Welcome
IHP offers a unique set of theme-based,
multi-country study abroad programs. Each program is designed to give
students the opportunity to explore significant social, political,
and environmental issues using an innovative comparative approach.
The comparative approach allows students to contrast and analyze thematic
issues on a global scale. It exposes students to a wide range of communities
and perspectives, requiring students to question assumptions, suspend
judgments, while inquiring deeply around the thematic areas.
On each of IHP's study abroad programs, a relatively small group of
students and faculty travel together to several different countries.
The group will spend between four and eight weeks in each country while
they examine issues related to the program theme. The exploration of
the issues will involve direct contact and interaction with local experts,
activists, educators, community members, public figures, and leaders
of various government and community organizations.
IHP Past and Present
A Global
Itinerary
The International Honors Program, founded as the International School of America in 1958, gives students an unequaled opportunity to study overseas in multiple countries for one year or a semester.
The global itinerary of each program involves
comparative study in several contrasting societies. Thematic areas
include the environment, globalization, urban planning, governance, public health,
indigenous issues, anthropology, social justice, and human rights.
The Students
Approximately thirty students are selected to
participate in each program. Students are varied in their personal
backgrounds, and are from different universities and many areas of
study. Though most participants are college students or recent graduates,
older students often join the programs. IHP is unique in terms of both its intellectual content and its challenge for motivation and self-discipline of its students. For many alumni, the IHP experience directly influences their graduate school or career choice. IHP prompts students to ask lifelong questions about their role in a global community.
Direct Exposure
To ensure exposure to each country's peoples and
cultures, IHP arranges for students to stay in local homes and communities
whenever possible. Many
students stay in contact with their hosts for years afterward. Generally,
at least one member of the host family will speak or understand some
English.
Distinguished Leadership
In keeping with its history of innovative leadership in international comparative education, the IHP's team-teaching system ensures the highest quality in academic oversight as well as a balanced, culturally aware approach to curriculum development. The Program takes maximum advantage of the breadth of cultural background, educational expertise, and geographic knowledge of our teaching and advisory faculty, country coordinators, and program directors.
IHP Partner Institutions
World Learning and the School for International Training
International Honors Programs are offered in affiliation with the School for International Training (SIT), the accredited higher education division of World Learning. Programs are operated entirely by IHP, but accredited through SIT.
World Learning is a 75-year-old nonprofit organization that operates experiential education and community-driven development projects in 73 countries. SIT offers graduate and professional education and youth programs, as well as SIT Study Abroad undergraduate semester and summer programs in more than 50 countries, including many developing countries. Each year nearly 2,000 students from more than 225 colleges and universities pursue a rigorous integration of classroom and field-based learning. Components include a homestay, academic seminar, field study seminar, a month-long Independent Study Project, and, in most programs, language study.
World Learning also offers summer programs for high school students through The Experiment in International Living. World Learning for International Development works with government sector and private donors to build local capabilities in civil society and social change, education, and training and exchange.
For more information about World Learning and SIT, please visit www.worldlearning.org or call toll free (877) 257-7751.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Since its inception in 1932, the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at MIT provides for the education of practitioners and scholars in various fields of planning. The emphasis is not only on the breadth of planning skills, but also a specialized competence in one or more of the areas of specialization. MIT is a partner with the IHP Cities in the 21st Century programs.
Distinguished
Speakers
Over the past 45 years, private meetings have been arranged
with an outstanding array of guest speakers. Students have met with,
among others, Senator Barack Obama, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Madame Chiang Kai-shek,
Eleanor Roosevelt, Ambassador Edwin O. Reischauer, Margaret Mead, Satyajit
Ray, Willy Brandt, King Constantine, Edgar Faure, Ambassador John Kenneth
Galbraith, Malcolm X, Jane Goodall and Richard Leakey, Tadao Sato,
James Lovelock, Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., Lynn Margulis, Vandana
Shiva, Ambassador Charles Stith, and Ivan Illich.
Course Work
Course work is formally evaluated and participants customarily receive academic credit from their home institutions. Historically, IHP has worked in affiliation with Bard College and Boston University. Beginning in 2007/08, students who successfully complete IHP will receive a transcript from the School for International Training, the accredited higher education division of World Learning.
