SOUTHERN  ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY AT CARBONDALE
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
STUDY ABROAD: HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL WORK
MUNICH AND COBURG, GERMANY
May 29- June 10, 2010

http://socialwork.siuc.edu/germany/may.htm

The School of Social Work at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale is offering a Study Abroad based in Munich and Coburg, Germany beginning on May 29, 2010,  and ending on June 10, 2010.

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

The first location of the course will be Munich, Germany. This part of the course highlights the importance of human rights within our current environment, as contemporary human rights arose from the recent history of this part of the world. After four days in Munich, participants will travel to the small university town of Coburg, where they will be staying with German students from the University of Coburg. Together, course participants and the German students will visit a concentration camp and a town that had been divided with barriers between East and West Germany. They will also visit the city of Nuremberg, where they will explore human rights history. 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 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. Participants must arrange and pay for their own airfare or other transportation to Munich. Three hours of course credit is available from Southern Illinois University, which is then transferred to the participant's home university for credit. Tuition is charged in addition to the program fee. At current rates, three hours of graduate level tuition costs $984, with three hours of undergraduate tuition costing $729. This course credit Scholarships may be 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 618 687-1798.

If you wish to apply for the above study abroad course in 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.      Complete the application form and send it back to our International Programs office, along with a $250 deposit by check or money order. If you decide not to participate in the course after submitting the application and deposit, please let us know by March 31, 2010, and the deposit will be fully refundable. After March 31, 2010, any refund of the deposit will be at the discretion of the program.
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 April, 2010. 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 be available in mid February, 2010. You can review the previous syllabus on the internet site, but the course structure varies each time.  This is especially true for this course because participants will be working and staying with German students in Coburg. 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.
Dr. Elisabeth Reichert (reichert@siu.edu)
Professor of Social Work
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
(618) 687-1798