Fall 2025: Nepal: Development, Gender, and Social Change in the Himalaya

Witness Nepal’s challenges in balancing tradition and modernity, while negotiating economic, political, and social change in a dynamic period of its history.

At a Glance

Credits

Prerequisites

None

Language of Study

Nepali

Courses taught in

English

Dates

Sep 2 – Dec 15

Program Countries

Nepal

Program Excursion Countries

India

Program Base

Kathmandu

Critical Global Issue of Study

Development & Inequality

Overview

Why study abroad in Nepal?

In the past few decades, Nepal has seen tremendous changes in development, discourse surrounding equality and inclusiveness, and civic and human rights. Live in the Kathmandu Valley, home to seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, and learn from experts, activists, and academics about development, gender, and social change. Visit organizations and institutions to understand how they work with government and non-government agencies to make meaningful change in society. Learn Nepali from expert teachers in small, dynamic classes. Connect with NGOs, INGOs, and bilateral and multilateral donors. Visit the Chitwan National Park in the plains to learn about conservation, community development, and collective action. Then, trek from village to village along ancient Himalayan trade routes going as high as 13,000 feet to see community development efforts as well as Nepal’s remarkable biological, geological, and cultural diversity. In the final four weeks, research a topic of your choice while conducting an independent field study, or gain professional skills in an international work environment as part of an internship.

Highlights

Explore changing gender and social justice rights from experts and activists.
Witness how international development and global markets are redefining Nepal
Visit Chitwan National Park and Annapurna Conservation Area to learn about conservation and community development.
Learn from notable Nepali development scholars and practitioners.
Learn about gender-based human rights violations, the rights of migrant laborers, and the challenges marginalized communities face in exercising their human rights.

Prerequisites

None

Excursions

Conservation and Development in Chitwan National Park

Learn about conservation and development from the communities that live within the premises of Chitwan National Park. Interactions with activists, scholars and community members will provide a deeper insight into how community development and conservation efforts complement each other in the first national park, situated in the Terai belt.

Rural Immersion in the Himalayas of the Eastern or Western Region

Immerse yourself in a rural community working with homestay families on their farm. Weed, plough, or participate in a local group or a small community project with village youth. Fieldwork focuses on ecotourism; sustainability of development in mountainous areas; community development efforts; culture and religion; and economic links. Connect with villagers, learn social customs and norms, and work with community members to assimilate while remaining ethically aware of your interactions with community members.

India: Rural Development, Gender Dynamics, Organic Farming, Food Security and Climate Change

This week-long excursion will take you to one of these locations:

Uttarakhand
Sikkim
Darjeeling & Ilam
Dehradun

In Uttarakhand, located in the northwestern part of India, and explore the work of the nongovernmental organization Aarohi and its areas of intervention. Gain insights to Aarohi’s mission to create development opportunities for the rural Himalayan communities through quality healthcare and education, enterprise promotion and women empowerment and sustainable natural resource use. While staying in Uttarakhand, you will reside with local homestay families, enriching your experiential learning and fostering connections with the local community.

In Sikkim, the organic state of India, learn about food security and the impacts of national policy changes. You will learn farming techniques from local farmers and gain an understanding of the different challenges and opportunities for food security. Get hands-on experience working on a subsistence farm. Focus on women’s roles in farming and development and see the impact of social change and development on food security. You will stay in a Nepali-speaking village in the lush, green foothills of the Indian Himalaya.

Darjeeling (India) and Ilam (Nepal) are the tea capitals of India and Nepal. Learn about tea processing, organic farming, agriculture and market linkages, fair trade, workers’ rights, and gender relations in tea production. An exploration of well-established tea estates in Darjeeling and relatively newer estates of Ilam will provide a comparative study of the dynamics of tea farming and production. In Darjeeling and Ilam, you will stay in small guesthouses or homestays while you will visit the renowned tea estates.

Navdanya at Dehradun explores biodiversity conservation, agroecology, and seed saving to better understand food security, ecology and environmental justice. In Dehradun, you will stay at Navdanya Farm, where you will have the opportunity to participate in fieldwork and workshops organized by Navdanya.

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.

Academics

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:

Explain the historical, political, and religious roots regarding gender and patriarchy in Nepal.
Apply the variables of gender relations and social hierarchy into the discourse of development to explain how interrelate, intersect and influence community and national level development outcomes.
Analyze how geography, ecology and power relations influence and allow for social change.
Explain how international discourse and non-government agencies influence Nepali gender roles, caste-based hierarchy, individual rights, and social justice.
Examine national policies and citizenry in Nepal to understand the ways that these policies disenfranchise gender and sexual minorities, single mothers, and other marginalized groups.
Synthesize the learning acquired on the program to develop an Independent study Project or an internship experience paper.
Demonstrate necessary language skills to navigate Nepali society and immerse in rural and urban contexts.

Read more about Program Learning Outcomes.

Coursework

Access virtual library guide.

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.

Please expand the sections below to see detailed course information, including course codes, credits, overviews, and syllabi.

