SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY AT CARBONDALE
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
STUDY ABROAD: HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL WORK
MUNICH, GERMANY
January 4 - January 12, 2010
May 30 - June 10, 2010

The School of Social Work at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale is offering a Study Abroad based in Munich, Germany beginning on January 4, 2010, and ending on January 12, 2010.

This course examines human rights within a social work framework, from both European and US perspectives. Field visits and course instruction focuses on political and social human rights, with an emphasis on defining human rights principles as they apply to social work.

The location of Munich, Germany highlights the importance of human rights within our current environment, as contemporary human rights arose from the history of this part of the world. Participants in the course have the opportunity to explore concepts of human rights that apply to their own experiences, as well as historical events. This course is ideal for undergraduate or graduate students and professionals interested in learning about different approaches to social problems within a human rights context.

The estimated program fee is $2,000, not including airfare from the US to Germany. The program fee includes all necessary transportation relating to the course within Germany, accommodation, and some meals. Three hours of course credit is available from Southern Illinois University, with tuition charged in addition to the program fee. At current rates, three hours of tuition at SIU costs about $900. However, participants outside SIU are not required to take the course for credit.   Scholarships are available for SIUC undergraduate students.

Dr. Elisabeth Reichert, Professor of Social Work at SIUC and author of several books and articles on human rights, will conduct the course. For further details, please contact Dr. Reichert by email at reichert@siu.edu or contact her by telephone at 618 684 5687.

If you are interested in applying for the above study abroad course in Munich, Germany, you will need to do the following:

1.      Email Saundra Cawthon at saundra@siu.edu to request an application form. Saundra works with the SIUC International Programs office and handles applications for the program.

2.      Along with the application form, you will need to make a $250 deposit by check or money order, which generally is fully refundable if you decide not to participate in the course. The deposit is not refundable once SIUC has incurred costs on your behalf relating to the course. SIUC usually does not incur these costs until the last month before the course begins, so you have plenty of time to decide whether to continue or not.

3.      Mail the application and deposit to the address on the application form. Once SIUC receives these items, we will place you on the course list. Also, please inform Saundra whether you wish to take the course for credit. If you do, you will need to complete additional documents for payment of tuition, a cost which is in addition to the program fee of $2,000. The payment of tuition is treated separately from payment of the program fee.

4.      The initial $250 deposit will be applied toward the program fee, leaving you with a balance due of $1,750. This balance must be paid in full by the end of November 2009. We will send you a payment schedule after you have sent in the application and initial deposit.

So, that’s it. The process is not difficult, but you do need to complete the application and send in the $250 deposit. Once we have those items, we will then provide more information regarding the course. However, a final syllabus for the course will not be available until around November 2009. You can review the previous syllabus on the internet site, but the course structure varies each time. However, the previous syllabus will give you an idea of the course content.

  If you have any further questions regarding the application procedures, please contact me. Thank you for your interest in the course.