Explore India’s socioeconomic development and the new urgency in rethinking development to shape a sustainable global future.
16
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Hindi
English
Sep 5 – Dec 18
India
Bangladesh
Jaipur
Climate & Environment
Development & Inequality
The world’s largest democracy, India, is poised to become a major global power, yet poverty, social inequality, and barriers to economic opportunity remain key challenges in this nation of more than 1 billion people. Discover the dichotomies of tradition and modernity, wealth and poverty while living in Jaipur, the tree-lined capital of India’s Rajasthan state and one of India’s most populous cities. While Jaipur evokes the regality of the royal family that once ruled it, with its heritage palaces and five-star hotels, the largely rural state of Rajasthan is among the least developed regions of India. Venture beyond the city to explore the critical issues facing India today and visit non-governmental organizations, research institutes, and villages. Along the way, meet with some of the most inspired and important Indian experts working in development and social change. You’ll develop a foundational knowledge of India’s past, present, and future development paradigms and acquire field study and research skills to complete an independent project or an internship at a development organization.
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Visit an organization working for quality education for underprivileged children through community residential schools, serving more than 26,000 urban and rural children in Rajasthan.
Tour the world’s largest producer of prosthetic below-the-waist limbs, provided free to those in need regardless of caste, religion, origin, or ethnicity. This excursion introduces students to one of the most successful models of a rehabilitation center and provides an opportunity to learn about social change and the empowerment of people with physical disabilities.
Meet students of your own age at this private institution, which has evolved into a university, providing higher education for women in the Jaipur district.
Learn about a rights movement that highlights the plight of Hindu refugees who have been victims of religious fundamentalism, advocating for their citizenship and rehabilitation.
Understand the diverse challenges of an institution that works with the poor to foster increased self-reliance.
Study how this group is blending traditional knowledge and modern sciences to promote sustainable and participatory community development in the rural areas of Rajasthan.
Witness the practices of a rural development organization that provides basic services and solutions to problems in rural communities, including solar electrification, clean water, education, livelihood development, healthcare, rural handicrafts, and communication, with the aim of making communities more self-sufficient and sustainable.
Visit the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, helping impoverished communities fulfill their potential across nine developing countries in Asia and Africa. At the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, gain an understanding of the nation’s advanced progress in human development. See Grameen Bank and learn how it won a Nobel Prize for helping eradicate poverty by providing micro-credit to the poor. Finally, tour coastal communities to witness the impacts of climate change and how people are adapting.
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.
This interdisciplinary program offers an understanding of social, political, environmental, and economic change in India after independence.
The Field Methods and Ethics course addresses culturally appropriate, ethical field methodology in preparation for the Independent Study Project. The study of Hindi opens windows into the culture and the program’s theme.
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.
Development Approaches and Distributive Justice – syllabus
(ASIA3010 / 3 credits)
This course provides a strong foundation on various aspects of Indian society and builds critical perspectives on post-1990s Indian development experience and its impact on rural and urban India, along with the additional challenge posed by climate change. Keeping land and natural resources central to human well-being, the course provides reflection and analysis of the social justice and sustainability issues of contemporary India and the world.
Sustainable Futures: India and Beyond – syllabus
(ASIA3020 / 3 credits)
This course exposes students to various frameworks for rethinking development in the context of India and beyond, with the potential to change perspectives and worldviews in the search for sustainable futures. The course enables students to critically reflect on the self, the community, and society and their roles in shaping global change. Students will learn the emerging alternatives to mainstream development paradigms in India and develop their theoretical and conceptual framework for thinking and acting towards a sustainable future.
Beginning Hindi – syllabus
(HIND1003-1503 / 3 credits)
Advanced Hindi – syllabus
(HIND3003-3503 / 3 credits)
Emphasis on speaking and comprehension skills through classroom and field instruction. Based on in-country evaluation, including oral proficiency testing, students are placed in beginning, intermediate, or advanced classes.
