Although administrators cut several summer study abroad programs in October, one department is offering some students an alternative.
Students have until today to sign up for a six-week program to Prague, Czech Republic. Northwestern’s participation in the already existing program was organized by the Slavic languages and literature department.
The program, also available to students at other U.S. universities, replaces one of four similar programs cut by the Division of Continuing Education.
“This is really a stop-gap program,” said Prof. Andrew Wachtel, chairman of the Slavic department. “The previous program was canceled and needed a replacement. This program gives students an opportunity to get exposed to both Prague itself and all the changes happening in Eastern Europe.”
Slavic department administrators said they collaborated with Jerome College of Prague to fill a void in educational opportunities left by the program cancelations.
“(Studying abroad) expands students’ horizons,” said Jeanne Laceman, the department’s program assistant. “You just learn about the culture so much you really can’t learn that in Evanston, Illinois.”
As of Tuesday one NU student was signed up for the program, which the department first publicized in March, Laceman said. She attributed the lack of participation to the program’s late announcement and widespread knowledge of the canceled program.
But Wachtel said he expects NU’s participation in the program to expand in the future with more publicity.
Participants in the program can concentrate in one of two areas: arts and culture, or political science and economics.
Studying in Prague exposes students to a part of the world in transition from one economic system to another, Wachtel said. Prague’s appeal is more than its beauty, he said; it is also the city’s political environment.
“Prague is not a completely foreign world, but it’s exotic enough to be interesting,” Wachtel said. “It is a particularly beautiful and vibrant city … not to mention the beer.”
Students who studied in Prague through NU before the previous program was cut said it was one of the best experiences of their lives.
“It was a really interesting way to learn about the politics and culture of another country it’s a whole different experience,” said Priya Bhatia, a Weinberg junior who participated in last summer’s program.
In addition to cutting the program to Prague, administrators last fall also canceled summer programs to London, South Africa and Peru. Summer study in France, Italy and Thailand are still available.
“It was a question of which programs we felt we could support with the resources we have and the academic interests of Weinberg,” said Dick Lorenzen, dean of the Division of Continuing Education.
Students can study at Jerome College for a year through the Study Abroad Office. According to Lorenzen, NU students can still choose from a variety of study abroad programs.
“With a little research, students will discover there are a lot of choices there are Prague choices, there are London programs galore,” he said.