Boston College

PERSONNEL
 
Bernd Widdig
Director, Office of International Programs
Phone: 617-552-3827
Fax: 617-552-0647
E-mail: widdig@bc.edu
 
Adrienne Nussbaum
Director/Asst. Dean, Office of International Students and Scholars
Phone: 617-552-8005
Fax: 617-552-2190
E-mail: nussbaua@bc.edu
 
Philip Altbach
Professor, Director, Center for International Higher Education
Phone: 617-552-4236
E-mail: Philip.altbach@bc.edu
 
Dan Ponsetto
Director, Volunteer and Service Learning Center
Phone: 617-552-1317
E-mail: Daniel.ponsetto@bc.edu
 
David Hollenbach
Director, Center for Human Rights and International Justice
Phone: 617-552-8855
E-mail: david.hollenbach@bc.edu
INSTITUTIONAL PROFILE

Total international undergraduate students (FTE): 287
Total international graduate students (FTE): 483
Countries of origin for international students: Top 10 countries are: China, Korea, Canada, Australia, India, Taiwan, France, Turkey, Japan, Italy. 
 
Please see www.bc.edu/oissfor full statistics (82 countries total)

INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER/SERVICE/IMMERSION PROGRAMS

Countries: Antigua, Bolivia, Ecuador,  Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Jamaica (3), Nicaragua (2), Belize, Mexico - (Nogales, Cuernavaca, Tijuana), Uganda, Guatemala, El Salvador (2)
Term of service: Varies, usually 1-3 weeks

Bolivia Micro-Finance Service/Immersion Trip
This is a 10-day alternative Spring Break trip to Cochabamba, Bolivia. The trip consists of visits to NGO's where we will engage in hands-on service learning. The learning associated with NGO visits and service learning opportunities will be reinforced through presentations made by local specialists in fields related to the group's interests. Other major trip components include a home stay with local families, visits to local attractions and the implementation of a group-designed service project. The trip is sponsored through Carroll School Of Management and is open to all Boston College undergraduates.

Brazil Service Trip
The Brazil Service/Immersion Trip is a three week summer trip that makes an effort to connect cultural interest in Brazil with service and spiritual reflection. Arts and Sciences is sponsoring this overseas service trip to Salvador, Brazil. The site of the trip will be at a social center for orphans, Sementes do Amanha Social Center, where the main objective is to help the children adapt to society, making them adequate citizens capable of interacting in a positive manner to better their own communities. This experience is opened to all full-time undergraduate students at Boston College.

Dominican Republic
This Immersion/Service trip to Santo Domingo is a chance to become immersed in Dominican culture for one week while studying the range of schools in the Dominican educational system, from the best to the worst. The mission of this project is to compare the private and public school systems and get a first-hand understanding of the range of educational options available to Dominican children based on their socio-economic status. We will be fortunate enough to be spending several days within diverse schools in the following activities: volunteering, teaching and outreach. We will then compare and contrast the Dominican classrooms to what we know of the US educational system. Our primary volunteering location will be Villa Benedicion, an orphanage and school in Santo Domingo. While in the Dominican Republic we will provide a minimum of 20 hours of volunteer service across an assortment of educational situations and immerse ourselves as fully as possible in the culture of the DR and its people. The program is sponsored by the Lynch School of Education and is open to all Boston College undergraduate students.

El Salvador
While in El Salvador, students learn about the economic and political reality there; more specifically, the challenges facing Salvadoran youth. The trip also provides opportunities for the experiences, insights, struggles, needs, and hopes of the Salvadoran people to be heard and recognized--to "give voice to the voiceless." By taking this trip to El Salvador, participants are given an opportunity to have an intensive educational experience. While in El Salvador, participants will learn about the economic and political reality there; more specifically, the challenges facing Salvadoran youth. Participants will also be provided with opportunities for the experiences, insights, struggles, needs, and hopes of the Salvadoran people to be heard and recognized; to "give voice to the voiceless." Another objective of the trip is to provide a special understanding of the violence facing El Salvador today and the role of solidarity in peacemaking. The group also aims to facilitate contact that will encourage commitment to serving the poor. The program is sponsored by the Lynch School of Education and is open to all Boston College undergraduate students.