Field Methods and Ethics – syllabus
(ANTH3500 / 3 credits)
A course on research methods and ethics in conducting independent social science field studies in the cross-cultural context of India. Topics include cross-cultural adaptation and skills building; selecting and refining projects; using appropriate methodologies; field study ethics and the World Learning / SIT Human Subjects Review Policy; developing contacts and finding resources; developing skills in designing research, writing proposals, choosing relevant methods, observing and interviewing; gathering, organizing, and communicating data; and maintaining a fieldwork journal.
In addition to taking the above courses, students will also need to enroll in one of the following two courses:
Independent Study Project
Independent Study Project – syllabus
(ISPR3000 / 4 credits)
Conducted in approved field sites across India, the Independent Study Project is an opportunity to delve more deeply into a field study topic of choice. Sample topic areas: theater for social change; traditional women’s crafts and the modern market; Indian wildlife conservation and international nongovernmental organization involvement; irrigation and water management issues; a critical analysis of elephant tourism; call centers as the job of the educated future; marketing culture and Rajput identity; microfinance and women’s empowerment; language and literacy; a comparison of traditional and mass production of Indian textiles.
Sample ISP topic areas:
Browse this program’s Independent Study Projects / undergraduate research.
OR
Internship and Seminar
Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 4 credits)
This four-week internship provides an opportunity for students to intern with diverse national, international, and community-based nongovernmental organizations and other private entities working on various issues related to environment and development, rural and urban livelihood generation, environmental awareness and advocacy, women’s empowerment, ecological agriculture, sustainable mountain development, implementation and monitoring of federal programs for social security, etc. The key focus is to nurture and support students as they explore and/or build on their individual career interests. In the process, students will have opportunities to build professional networks, apply new knowledge of development and social change in India, including soft skills in an organizational or community setting. While conducting the internship, students participate in weekly debriefing sessions, typically conducted online, and write two progress reports. The internship culminates in a final paper and presentation, which detail the organization and its approaches to development and reflects on the internship experience and how it relates to the program theme.
Sample internships:
The field-based workshop prepares you for the Independent Study Project or internship by giving you the chance to engage directly with community organizations or NGOs and learn about their approaches to development work in Indian communities. Workshop opportunities vary from semester to semester depending on logistics, facilitation, and interest and are offered in the states of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Sikkim, and Himachal Pradesh.
Sample workshops:
Live with a homestay family for approximately six weeks. These families have a longstanding relationship with SIT and the program seeks to match students as closely as possible with families by background, health issues, and shared interests. Most families are upper middle class, with varied religious backgrounds and worldviews.
Indian family structure is transitioning from multi-generational to nuclear, and the number of families with both parents working outside the home is growing. Homestays will be with families of various sizes. Few families have pets. Students in the program typically have a separate room with an attached bathroom that might occasionally be shared by visiting relatives. Most homestays are one to 10 kilometers from the program center. Students’ homes are often within a short walk of each other, so you can share auto rickshaws to the learning center or outings, maximizing safety and convenience.
The homestay experience provides you with the opportunity to learn about customs, food, languages, and social and religious views through daily activities with families. The experience offers a sense of social change and continuity within India’s family structure and traditions. During the Indian wedding seasons, students may attend a “Bollywood-style” north Indian wedding with dance, music, jewelry, and sarees.
Other accommodation during the program includes hostels, small hotels, NGO facilities, and educational institutions.
A diversity of students representing many colleges, universities, and majors participate in this program. Many have gone on to do amazing things that connect to their experience abroad with SIT. Recent positions held by alumni of this program include:
Junior fellow with Asian University for Women, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Knowledge manager at Ashoka Changemakers, Washington, DC
Research coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Advanced Study of India, Philadelphia, PA
Research assistant at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College Institute for Social Innovation, Pittsburgh, PA
Program manager of the William J. Clinton Fellowship at the American India Foundation, New Delhi, India
SIT Study Abroad is committed to making international education accessible to all students. Scholarship awards generally range from $500 to $5,000 for semester programs and $500 to $3,000 for summer programs. This year, SIT will award more than $1.5 million in scholarships and grants to SIT Study Abroad students.
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One of the hallmarks of many SIT Study Abroad programs is a real undergrad independent research project done in a foreign country. After students complete a course in research methods and ethics, they develop a research project, including determining where they will be staying, and what resources they will have available to them, present their plan, then embark on it.
