Office of International Education
Customized Programs 2009
Spring: Peru
Summer: Italy, Japan, and Mexico.

Institutional Protocol Satisfaction

       
Peru Spring Program
PSY 2301.002 - Introduction to Psychology: Cross-Cultural in Peru

Course: Regular Spring Semester
Trip: March 14 – 22, 2009 (Spring Break)
Three credit hours
UTD Academic Leader: Dr. Cynthia Jenkins

After 11 years of teaching psychology and working in academic advising for several campuses in the Dallas County Community College district, Cynthia Jenkins became Director of Undergraduate Advising in Fall 2003. She also is the coordinator of the First Year Experience Program at UTD, while regularly traveling to colleges and universities around the country to train instructors who teach courses in College Success. She is a published author, currently working on her second textbook on college study skills. Dr. Jenkins received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Arizona State University and her Doctorate in Human Development and Communication Sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Course description:

This course introduces students to the phenomena, principles, and theories of psychology. Psychologists study how biological, cognitive, social, and cultural factors interact to determine how we develop our amazing capacity for complex behavior, emotions, and cognitions. Psychologists seek to understand why and how risk factors lead some individuals to suffer from psychological disorders, whereas others are able to be resilient in the face of adversity. It has been well-established that people differ along many lines: age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status to name just a few. But today, as the world we live in becomes increasingly smaller, it is the cultural differences in human behavior that demand our attention.  Students will learn how to be an effective part of our growing global community by exploring these fundamental elements of psychology from a multi-cultural perspective, and pursuing an understanding of the essence of the human condition.

Student Learning Objectives and Outcomes:

After completing the course, students should be able to:

• + Describe and explain the nature of psychology as a scientific discipline.
• + Describe and analyze major theoretical perspectives and overarching themes of psychology and their historical development.
• + Describe, apply, and analyze five selected content areas within psychology.
• + Identify and explain different research methods used by psychologists.
• + Explain and apply basic statistical analyses and employ critical thinking to evaluate the appropriateness of conclusions derived from their use.
• + Use critical thinking to evaluate popular media and scholarly literature.
• + Demonstrate effective skill writing in case reports and reports of statistical analysis and their interpretation.
• + Apply psychological concepts, theories, and research findings to issues in everyday life.
• + Identify appropriate applications of psychology to mental health and organizational problems.
• + Explain and apply major theoretical and scholarly approaches, empirical findings, and historical trends in a social/behavioral science.
• + Explain and apply basic research methods in a social/behavioral science.
• + Apply modes of critical thinking used in a social/behavioral science.

The course will be complemented with a field trip to Peru, including visits to the Department of Psychology of the Catholic University of Los Andes (Lima) and an Orphan Home (Cusco):

• - Lima
• - Cusco
• - Pisac & Ollantaytambo
• - Machu Picchu

 

 

Important information

The program is designed for a maximum participation of 15 students.

                
                                                       
Including  

• + Air ticket: DFW – Lima – Cusco – Lima - DFW
• + Airport – hotel – airport transfers
• + Breakfasts
• + 3 luncheons, 1 dinner
• + Museum and ruin sites fees
• + Tours: Lima, Cusco, Pisac & Ollantaytambo, and Machu Picchu
• + Train: Cusco - Aguas Calientes - Cusco
• + Two nights in Lima, three nights in Cusco, one night in Sacred Valley         (Ollantaytambo), and one night in Aguascalientes (Machu Picchu).

Payment and refund policy: 

• + Payment  

        - 50% deposit by December 1, 2008.
        - 50% final payment by January 23, 2009.
        - Checks or money orders should be made out to The University of
          Texas at Dallas.
        - Submit payments to the Office of International Education, Jonsson
           5.504 to Ms. Naida Rodriguez. 

• + Refund
   
          - No refund after December 1, 2008.  

Notes:

1.  Students are subject to the satisfaction of the UTD Office of International Education Protocol (OIE). Deadline October 27, 2008 for Spring 2009.  For satisfaction of the UTD OIE protocol, university officials will meet students as a group. Date and location TBA.

2. Students can apply for the International Educational Fund Scholarship. Deadline: October 27, 2008 for Spring 2009.

3. Students are responsible for personal expenses. A budget of $400.00 is suggested.

4. These are estimated costs, which may be subject to change.

5. Program arrangements are in process and subject to changes.

For more information, please contact Dr. Cynthia Jenkins at cdk018200@utdallas.edu or at 972 883 6805.

