Partly as a way to accommodate those students whose schedules are too busy to allow for study abroad, the Miami University Dolibois European Center (MUDEC) is offering a new summer study program that is intended to emulate the semester-long Luxembourg program.
The existing summer program in Luxembourg - which is geared toward business majors since the Richard T. Farmer School of Business provides the faculty, agenda and goals - will still be available.
In contrast, the new program is intended to be a shorter version of the semester-long Luxembourg program. There will be a liberal arts focus of cultural immersion and seeing the big picture and culture of Europe. The professors will come from both Miami and Luxembourg.
"All majors are welcome, especially for majors where it is difficult or impossible to go for a semester such as hard sciences, architecture, education and fine arts," said Cordelia Stroinigg, MUDEC coordinator. "Honor students also may use their study abroad stipend that can only be used during the summer."
Students will be able to complete their thematic sequence in seven weeks, running from May 10 to June 29.
Classes included in the nine-credit thematic sequence are HST 472 The Rise and Fall of Hitler, FRE 399 (in English) Globalization: A European Emphasis, and ARC 299 Architecture: Living in Modern Europe.
All nine credits must be taken to participate in the program and the courses will change from summer to summer.
"These (courses) were picked ... because they compliment each other, there are professors from Miami and Luxembourg so it takes students outside of the Miami bubble," Stroinigg said.
The class schedule will be Monday through Thursday, ending at noon, which leaves three and a half days to travel to other countries on the weekends. The architecture course also has a weeklong field study to Berlin, Amsterdam and Essen, Germany, to explore the development of modern neighborhoods in the past three centuries.
Miami senior Kevin Chaney went to Luxembourg last year for a semester said that his field study in England was one of the highlights of his experience in Luxembourg.
"It's cool when you can learn about something then actually go see it and apply what you learned," Chaney said. "And the bonds you build with professors during the time are like none other."
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The field study was an aspect of the semester program that the Luxembourg department felt needed to be a part of the summer program as well.
"We are trying to put as much as we can in the program because want to give students a semester's worth of cultural immersion and knowledge in seven weeks," Stroinigg said. "It is very similar to the semester program, it's just shorter."
Host families will still provide the housing in Luxembourg; the housing forms give students the options of living in a big city or a small town, to live in the same house with a friend, and to pick a house with small children, teenagers or no children at all.
"I think summer will be nice, there will be a smaller group so you can get to know each other better," Chaney said. "You don't need to worry about going over (to Luxembourg) with friends because you make them quickly."
The summer workshop will be capped at 40 people, and the expected first deadline for rolling admissions will be in mid-November. The department will continue to accept applications until the spots are filled.
The next informational meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 13, in 212 MacMillan Hall.
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