Ghana Service & Immersion Trip
For three weeks in the summer, Dr. Kwasi Sarkodie-Mensah leads a group of Boston College students to Ghana to assist teachers in a computer camp. This service and immersion trip is aimed at 1) enriching Boston College students through their sharing of gifts and talents with children and their teachers by imparting transferable computer literacy skills and 2) exposing Boston College students to the rich culture of the Ashanti people of Ghana. The trip is open to all Boston College undergraduate students. Sponsored by Arts & Sciences.
 
Haiti Service Project
Campus Ministry sponsors a spring break trip to Haiti. The program seeks to introduce students to the Haitian poor and to the mystery of their survival and hopefulness; give students an opportunity to serve those in dire need; let the experience ripen through reflection, discussion and prayer; and cause students to understand themselves and their culture with new eyes. The trip is open to all Boston College undergraduate students.

Jamaica Mustard Seed Trip
The Lynch School of Education sponsors a spring break trip to Jamaica. The trip seeks to provide participants with an opportunity to immerse themselves in the Jamaican Mustard Seed Community, a faith-based community dedicated to serving and uplifting the most vulnerable members of society. The trip is sponsored by the Lynch School of Education and is open to all Boston College undergraduate students.

Nicaragua Service Trip
The Department of Sociology sponsors a spring break trip to Nicaragua. This is trip is organized with the help of the Newton/San Juan del Sur Sister City Project. The trip provides participants with an international immersion and service experience that explores global justice issues in the context of a developing nation, encourages the application of the Nicaragua experience into the participants' curricular and life responsibilities, and furthers the participants' understanding of the mission of Jesuit higher education and its emphasis on education for "the service of faith and the promotion of justice." The trip is open to all Boston College undergraduate students. Because we live and take most meals with local families who speak little English, some facility with basic Spanish is a plus.  This trip did not travel in 2008, but will continue next year.

Pedro Arrupe International Solidarity Program

El Salvador
Participants spend time in San Salvador, the capitol, and spend two nights in El Ocotillo, a rural village in Morazan, in the eastern highlands. Approximately 8 - 10 days during spring break. Coordinating Organizations: Boston College Office of Campus Ministry and Department of Theology, in collaboration with Fundahmer, the organization that has hosted Boston College delegations for many years. Students are required to take a course in preparation for the immersion experiences. Course: "Church and Society in El Salvador"

Course description: This course concentrates on faith and social justice in El Salvador. It provides an overview of the economic, political, social and legal history of El Salvador, but gives special attention to theological and ethical concerns. The historical frame includes indigenous culture, Spanish conquest, and nineteenth century developments, but focuses especially on the period of the civil war and its aftermath. Topics include the church and colonialism, dictatorship, the rise of the popular church and liberation theology, human rights and democratization, the peace process, the challenges of reconstruction, and the impact of globalization. Special attention is given to the virtue of solidarity developed in the work and lives of the martyrs of El Salvador.

Jamaica
Program participants travel to Kingston, Jamaica, where they immerse themselves in the urban reality of Jamaican life. Participants may serve at several different outreach ministries, including a state-run orphanage, a Sisters of Charity home for the sick and dying, a low-income community vocational center, and a home for children who are severely disabled. Participants may also work on service projects in resource-poor communities within Kingston. Through these ministries participants have an opportunity to spend time with people who are economically marginalized in Jamaica, learn about the realities of their lives, and bear witness to their struggle. Participants also learn about the larger context within which the Jamaican issues are situated. They attend several presentations and discussions on the social, economic, and spiritual issues currently at play in Jamaica, including the devastating effect of Jamaica's international debt and the world market, and the violence that has resulted from many deeply seated social issues.  Additionally, participants have an opportunity to bear witness to the vibrant cultural life of Jamaica, and a number of Jamaican-based community development projects. One such project is the Culture Yard and Trench Town Co-Op, a museum and community cooperative dedicated to the artist who emerged from Trenchtown, and became a voice of liberation for Jamaicans living in oppressive situations.