Merano, Italy Summer Program
Course: May 20 – June 28, 2009
Trip: May 24 – June 28, 2009
LIT 3381: The Italian Renaissance
Three credit hours
UTD Academic Leader: Dr. Timothy Redman

Tim Redman studied abroad in 1959 at age nine in Bournemouth, England. His father, a prominent nuclear physicist, was working on England’s Dragon Project  for six months and so the whole family went. He attended St. Walburger’s elementary school. As a junior a Loyola University of Chicago, he spent a year (’70-’71) studying at their Rome campus. He stayed on, for the summer, subletting a faculty apartment in Rome in June, and staying with an Italian family on the Adriatic in July. In August, he traveled to Ireland and England before returning to the United States. After he finished his graduate coursework and doctoral qualifying examinations at the University of Chicago, he returned to Italy for a year and a half in ’76-’77. He spent a summer at the first student program ever held at Brunnenburg in ’76, taught and did research in Rome in the Fall of ’76, the Spring and Fall of ’77, and returned to Brunnenburg for research in the Summer of ’77. He has returned to Italy many times since. His Italian is fluent and he has close friends there. In the summer of 1994, he directed an NEH Summer Seminar for a dozen college faculty at Brunnenburg, and led them on an excursion to Venice. His experiences studying abroad shaped his life, and he would like UTD students to have a similar experience.

Course description: This course is an advanced upper-division undergraduate course in the School of Arts and Humanities. It is open to students in any track within the School and to any major at the University in keeping with our interdisciplinary tradition, respecting different learning styles following Gardner’s work on multiple intelligences. Ideally, students should have already taken the two freshman core courses in Arts and Humanities.

The course examines an important period in Western culture, the Italian Renaissance. We will be reading representative works of Italian Renaissance literature, a 20th-century poet’s reflections about the Renaissance achievement, and an important 19th-century history of the Italian Renaissance.
 

Student learning objectives and outcomes: Students will become familiar with some of the major works of literature, philosophy, architecture, and art of the Italian Renaissance, with its history, its enduring importance. They will learn about the art, architecture, and history of two of its most important cities, Florence and Venice.

Required textbooks and materials: We will be using the following books. They must be purchased by the students and brought to Italy.

Giovanni Boccacio, Decameron
Jacob Burckhardt, The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy
Baldassare Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier
Benvenuto Cellini, Autobiography
Michael Levey, Florence: A Portrait
Nicolo Machiavelli, The Prince
Julian Norwich, A Traveler’s Companion to Venice or History of Venice

A bound notebook to keep a journal (can be purchased in Italy). Ezra Pound, A Draft of XXX Cantos (the Malatesta Cantos and the Cantos about Florence and Venice. This book does not have to be purchased but is available at the castle library. A notebook computer would be useful.

Important information

The program is designed for a maximum participation of 12 students.

Estimated cost:            Single occupancy       $2,900.00
                                 
Including  

• + Five weeks of single accommodation with shared baths and kitchen at
         the castle of Schloss Brunnenburg.
• + Partial board: breakfast and luncheon Monday – Friday (ten meals a
         week).
• + Laundry and internet.

Payment and refund policy: 

• + Payment  
  
  

        - Deposit of $500.00 by January 22, 2009.
        - Final payment of $2,400.00 by April 22, 2009.

        - Checks or money orders should be made out to The University of
           Texas at Dallas.
        - Submit payments to the Office of International Education, Jonsson
            5.504 to Ms. Naida Rodriguez. 

• + Refund  
  
          - No refund after April 22, 2009.
  
  

Notes:

1.  Students are subject to the satisfaction of the UTD Office of International Education Protocol (OIE). Deadline March 30, 2009, for Summer 2009.  For satisfaction of the UTD OIE protocol, university officials will meet students as a group. Date and location TBA.

2.  Students are responsible for trans continental air transportation and UTD tuition.

3. Students can apply for the International Educational Fund Scholarship. Deadline: March 30, 2009 for Summer 2009.

4. Students are responsible for personal expenses. A budget of $60.00 per day is suggested.

5. These are estimated costs, which may be subject to change.

6. Program arrangements are in process and subject to changes.

For more information, please contact Dr. Timothy P. Redman at redman@utdallas.edu or at 972 883 2775.

Tokyo, Japan Summer Program
Course: May 26 – June 26, 2009
Trip: June 16 – 26, 2009
LANG 2342: Topics of Japanese Language and Culture
Three credit hours
UTD Academic Leader: Dr. Yuki Watanabe

Yuki Watanabe, Lecture at the University of Texas at Dallas and Japanese native, has over ten years of experience teaching Japanese language and culture.  She has earned a MA in American Studies, a MS in Journalism, and a Ph.D. in Foreign Language Pedagogy from the University of Kansas.  She has taught all levels of Japanese language for seven years at the University of Kansas.  She has been teaching Japanese culture and Japanese language for UTD since 2001.

