Dartmouth Abroad: International Experiences
Hello!
My name is Yuki Kondo-Shah '07, and I am currently a senior at Dartmouth College. I am really excited about sharing my Dartmouth experiences with you on the blog! My hometown is Scottsdale, AZ, but I grew up in a suburb of Tokyo, Japan. I am a Government and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) double major. Four years ago when I was looking for a place to go to college, I was hoping for a place where I would be able to study and work internationally. Dartmouth has exceeded all of my expectations!
My college experience may seem pretty unique, but compared to my friends at Dartmouth who have also traveled, studied, and worked abroad, it may be pretty typical. Every student, by taking advantage of the D-plan, can really tailor his or her 4 years to match out of the classroom passions and academic interests.
I've taken two Dartmouth sponsored Foreign Study Programs (FSPs); one to Beijing for the AMES department and one to London for the Government Department. Although I love being on campus, I'd have to say that my FSPs were my best terms at college. I learned so much from my seminar sized classes, and being able to integrate myself into another culture really opened my eyes. I think that for those who desire to seek life outside of their comfort zone, Dartmouth provides plenty of opportunities to experience different cultures and lifestyles.
In Beijing, we attended Beijing Normal University, lived in international student dorms, and ate amazing Chinese food everyday. Although we had a pretty intense schedule of classes everyday, in the afternoons and on the weekends, we were able to explore the capital and even travel to Shanghai and Datong. One of the students who attended the program kept a website with photos and a schedule of the trip. I would recommend looking at it if this is a program that you might want to go on one day!
Click Here to see more.
Dartmouth's Government Department's program is run through the London School of Economics, which is located in the heart of the city. All of us students lived in a flat in a really beautiful area of the city, and took the "tube" to classes. As all of us poured over our books about the international relations and the British Empire, we were also able to go to the British museum and the Naval Museum to do research. I had some friends who were attending the History Program around the same time, and they would use the National Archives to do primary source research, which is great preparation for graduate study!
Click to learn more about Off-campus study programs:
Click Here
Keep in mind that if you are on Financial Aid, the college will work to cover you while you are on your trip, so that all students get a fair opportunity to be able to study abroad.
I spent two of my "off-terms" (when I was not taking classes at Dartmouth) in Tokyo, Japan. For my junior winter, I worked for an international law firm as a legal intern, and for my junior summer, I was an intern at the American Embassy in Tokyo. Both of these experiences really added to my academic experiences. There are so many ways that Dartmouth helps students to secure internship and jobs. For example, if you are interested in getting a corporate internship, many companies come to recruit on campus. I was interested in working at an Embassy, so I went to the Dickey Center for International Understanding,
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dickey/
The Dickey Center is a great place for students to join organizations and publications related to international studies, meet with prestigious speakers who come to lecture at the college, and learn more about getting and funding internships. The center has a great binder full of reports by students who have done internships in the past, which is a great gateway to finding out what is available out there. Once you find an internship, students can apply for the Dickey Center's grants, which help cover costs for the term.
If you have any questions about working or studying abroad, please feel free to ask.
posted by Yuki Kondo-Shah '07 @ 1:10 PM
3 Comments:
I'll be an engineering major next year, and I'm wondering how much advance planning will be required for my LSA. How many terms in advance does one need to set up a term abroad?
Hello Casey-
Most of the LSA and FSP applications are due six months to a year in advance of when you would take your term abroad. For example, for my London Term, I applied in Feb 2005, but my term in London began Sept 2005. Also, I know with the Engineering Major, there are many courses that are offered once or twice a year, so you would have to carefully look at your D-plan in a way that you can get all of your credits to graduate with your major. I know a lot of people who are ENGS majors who have traveled abroad, so its possible! I would check out the Dartmouth Off-Campus Homepage for specific deadlines, since they vary by program. If you have any trouble finding it, please ask!
hi
so you are from Scottsdale, AZ?? I live in Phoenix, AZ... I lived in Japan (also in Tokyo) before so I speak Japanese. Are you half Nepali? I never heard a last name "kondo-shah." I'm Nepali so just wondering.
you could send me a reply to smonasha@hotmail.com
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