Program prerequisites | Course descriptions | Extra costs| Deadlines |
Further information | Helpful links
Colgate University's Geneva Study Group is a spring semester program in Geneva, Switzerland that allows a small group of students, in the main concentrators in political science or international relations, to explore contemporary international organizations; European politics, life, culture, history, and thought; and the history and development of international law and courts.
Students will take a month-long intensive French course in Montpellier, France; three semester-long courses in Geneva; a five-week internship and will complete two group field trips each a week or longer in Western and Central Europe (including a visit to the extermination camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau). The month-long intensive French course will take place in January, and the course work in Geneva will begin in mid-February and end in late May. Each of the seminar-style courses will meet one day per week. Two of them will be held at the Cité Universitaire de Genéve and one at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. Students will be housed in single rooms at the Cité. While in residence in Geneva, an integral part of the curriculum will be group visits to international organizations in and around the city.
Courses
FREN 102Y, FREN 200, OR FREN 3xx
In January, each student will take part in a month-long intensive French language program that will be located in Montpellier, France on the Mediterranean coast. Students will be housed, in most cases in doubles, in home-stays with French families. During this month, students will be able to improve their French language skills while immersing themselves in French culture as they come to understand the rhythms and norms of their host French family, and get to know other European students. Students will be enrolled, graded, and given credit for a course in keeping with their level of competence in French: either FREN 102Y, FREN 200, or FREN 3xx (for Advanced students).
POSC 357Y: International Institutions (Professor Stevens)
In this course, you’ll explore the theoretical literature on international and non-governmental organizations before taking advantage of being in Geneva to study and visit some of the world’s premier IGO’s and INGO’s including, but not limited to, the International Committee on the Red Cross, the World Trade Organization, the American Mission to the United Nations, Doctors Without Borders, and the United Nations in Geneva and some of its agencies, particularly the UN High Commission on Refugees.
POSC 369Y: Contemporary European Security (Professor Krause of the Graduate Institute)
This course focuses on contemporary European security problems and the “European” perspective on new security issues. It deals with topics such as NATO enlargement, European security institutions and “societal security” in Europe, as well as with broader issues such as intervention and democracy promotion, state formation, foreign aid and development issues, and human rights of refugees and others.
POSC 425Y: Nations and Nationalisms: Europe between National and Transnational States (1880s-1980s) (Taught by local professor)
In this seminar, you’ll explore the enduring reality of nations and nationalisms in their various expressions, and, at the same time, the challenges faced by nations in the twentieth century and the limitations that the rise of transnational entities have imposed on their quest for power and sovereignty Each meeting of the seminar will examine one particular issue in that process, such as “Wilsonian principles,” fascism, ethnic cleansing, the impact of immigration, and unsuccessful attempts to construct nation-states.
POSC 413Y: Geneva Internships (Coordinated by local internship specialist)
Five-week internships in Geneva in IGOs and INGOs that will be arranged in advance, as far as possible based in individual student interests. The internships begin in late April and finish by early June. Upon successful completion of this course, students will receive graduation credit but NOT Political Science concentration credit.
Field trips
Two long group trips will complement and build upon the course work pursued in Geneva. The first of the trips will be the shorter and more leisurely of the two and will be to Western Europe: Strasbourg, Luxembourg, The Hague, Brussels, and Paris. We will visit the major international and European Institutions headquartered in each of these cities. For example, among its many international organizations, Strasbourg is host to the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, and the European Court and Commission for Human rights. Our second longer and more demanding trip (including overnight train travel) will be to Central Europe: Berlin, Prague, Krakow and Auschwitz, Vienna, (possibly Budapest), and Munich. During this trip, our goal will be to understand better the major international organizations housed in these cities and, as well, to gain a sense of how “Westernization,” after the fall of communism, is advancing in central Europe. Students will take part in educational tours, occasional lectures, and institutional presentations on each trip, but there will also be some free time during each visit to explore cultural landmarks and enjoy recreational activities. Of course, being situated in Geneva, in the center of Europe, and having purchased rail passes, each member of the Study Group will also have an excellent opportunity to travel independently on weekends.
Library facilities
Students will have access to the libraries of the English-language collections of the Graduate Institute of International Studies; various libraries housed in Geneva’s numerous international organizations; and the United Nations Library collection containing nearly two million volumes.
Prerequisites and selection criteria
It is expected that most participants will be sophomores in the fall semester of 2010. Juniors are also invited to apply, but the Group’s schedule will likely interfere with their participating in Graduation ceremonies in May 2011. First-year students will only be considered under unusual circumstances. Students need not be political science or international relations concentrators, but completion of POSC 152 or 232; POSC 151 or 260; and, at minimum, FREN 101 are required of all students. These courses, if needed, can be taken at the latest during the fall 2010 semester by a student provisionally accepted to the Study Group. Courses in modern European politics and history are highly recommended, and ECON 151 or 249 might also prove useful.
Estimated costs
Costs above Colgate’s tuition for the semester include: airfare to Geneva and back; room and board in Montpellier, Geneva, and while traveling with the group; partial payment for a rail pass; additional travel costs while traveling with the group or individually on weekends; books, bus passes, laundry, and internet connections while in Geneva; and other necessary out-of-pocket expenses. On average, students on the study group can expect to spend an additional $8,000-$9,000 above the costs incurred while residing on campus (and where paying in Euros or Swiss Francs, it must be remembered too that the actual dollar amounts will fluctuate with the dollar exchange rate). Of course, students planning extensive individual travel to distant parts of Europe and the purchase of numerous or expensive gifts will need to increase this estimate appropriately.
The increased student costs associated with being on the Study Group are used in calculating the aid packages of students who are receiving financial aid and are participating in their first study group.
Estimate Student Expenses Geneva Study Group
Deadlines, information sessions, and application procedures
There will be two information sessions Thursday, November 5 at 4:30 p.m. and Tuesday November 10 at 11:30 a.m. Both sessions will meet in 109 Persson Hall. Students interested in finding out more about the 2011 Geneva Study Group are urged to attend one of these sessions.
Application forms are available in the Off-Campus Study and Political Science Department offices. The application deadline is FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20. Please submit your application to the Political Science office on or before the deadline. While doing so, be sure to sign up for an interview time. Interviews will be scheduled during the final week of classes, December 7-11.
Further information
Please contact Professor Kira Stevens for additional information (kstevens@colgate.edu).
Helpful links
General information
Field trip information