Study Abroad and Service Learning
Opportunities in Women’s Studies
University of Michigan-Affiliated Programs Offering Women’s Studies/Gender Studies Courses
Programs with a Specific Focus on Women and/or Gender Administered By Other US Colleges
The University of Michigan Women’s Studies Department
encourages students to study abroad in order to enhance their
education and gain international perspectives on gender issues
and feminism. Students routinely look back on their time spent
abroad as a valuable aspect of their undergraduate career. There
are many excellent study abroad opportunities offering students
a variety of possible experiences: among them cultural immersion,
summer field work, intensive language learning, independent
study, and participation in another educational system.
Planning early for study abroad is important, as is research into study abroad possibilities. The Office of International Programs (OIP) is committed to working with students to help them find the right study abroad program.
The Education Abroad Office is
an information resource center within the University of Michigan’s International
Center that provides information about options for study, work, and travel
abroad.
The U-M Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates Program (GIEU) sends small groups of undergraduates and faculty members (normally in the summer) to exciting locations in the US and around the world for three to four weeks of engaging intercultural academic studies. Applications for that program are due in mid-fall.
Opportunities in Women’s Studies
Transitions in Reproductive Health and Maternity Care Project in Morazan, Honduras
Under the direction of Lisa Kane-Low, Assistant Professor of Nursing and Women’s Studies, and Joanne Motino Bailey, Service Director of the Nurse-Midwifery Service at the UM Hospital and a lecturer in Women’s Studies, students spend winter break in a rural Honduras community focused on providing reproductive and maternity health care education and services. Student participation grew from a research project focused on transitions in maternity care and the role of skilled birth attendants or midwives in the local community.
Students prepare for the service learning study abroad in WS 412 “Reproductive
Health and Policy in a Global Context”, a course focused on global
reproductive and maternity health policy and how it shapes the local provision
of women’s health care services in developing countries emphasizing Latin
America. Students develop an understanding of women’s reproductive health
using a broader consideration of the intersections of gender, race/ethnicity,
class, culture, geography, economic status, nation, and other identities. This
includes considerations of access to health care personnel, resources, and
services as a background to opportunities to improve women’s health status
locally.
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University of Michigan-Affiliated Programs Offering Women’s Studies/Gender Studies Courses
University of Michigan students attending one of the University’s own
study abroad programs will earn in-residence credits and may use financial
aid money (if eligible) to help defray program costs. In addition, they may
apply for scholarships awarded by the Office of International Programs to program
participants. For more information on these programs visit the Office of International
Programs at 1712 Chemistry Building or see
their website. For a list of U-M affiliated programs offering Women’s
Studies/Gender Studies courses, please see the
OIP’s Women’s Studies web page.
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Programs with a Specific Focus on Women and/or Gender Administered By Other US Colleges
Netherlands: International Perspectives on Sexuality and Gender
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