Course description:

This program consists of a two-week lecture/language instruction on UTD’s campus and a two-week trip to Japan.  The lecture will cover basic components of Japanese culture and society, including brief history, religion, literature, performing arts, popular culture, and contemporary social issues.  The language instruction will focus on the basic vocabulary and structural patterns of Japanese needed to navigate the trip in the country.  By the end of the first two weeks, students are to come up with a topic for their individual study projects.  The trip will consist mainly of field trips with occasional lectures and some research activities.  Students will have chances to interact with native speakers of Japanese during the field trip and their research activities.  These should provide students with opportunities to examine the concepts introduced in the preceding lectures and critically analyze the current state of Japanese culture and society, while utilizing the language as one of the tools for their investigation.  At the end of the trip, students are to write an individual paper addressing the topic of their choice and give an oral presentation of the paper.

Student Learning Objectives and Outcomes:

After completing the course, students should be able to demonstrate their understanding of the basic concepts of Japanese culture and know how to critically analyze a foreign culture.  They should also be able to demonstrate the basic command of the language that is sufficient to get around in the country.

Academic Calendar

Required Textbooks:

Sosnoski.  Introduction to Japanese Culture. ISBN 0804820562
Association for Japanese-Language Teaching, Japanese for Busy People I: Romanized Version.  ISBN 978-4770030085
The course will be complemented with field activities:

Students: Undergraduate Students

Number of students: 10

Tuition: Pay at UTD

Trip expenses: Pay at UTD

Estimated cost: $1,800.00 including: accommodation at Hachioji Seminar House and breakfasts.

Scholarship: UTD International Educational Fund Scholarship ( IEFS) is available for students. Students should register for a total of six credit hours during the Summer 2009 semester to be eligible for the IEFS.

Payment and refund policy:

• + Payment

        - 50% deposit by April 15, 2009, will hold a place for you.

        - 50% final payment is due no later than May 15, 2009.

        - Checks or money orders should be made out to The University of
            Texas at Dallas.

        - Submit payments to the Office of International Education, Jonsson
            5.504 to Ms. Naida Rodriguez.

 

• + Refund

        - No refunds after April 15, 2009

 

Notes:

1. Students are subject to the satisfaction of the UTD Office of International Education Protocol. Deadline March 30 for Summer 2009. For satisfaction of the UTD OIE protocol, university officials will meet students as a group. Date and location TBA.

2. Students can apply for the International Educational Fund Scholarship. Deadline: March 30 for Summer 2009. 

3. Students are responsible for personal expenses, approximately $90.00 USD per day ($1,440.00 USD) and air ticket, approximately $1,600.00 USD.

4. These are estimated costs, which may be subject to change.

For more information, please contact Dr. Yuki Watanabe at yukiw@utdallas.edu.

UTD - Guanajuato Spanish-Cultural Program
Courses offered by the University of Guanajuato, Mexico
June 9 - July 3, 2009
Six credit hours (3 lower and 3 upper division)

UTD Program Coordinator: Dr. Maria Demello

Maria Demello was born in Mexico City. She has lived and studied in Mexico, the United States, Spain and Italy. She received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of California in Los Angeles, her M.A. in Latin American Literature also for UCLA and her Ph.D. in Arts and Humanities from The University of Texas at Dallas. Maria has done extensive research regarding the aesthetics interpretations of the Mexican Revolution throughout the 20th century. Her areas of concentration are literature and film of the Mexican Revolution.

Description:  

There are two different levels: intermediate and advanced.

The program for students in the INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED levels is as follows:

• + SPANISH: intensive practice in spoken and written Spanish, highlighting vocabulary, morphology forms, and complex syntactic structures. (40 hrs.)
• + MEXICAN HISTORY: a comprehensive survey of the History of Mexico from the colonial period to the present time. (18 hrs.)
• + MEXICAN LITERATURE: a historical view of Mexican literature ranging from the pre-Hispanic works to contemporary texts. (18 hrs.)
• + ALL STUDENTS in both levels (intermediate and advanced) are required to take the CULTURAL ENRICHMENT COURSES, which include a combination of four of the following courses. Not all courses are offered every year. (8hrs.)
• + MEXICAN ART: an examination of the important periods of Mexican art: Pre-Colombian, Colonial and Modern. (8 hrs.)
• + INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE OF MEXICO (SEMINARS):
  an interdisciplinary survey of the political, economic, cultural and social affairs and their impact on contemporary Mexico.
• + FOLK DANCE: a practical approach to learning traditional Mexican and Latin American dances (jarabe tapatío, salsa, rumba, merengue, etc.) and popular songs.
• + HANDCRAFTS: creative local Guanajuatense arts and crafts
• + MEXICAN COOKING: Hands-on traditional Mexican cusine.