Nicaragua
The beautiful people of Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the hemisphere, have survived many years of abject poverty, war and oppression. Along with program participants, the Center for Global Education (CGE) designs the trip's itinerary and coordinates each day's activities, which include meetings and conversations with representatives of the Church, the government, various political parties, and non-governmental organizations involved with and committed to human rights, globalization and trade, sustainable agriculture and development, health, education, post-war transition and reconciliation, among other topics. While learning about macro-level social, economic, political and religious issues from various perspectives, participants also have the opportunity to witness first hand the joys and struggles of people profoundly impacted by policies and situations they can't control. Participants spend a few days with families in Miraflor, a rural community in Nicaragua that has survived the recent war and that continues to struggle while living in abject poverty. Miraflor will once again host BC's delegation and share with participants their beautiful and tragic life stories. For more information about CGE, please check CGE's website.
 
Belize
Program participants will travel to Punta Gorda, Belize, a small rural town in southern Belize, where they will run a week-long camp in conjunction with the St. Peter Claver elementary school and parish. During their stay, participants will engage and accompany the host culture through a series of home stays, speakers, and cultural trips. Participants also may spend some time in the surrounding villages, to immerse themselves in the native Mayan culture.  Participants will then travel to Belize City where they will work with Hand in Hand Ministries, an agency that serves the poorest of the poor by providing the basic necessities of food, shelter, and love. While engaging and accompanying the local community, participants will be involved with a house-building program and work at a center for children with HIV.

Ecuador
Program participants will travel to Duran, near the city of Guayaqil, where they participate in a Rostro de Cristo experience. Throughout their time in Duran, participants will mingle with people from the local community and spend time each day visiting and working at community programs. Being with the people of Duran and Guayaquil are a priority. Participants dedicate several hours to visiting and sometimes working with local residents of different parts of the wider community.

Participants also learn about the larger context within which the country of Ecuador is situated. They attend presentations and engage in discussions on the social, economic, political, and spiritual issues which have affected and continue to affect Ecuador. Prayer, reflection, journaling and sharing are core aspects of this experience before, during, and after the trip.

Guatemala
Guatemala is a beautiful country with a tragic history, most recently during a 36-year armed conflict, the effects of which still resound today. With input from program participants, CGE designs the trip's itinerary and coordinates each day's activities, which include meetings with community leaders, as well as with representatives from Guatemalan non-governmental organizations, political parties, governmental sectors (including the military), and individuals involved with/knowledgeable about human rights/land rights, global trade, the 1996 peace accords and post-war transition and reconciliation, to name a few.

While learning about macro-level social, economic and political issues from various perspectives, participants have the opportunity to learn first hand about the joys and struggles of people profoundly impacted by policies and situations they can't control.  Participants stay for the first several days in beautiful San Lucas Toliman, a rural community where mostly people of Mayan decent live, set on the shore of Lake Atitlan in the Sierra Madre Mountains, and learn about and participate in local parish-sponsored projects, such as coffee production and reforestation, sponsored by the Catholic parish at San Lucas Toliman.

Nogales, Mexico (Borderlinks)
Immigration and issues related to the border between the U.S. and Mexico have inspired endless debate in the U.S., and in Mexico and throughout Central America, as so many people from these countries attempt to flee from situations of extreme poverty and lack of opportunity. With input from program participants, the organization BorderLinks designs this trip's itinerary and coordinates each day's activities, which include meetings with representatives from various organizations and individuals involved with immigration, human rights, and education, as well as with representatives - including border patrol - of the U.S. and Mexican governments. While learning about macro-level social, economic and political issues from various perspectives, participants have the opportunity to learn first hand about the joys and struggles of people profoundly impacted by policies and situations they can't control. Participants visit the people who live as squatters in colonia communities and who work in machiladores, which are mostly U.S. manufacturing companies that locate just across the border to take advantage lower tax rates, cheaper labor and less rigorous environmental standards. The experience culminates with overnight stays with families living in a squatter community near the border.

