NOTE: SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, like COVID-19, SIT may have to modify programs. Visit the SIT website for more details.
Examine India’s socioeconomic development trends and how rethinking development is gaining urgency for shaping sustainable social change..
Program Highlights
- Live and study in Jaipur, an example of the dichotomy of tradition and modernity, wealth and poverty.
- Examine how India’s socioeconomic development is shaping sustainable change.
- Explore critical issues India faces today.
- Gain direct exposure to some of the most inspired and important Indian experts working in the development and social change arenas.
- Learn Hindi.
- Acquire research and field study skills.
- Conduct independent research or complete an internship at a development organization.
Please visit the SIT Study Abroad website for details on program courses (including syllabi), educational excursions, and housing.
Independent Study
During the final four weeks of the program, you can choose to use your new language and cultural skills and the academic knowledge you have acquired to complete an Independent Study Project (ISP) on a topic of interest to you or complete an Internship with a local community organization, research organization, business, government agency, or international NGO
The ISP is conducted in Rajasthan or in another approved location in India. The ISP provides you with an opportunity to pursue original research on a situation or topic of particular interest to you.
Sample topics:
- Documentary film project on the holistic impact of hydroelectric dams on rivers in the Himalayas
- Legal pluralism and gender justice
- Biodiversity conservation efforts and promotion of indigenous rice varieties
- Environmental injustice and interconnection in the context of the Ganges
- The role of women in traditional seed supply systems
SIT internships are hands on and reflective. In addition to completing the internship, you will submit a paper processing your learning experience on the job and analyzing an issue important to the organization you interned with, and/or you will design a socially responsible solution to a problem identified by the organization.
Topics and placements may vary according to the availability of each institution. Sample internship sites:
- Interning in urban planning, energy, and food distribution at the Institute of Development Management in Rajasthan
- Assisting rights-based approaches to development and adult literacy efforts at Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra in Uttarakhand
- Conducting development communication and field documentation work at DamageControl in New Delhi
- Aiding efforts related to legal rights, reproductive health, and capacity building for women at Jagori Grameen in Himachal Pradesh
Key Topics of Study
- Development concepts, theories, and approaches
- India’s transition: post-1990s
- Rural and urban development: crises, challenges, and responses
- Moving beyond “developmentality”
- Systems thinking and sustainability
- Creating a roadmap for sustainability in India and radical ecological democracy
- Development alternative interventions and case studies
Money Matters
Be sure to discuss how study abroad costs are handled at your school with your study abroad advisor.
SIT tuition and room and board fees include the following:
- All educational costs, including educational excursions
- All accommodations and meals for the full program duration
- Transportation to and from the airport, and on all educational excursions
- Health and accident insurance
Scholarships:
- SIT awards nearly $1.6 million in scholarships and grants annually.
- All scholarships and grants are need-based.
- Awards generally range from $500 to $5,000.
- The SIT Pell Grant Match provides matching grants to all students receiving Federal Pell Grant funding when it is applied to an SIT Study Abroad semester program.
- Contact the financial aid and/or study abroad office(s) at your college or university to learn if your school’s scholarships and grants and federal and state aid programs can be applied to an SIT Study Abroad program.
Contact SIT Study Abroad
