There’s a way to get five credits and fulfill a CORE requirement while visiting the Taj Mahal.
The International Service Learning (ISL) program Project Dharamsala offers students the opportunity to travel to northern India and participate in volunteer work during winter interterm.
The deadline for applications is April 18.
The project, which is in its fourth year, allows students to become immersed in another culture while interacting with Tibetan and Indian people.
It is open to all graduate and undergraduate students regardless of their academics, work experience or any prior travel.
ISL expects that there will be 12 participants in the project.
Dharamsala is in the northwestern part of India, north of Nepal and close to Pakistan and Kashmir.
When students arrive in India, they will spend their first day in Delhi sightseeing.
They will then spend the next three weeks in McLeod Ganj in the Himalayan foothills working with the community and learning the history and culture of the people there.
“Students are embraced by the Tibetan community,” said Glenn Fee, director of the Community Action Program and also the service placement director.
During their time with the community, students stay at a guest house run by a Tibetan family.
“We are very excited to return to what we consider a second home,” said Fee.
The group will spend the final five days in Agra and Delhi to attend lectures and experience the Indian culture. This includes a visit to the Taj Mahal.
The program involves mandatory pre-departure and in-country seminars throughout the fall quarter as a foundation for the trip. These are taught by Roscoe Hill, a professor in philosophy and also the faculty advisor for the Project Dharamsala.
There is an orientation retreat Oct. 1 and 2. The five academic seminars are on Friday afternoons from 2-5 p.m. on Oct. 14, 21, and 28, and Nov. 4 and 11.
Fee strongly recommends that students who are involved with the program leave their schedules open during that time, as the meetings are required for credit.
Project Dharamsala: Tibet in India has been approved for CORE credit to fulfill the 2400 requirement of Communities and Environments.
Students are also expected to complete reading and writing assignments, keep a journal, participate in classroom and reflection sessions while in India and produce a final portfolio.
Each person must also volunteer approximately 60 hours in Dharamsala.
Some of the subject areas that will be covered include: Tibet in exile, the Dalai Lama, Asian religions, the Indian-Pakistani conflict and human rights.
The volunteer placement includes programs such as: tutoring schoolchildren, working with ex-political prisoners in Tibet, and helping with written documents for human rights organizations.
Students will depart for India on Nov. 23 and will return on Dec. 22.
The application process includes written applications, an interview, and a recommendation.
The application fee is $75 and the program fee, due two weeks after acceptance, is $500. Tuition for the five credits and technology fee is $3,875.
The student is also responsible for airfare, passport, vaccination and malaria medication, and personal expenses.
The cost is offset by an automatic $400 Service Learning Scholarship for all participants, as well as other need-based scholarships including the Social Science Foundation scholarship.
Student narratives and photos from this past winter interterm are online on WebCentral.
