How We’re Different
The SIT experience is life-changing. It introduced students to a critical global issue or field of study around which they have shaped their academic pursuits or careers. Our programs have revealed new strengths or interests many had not yet discovered in themselves and helped our alumni build connections, relationships, and networks around the world. Many have returned to the country of their SIT program to research, live, and work, and countless others have brought what they learned with SIT to their own communities back home. Here are some of the ways SIT Study Abroad is extraordinary.
NOT YOUR ORDINARY STUDY ABROAD
SIT students are discovering new species in Ecuadorian rainforests, meeting diplomats, trekking to remote Himalayan villages, going on expeditions to Antarctica, and interning at globally recognized organizations including UN agencies, the International Red Cross, and the Centers for Disease Control. Our immersive programs allow you to view the world and understand critical global issues from a range of perspectives. With classes in 27 languages—including Icelandic, Luganda, and Samoan—and extensive networks within each program country, our programs provide learning opportunities you won’t find anywhere else.
CRITICAL GLOBAL ISSUES
SIT programs are developed within a framework of the most critical global issues of our time—challenges that transcend borders to touch every human on the planet. By framing our programs around these issues, we believe that as the next generation of leaders, you will have the expertise and intercultural understanding to engage all identities and perspectives to develop respectful, enduring, and meaningful responses to these challenges.
COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL JUSTICE
SIT was founded on the idea that cultural exchange leads to positive social change. We prepare students to be interculturally effective changemakers, professionals, and citizens. In so doing, SIT fosters a worldwide network of individuals and organizations committed to responsible global citizenship.
PROGRAMS ON ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS
You’ll find SIT among the ecosystems of Southern Patagonia and Antarctica; in Ghana’s vibrant hip-hop scene and Malaysia’s dynamic Islamic banking and business centers; at the heart of autonomy movements in Spain and Scotland; discovering news species in Ecuador; in the migrant centers of the Middle East, and at many more amazing locations in between. Where will SIT take you?
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Independent Study Project (ISP)
Many students choose SIT because of our in-depth, field-based independent research choices known as Independent Study Projects (ISP). These projects often lead to related theses at home institutions or prestigious research fellowships, including Fulbrights, after graduation. Learn more about ISP.
IHP Comparative Research Project
The unique nature of the International Honors Program (IHP) Comparative portfolio results in a different form of student research. The approach still emphasizes the multidisciplinary analysis of issues and integrates the experience-based learning of the semester, but it results in a comparative research project on a topic of the student’s own choosing. Typically, the cumulative project involves qualitative research undertaken in each of the countries visited.
GLOBAL FACULTY & STAFF
SIT’s summer and semester-long programs are divided into five regions (including the International Honors Program which covers multiple countries). Most of our nearly 400 program faculty and staff around the world were born, raised, and/or educated in the countries in which their programs are based. They include academic and program directors with terminal degrees in their fields who have researched and taught at local universities; program coordinators who have firsthand knowledge of everything from regional NGOs to the best local cafes; and homestay coordinators with close ties to the families in their communities. Staff Directory