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Liberal Arts, First in US, Joins Euroculture Program

News Categories: International | Opportunities | Political Science

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Liberal Arts graduate students interested in Europe now have a new avenue for pursing their studies. Thanks to the efforts of political science professor John McCormick, IUPUI has become one of only four non-European universities to participate in the Euroculture MA Program, headquartered at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. The others are the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City, the University of Osaka in Japan, and the University of Pune in India.

Under the Euroculture program, IUPUI graduate students will be able to attend any one of six European universities-with a full fee waiver-to study the culture, history and politics of Europe and how they relate to European identity and integration. "There are 120 students enrolled in the program at any one time and there are six universities sponsoring the program," McCormick says. "The students are based at one of the universities-in Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden-but they are all working together. The program is funded by the European Commission, which is part of the European Union."  

McCormick learned of the program in 2007 while speaking at a gathering for Euroculture students at Strasbourg in France; he was invited to apply on behalf of IUPUI to become one of four "third country" partners in the program. Today, the partnership has already brought European students to IUPUI, four from Germany and one each from Romania and Belgium, where they have been taking classes during the fall semester. These students, he says, "are witnessing first-hand what life is like in the United States." Along with the students, in November IUPUI is hosting Euroculture faculty member Dr. Lars Klein, a journalism professor from the University of Göttingen in Germany.

Currently, only IUPUI graduate students enrolled in Liberal Arts majors are eligible to partake in the U.S.-Europe exchange, but McCormick hopes other schools will get involved. "My plan is to set up an exchange so we have a reciprocal arrangement," says McCormick. "So the students who came over here would pay their fees in Europe and we would provide an education for a semester. We could send the same number of students to Europe and they would pay tuition at IUPUI but would get their education without fees in Europe. That’s the long term plan."

McCormick hopes Liberal Arts graduate students will begin studying abroad as part of the Euroculture program in the fall of 2009. "We have 11 slots available," he says. "I’m looking for students who are interested." Those interested in participating in the program should contact Professor John McCormick at 317-274 4066.

[More about the Euroculture Program]

[Two Euroculture Students’ Experiences in the US]

Published on: November 17, 2008