Key Topics

Climate change and environmental concerns in the Himalayas
Caste, class, gender, and religion in Nepal
Economic development, the emerging middle class, and labor migration
Redefining development, social capital, and civil society
Ethnicity, nationhood, and social and political change
Causes and conditions for change and conflict

Development, Gender, and Social Change in the Himalaya

Development, Gender, and Social Change in the Himalaya – syllabus
(DVST3000 / 3 credits)

An interdisciplinary course conducted in English with required readings and relevant educational excursions. Using gender as a lens for engaging with development theory and practice, the seminar examines historical and contemporary Nepal and the social, political, cultural, environmental, and economic forces — both internal and global — that have shaped and continue to define the country. Lecturers are a cross-section of Nepali society, including activists and experienced academics drawn from academic institutions such as Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, and the Fulbright Commission. Site visits to nongovernmental organizations may include rights and development agencies like MITINI Nepal, ICIMOD, and Teach4Nepal, among others.

Nepali

Beginning Nepali: Intensive – syllabus
(NEPA1506 / 6 credits)

Intermediate Nepali: Intensive – syllabus
(NEPA2506 / 6 credits)

Advanced Nepali: Intensive – syllabus
(NEPA3506 / 6 credits)

These fun, interactive courses help students develop a working fluency in Nepali language with an emphasis on speaking and comprehension skills through classroom and field instruction combined with practice in reading and writing the Devanagari script. Classes are taught two-and-a-half hours daily. The expert instructors are native speakers with many years of teaching and teacher training experience with SIT and the Peace Corps. Instruction includes a variety of interactive, communication-based language teaching techniques that incorporate cultural information into language learning, which helps facilitate ISP research and internships during the final month of the program.

Field Methods and Ethics

Field Methods and Ethics – syllabus
(ANTH3500 / 3 credits)

A course in the concepts of learning across cultures and from field experience and an introduction to the Independent Study Project and Internship and Seminar. Material includes cross-cultural adaptation and skills building; project selection and refinement; appropriate methodologies; field study ethics and the World Learning / SIT Human Subjects Review Policy; developing contacts and finding resources; developing skills in observation and interviewing; gathering, organizing, and communicating data; and maintaining a work journal.

Course Options

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)

At the end of the program, you will spend four weeks working on an Independent Study Project (ISP), pursuing original research on a topic of interest to you. The ISP is conducted in Kathmandu or, conditions permitting and with program approval, in other parts of Nepal, and is an opportunity for students to conduct firsthand, meaningful, and original field study projects. Sample topic areas include ecotourism and its effect on wildlife management; geographies of development; preservation of temple architecture and heritage sites; water scarcity in Kathmandu valley; statelessness and discourse on citizenship; community forestry; migration and population issues; rural development and aid; and women’s health challenges. A large number of students have gone on to use their ISPs as the basis for further research under Fulbright fellowships in Nepal or in securing professional positions with NGOs, the State Department, and the United Nations.

Sample ISP topic areas:

Rural development and aid
Community forestry
The emergence of a middle-class society
Squatter communities and land access in Kathmandu
Population growth and water scarcity in Kathmandu
Remittance economies and development
Women’s health challenges and roles in development
Human rights in post-conflict situations
Preservation of world heritage sites
Changing food geographies and agricultural practices
Gender equity and rights
Emerging dating and marriage patterns in urban Newari youth
Humanitarian aid and post-earthquake reconstruction efforts

Browse this program’s Independent Study Projects / undergraduate research.

Internship and Seminar
Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 4 credits)

This seminar consists of a four-week internship and weekly academic seminar. The aim of the internship is to enable the student to gain valuable experience, enhance their skills in an international environment, and reflect more deeply on key program themes. The internship experience may be with a local community-based development organization, research organization, human rights and advocacy organization, international NGO, or organization working for food security and sustainable development. The internship seminar meets weekly (typically online) so students can reflect on the internship experience, and it includes complementary readings, weekly progress reports, and a final paper and presentation linking the internship learning experience to the program’ s theme. The internship seminar includes a module titled Internship in the Context of Nepal, which is designed to help students build a foundation on which to engage in the internship experience. SIT academic internships are hands-on and reflective.

Sample internships:

Supporting research and development at a local organization involved in gender issues, rights, and advocacy

Housing

Kathmandu

Live with a host family in Kathmandu for six weeks, sharing daily activities and observing or participating in several important festivals. Families vary in occupational, educational, and economic backgrounds and live anywhere from a 20- to 35-minute walk from the program center. Families include one or more adults and may or may not include children.

Village Homestays

On excursions to rural, mountainous regions in Nepal and India, participate in village homestays to better understand Nepalis’ lifestyle by participating in the daily activities of these rural communities.

Excursion & Orientation Accommodations

During the excursions, accommodations may include guesthouses and small hostels (called tea houses), as well as dormitory-style housing.

Career Paths

Recent positions held by alumni of this program include:

Founder and international advisor at SmartPaani and One Planet Solution, Nepal
Professor of geography at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Assistant professor of anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Director of international operations for Nepali Tea Traders, Denver, CO
Independent filmmaker
Director with the Peace Corps, Nepal
Director with the Fulbright Program, Nepal

Many other alumni have used the Nepali language skills they gained on the program to win Fulbright fellowships and secure professional positions in Nepal after graduation.

Faculty & Staff

Nepal: Development, Gender, and Social Change in the Himalaya

Bhawana Oli, MA

Academic Director

Phoenix Kenney, MPh, ABD

Program Coordinator

Sanjib Kumar Pokhrel

Senior Language Instructor, Homestay Coordinator, and Librarian

Chandra Rana

Senior Language Instructor and Excursion Coordinator

Anil Chitrakar

Senior Teaching Faculty

View Program Lecturers

Discover the Possibilities

Cost & Scholarships

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.
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HEALTH, ACCESS & IDENTITY

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