Tijuana, Mexico
Participants will travel to Tijuana, Mexico, a border town not far from San Diego, CA. Living together at La Casa del Migrante, a shelter for migrants run by the Scalabrini Fathers, participants will serve at a community shelter; participate in construction projects, and serve in social work at several locations, including a soup kitchen and outreach centers for the elderly and the young. Participants will also have the opportunity to work in local communities with both house-building and immersion programs. Participants will participate in two extensive border tours, one in Mexico and one in the U.S., hear from several speakers as they try to unpack the complicated political, social, and economic relationships which exist between Mexico and the U.S.

Cuernavaca, Mexico
The program provides direct experience with the poor people of Mexico and Latin American refugees in their daily struggles for survival. In addition to the staff at CCIDD, professors, social workers, medical personnel, and clergy participate in dialogue with the BC students. Visits to the squatter settlement in Cuernavaca, the indigenous peoples in the mountains, Christian-based communities and visits to historical sites round out the learning and intercultural dialogue. Biblical reflection, prayer, and dialogue fill each day with the dynamic of processing the experiences. Weekly meetings are held during the semester prior to the program and are part and parcel of the learning experience. The team prepares relevant topics on various events and policies that deal with life in the third world. The business of fundraising is an integral part of the program but is kept to a minimum at the meetings.

Annotto Bay, Jamaica
In early August. Boston College students have traveled to Jamaica and run the camps in Annotto Bay and the surrounding communities. The Mission of St. Theresa's and the Jesuits working in Jamaica resonates with Boston College's mission, which challenges its students and others in the B.C. community to live justly with and with compassion for each other, and aligns with Campus Ministry's Arrupe programs' mission. St. Theresa's Parish, and the Summer Camp opportunities focus on building relationships and understanding through education and experience. The experience challenges program participants to think critically, discuss, reflect and act upon issues that affect the lives of others, especially those who struggle with injustice and in poverty.

Uganda Service Experience
The Uganda Service Experience will launch its initial trip in January 2006 with 12 student participants and 2 faculty leaders. This immersion/service-oriented experience balances two weeks in Uganda among several activities. Educational visits to TASO (The AIDS Support Organization), to economically diverse areas of Kampala, to Kitovu Hospital, with governmental politicians, and with religious leaders will be included. The Sabina Primary Boarding School for orphans, many of whom have been abandoned due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, will serve as our host organization. While living at Sabina, our group will organize educational and team-building activities for the children during their school break for 10 days. Our goals are to live in solidarity with another culture, to allow ourselves to be educated about Uganda and its struggle against HIV/AIDS, and to reflect on the spirituality of service, our role as Jesuit university students, the preferential option for the poor, and justice in our world.

STUDY ABROAD

Semester/Year-Long: Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, The Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, UK.

Summer: Argentina, Costa Rica, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Kuwait, Senegal, Spain, Turkey.

Most popular countries: U.K., Spain, Ireland
 
Requirements for studying abroad: cum. GPA of 3.2 or above

Financial aid available: BC institutional aid transfers to BC programs abroad, as well as state and federal aid; state and federal aid only transfers to approved external programs.

Other student services available (i.e.- insurance, housing, etc.): Site coordinator services for some programs; housing arranged by local on-site coordinators, host institution, or designated agencies, BC has an institution membership with ISOS (emergency services), Medical insurance overseas coverage is available.

INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE CURRICULUM

Related Majors/Minors/Concentrations: African and African Diaspora Studies, Asian Studies, East European Studies, German Studies, International Studies, Irish Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American Studies, Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies, Women's Studies, International Law

Languages available/ Language requirements: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese Mandarin, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish.
Institutes or Centers promoting global awareness: Center for International Higher Education, Center for Human Rights and International Justice

OTHER PROGRAMS OR INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Global Proficiency Program: www.bc.edu/gp: Original certificate program for undergraduates which encourages students to infuse an international focus into all of the academic and co-curricular activities. Students who complete the program get a detailed transcript of all of their international courses and activities included language and study-abroad which can be used to apply for jobs, graduate schools, etc. Co-sponsored by Academic and Student Affairs.

Globalization and Inequality Series: The Globalization and Inequality Series is a forum for Boston College students and faculty to explore some of the key moral challenges of the new millennium. A goal of the series is to foster dialogue and promote understanding of globalization and the different perceptions about its effects.