Social and Cultural Activities: 

Complementing the classroom experience, the Language School provides students with identification cards, which allow them to enter most cultural activities free of charge or at a very low cost. Lectures, musical presentations and local cultural and social events enrich the program. Weekend excursions may also be offered, enhancing the student's knowledge of Mexico's culture and history.

Requirement: One year of Spanish instruction.

Credits

• + Undergraduate students will obtain six credits for participating in this
      program.
• + Intermediate and advanced level students will receive three upper and
      three lower division for the academic courses previously mentioned.

• + The grades obtained by participating in this Program are not averaged
      in the students GPA. Students only obtain the credits at UTD of their
      work in UGTO.

• + Students can do an independent study in order to receive an additional
      three credits.

Graduates:

• + Students can obtain between three to six credits for participating in
      language program.
• + Students can do an independent study in order to receive additional
      credits
• + Students need to talk to their advisors before enrolling in the Program.
  

Cost:

• + The total cost of tuition, class material, and program coordination is
      $925.00 (US). This fee covers the full academic program in the
      Language School at the University of Guanajuato.
• + If students want to sign up for an independent study, they need to
      register and pay for the course(s) at UTD.

Homestays-double occupancy cost $25 US dollars per day, which is approximately $750.00 (US) for the month.Hotels range from $50.00-$150.00 (US) a day, food not included.

• + Transportation:
  
  

  - Airfare ranges between $500.00-$700.00 (US) dollars round            trip since it is the high travel season. American           Airlines and Continental fly to the León/Bajío Airport.           AA flies directly from DFW to Guanajuato. The flight time           is about 2 hours.

  - Land transportation is not recommended unless students have           traveled in Mexico previously and have a good command           of Spanish language

  
  

Students: Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Number of students: 15

Spending Money:

Depends on the individual. We suggest you to bring between 400-500 US dollars for travelling and shopping. In Guanajuato you will find beautiful arts and crafts, silver and very inexpensive leather.

Total Cost:

Approximately between $2,200.00 and $2,700.00 (US).

Scholarships

Students are required to satisfy the Office of International Education (OIE) protocol and can apply for competitive scholarships under the UTD International Educational Fund Scholarship (IEFS). Forms are available at OIE (Jonsson 5.504). Please return your application to the Office of Financial Aid. Please note that completed forms and supporting letters of recommendation must be submitted no later than October 27, 2008 during the Fall 2008 or March 30, 2009 during the Spring 2009. No late submissions will be considered -- so APPLY EARLY.

Important Information:

• + Program Dates: June 8 - July 9, 2009.
      Applications are available at the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies in
      Jonsson 5.504. Students participating in this program should plan
      to arrive in Guanajuato on Saturday, June 6, 2009 in order to
      attend the walking orientation on Sunday, June 7, 2009 at noon.
• + Registration Deadline: Monday, March 30, 2009.
• + In order for an application to be completed, you need to turn the
      application form to the Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies (Jonsson 5.504)

Orientation Sessions:

These sessions are obligatory for students participating in the program. There will be two orientations sessions, one on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 from 12:00 to 3:00 PM, prior to leaving for Mexico at UTD and the other upon arrival on Sunday, June 7, 2009 at noon.

If you have further questions, please contact de Center for U.S.-Mexico Studies at (972) 883-6401 or contact Ms. Nadia Rodriguez at naida@utdallas.edu.

Institutional Protocol Satisfaction

Students are required to fill out and submit the following forms to the Office of International Education (OIE), Jonsson 5.504. By submitting these forms to OIE, students become eligible to apply for the International Educational Fund Scholarship

Notes:

1. Deadlines for submission of these documents to OIE and application of the International Educational Fund Scholarship:

 
October 27, 2008 - for Spring 2009
March 30, 2009 – for Summer 2009

2. Participating students are required to attend a Pre-Departure Orientation Session.  In this session, OIE personnel will provide individual SOS international emergency insurances, a courtesy of the UT System, to students. To ensure safety and security, each student is required to enter his/her travel itinerary in the International SOS database:

http://www.utdallas.edu/oie/Register_Travel_Itinerary.htm

3. Students will need to provide copies of their passport and international health insurance during this session.  If a student does not have international health insurance, they may contact Ms. Karen Stepherson, OIE Advisor, at 972-883-4715 to obtain guidance before the Pre-Departure Orientation Session.

4. In addition, for the Italy, Japan, and Guanajuato Spanish Programs, students are required to provide copies of their air itinerary.

5. The corresponding UTD academic leader of the program will let students know the date and location of the Pre-Departure Orientation Session.

For further questions, please contact the academic leader of the program of interest and/or Ms. Karen Stepherson, OIE Advisor, at 972-883-4715.