutch politics, and have led, especially, to the rise in popularity of anti-immigration sentiment and ethno-nationalist political ideologies and parties.
For a small country, the Netherlands plays an outsized role in the annals of art history. From the Flemish Primitives (such as van Eyck) to their 16th-century counterparts (such as Bosch and Bruegel) and the so-called “masters” of the 17th-century (which produced such luminaries as Rembrandt and Vermeer), the Netherlands is well-represented in standard art history texts. While this course will chronicle those key moments in the historical development and rise to prominence of Dutch art, it will both expand the traditional canon (which is often synonymous – and populated only – with Dutch male White painters), and study contemporary forms of art produced in the Netherlands that move beyond visual art, and rival their predecessors in terms of their popularity and genre-defining influence. In particular, this course will trace the development of electronic dance music (or EDM), a genre of music that was originated and made popular by Dutch artists (such as Armin van Buuren, Martin Garrix, and Tiësto), and the burgeoning role of the Netherlands in the European and global film landscape.
Dutch: Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced
3 credits
This course focuses on acquiring a working knowledge of the Dutch language related to sexuality and gender and to everyday life in the Netherlands. Students are almost always at the beginner’s level and during the semester acquire a basic understanding of Dutch, a vocabulary that is related to the program’s themes, and basic grammar. At the end of the course, most students are able to read news items and short articles in the Dutch language.
Please note that students may choose to take another course from the tracks offered instead of Dutch, if desired.
Research Methods and Ethics
3 credits
This seminar introduces students to the conceptual and practical tools essential to forming constructive relationships with organizations and/or individuals from other cultures, particularly those required for completing an academic project in the cultural context of the Netherlands. The course enhances students’ skills at building a network; initiating purposeful dialogue in the cultural context of the Netherlands; gathering, recording, and analyzing primary data; and writing an academic report. The course pays particular attention to the ethics of working, researching, and living as a cultural guest. The class situates these ethical issues specifically as they apply within the cultural context of the Netherlands and the program’s critical global issue: identity and human resilience. The course prepares students for their independent study project, and also gives students the intellectual tools to move about the world, learning and growing in an ethical manner.
Independent Study Project or Internship
4 credits
In addition to taking the above courses, students will also need to enroll in one of the following two courses:
Independent Study Project – syllabus
(ISPR3000 / 4 credits)
The last four weeks of the semester will be devoted solely to the ISP, during which time you will pursue original research on a topic you choose that is related to the program’s theme. The ISP is most often conducted in Amsterdam, but another location is possible as long as it is relevant to the project.
OR
Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 4 credits)
This seminar consists of a four-week internship with a local community organization, research organization, business, or international NGO in the Netherlands. The aim of the internship is to enable students to gain valuable work experience and enhance their skills in an international work environment.
You may choose a homestay or residential housing. After a brief orientation, you will live with a local family in the greater Amsterdam area for the whole of the program. Commute times may vary, taking up to 45 minutes. Your homestay host can help you understand and navigate life in this thriving city of canals. You will stay with Amsterdammers who come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and include single parents, young professionals, retirees and some LGBTQ+ hosts. The homestay experience is often described as one of the program’s highlights, and one of the most rewarding experiences of the semester.
Your host will help you navigate the city, culture, and language. Think of them as your insider’s guide and private Dutch tutor who will help you integrate into your new host country. They can introduce you to the best of their neighborhoods – outdoor markets, the perfect café, a local shop – and advise you on the small towns and big cities you ought to visit while you are in the country.
You may choose to live in a student residence in Amsterdam. Your residence will be furnished and include a private bathroom, a desk, linens, kitchen facilities, and high-speed Wi-Fi. Rooms may be singles or doubles, depending on availability.
Please note that specific housing locations and amenities are subject to change.
Hostels and modest hotels
SIT Study Abroad is committed to ensuring that international education is within reach for all students. We believe in the transformative power of immersive, intercultural experiences and are dedicated to supporting students in their educational journey.
See All Costs
A critical step in preparing for your study abroad program is planning how you will maintain your health and wellbeing. Please review the following information carefully and contact [email protected] with any questions or concerns.
Learn More
Students are required to obtain a visa for this program. Your admissions officer will provide you further guidance on the process and support documents. Please do not apply without instructions from your admissions officer.
