International Programs
A semester in one of Sarah Lawrence College’s international programs is the equivalent of 15 credits, while a full academic year is the equivalent of 30 credits. For further information, please visit the International Programs Web site or contact Prema Samuel, director of international programs.
Sarah Lawrence College in Paris
This program offers juniors and seniors in good standing who have completed the equivalent of two years of college-level French the opportunity to take full advantage of France’s excellent educational institutions while continuing to profit from the highly individualized system unique to Sarah Lawrence.
The program is conducted entirely in French. It includes one required French-language class and three other courses of the student’s choosing. One of these must be among the Sarah Lawrence seminars, which include courses in literature, art history, social history, cinema, political science, and translation. These seminars, composed of a weekly class meeting and a biweekly individual conference with the professor, follow the Sarah Lawrence course system. The remaining two classes may be taken at any of a number of French institutions of higher learning such as the University of Paris, Institut d’Etudes Politiques, the Ecole du Louvre, and the Institut Catho-lique, or other, more specialized institutions. These courses are supplemented by weekly one-hour tutorials. Sarah Lawrence College in Paris also provides extensive offerings in the arts.
Students concentrating in the visual and performing arts may continue their study at select ateliers, studios, and conservatories.
Learn more about the Paris program»
Sarah Lawrence College at Oxford
Since 1985, Sarah Lawrence College has been associated with Wadham College, one of the 28 undergraduate colleges of Oxford University. This program is open to qualified juniors and seniors. Students are best prepared to undertake the demands of Oxford if their course work in their first and sophomore years have included significant analytical and written work. Students are registered as visiting students at Oxford University and study as Oxford’s own matriculated students, in one-to-one tutorials with the Oxford faculty. As visiting students, participants have full access to social, dining, athletic, and library facilities. Additionally, students are granted complete access to all Oxford University student group and societies.
Under the Sarah Lawrence College at Oxford plan, students take two tutorials with University of Oxford tutors in subjects of their choosing. In weekly individual meetings with her or his tutors, the student studies and explores a particular subject. These weekly discussions are the basis and impetus for readings and written work. Tutorials are available in all of the traditional humanities and social science disciplines. The program also offers opportunities for studying writing and musicology.
Learn more about the Oxford program»
Sarah Lawrence College in Italy: Florence and Catania
Florence
Our program in Florence has been designed for qualified juniors and seniors who have studied Italian or are about to begin their language studies. Students may spend the fall, spring, or a full academic year in Italy. Students who wish to join the program in the spring semester may do so only if they have completed the equivalent of a year of college-level Italian. Spring semester students must also be enrolled in an Italian class the fall semester prior to enrollment. The program is designed to allow students to study the language and culture of Italy and choose courses in the humanities, social sciences, music, and the visual arts.
Each student’s program consists of concentrated study of Italian and two other courses chosen from offerings in the humanities, art history, history and anthropology, literature, cinema, studio arts, art restoration, and music. Students must enroll in one humanities course. All courses are seminars taught by Florentine professors at the Sarah Lawrence program center. All seminars are initially conducted in English until students are sufficiently fluent in Italian. Given the intense immersion in the language, most students who arrive without prior knowledge of Italian are prepared to transition from English to Italian by the middle of the spring semester. Students who have a sufficient level of language proficiency may elect to take a course in the humanities or social sciences at the University of Florence in either the fall or spring semester.
Learn more about the Florence Program»
Catania (Spring Semester Only)
Sarah Lawrence is delighted to announce the start of a new spring semester program in Catania, Sicily, for advanced speakers of Italian. Students enroll directly at the University of Catania and will choose from the various courses offered by the Humanities department. The course offerings include Medieval History, Modern Italian Literature, History of Philosophy, Archaeology, Greek and Roman Art History, History of Theatrical Arts, Comparative Literature, Byzantine History, and the History of Europe. More information can be found on the Web site www.unict.it/flett.
Most classes will be held at the Convento dei Benedettini, the magnificently restored eighteenth-century monastery overlooking Catania. Students must be proficient in Italian to follow the university lectures. Students enroll in three courses for the semester. Each course is accompanied by a required weekly tutorial. The tutorial is designed to provide an opportunity for a more in-depth discussion of the weekly lecture topics and assistance in preparing for the exams at the end of the semester. The tutors will be scholars in the field (either faculty or doctoral candidates). Course work is completed by the end of May and followed by final oral and/or written exams taking place in the month of June.
All students will be housed with families (there is no housing on campus). The program is one of full immersion into Italian university life, affording a rare opportunity of being one of the few American students studying in this city. Students will be afforded all the rights and privileges of a University of Catania student. They will have access to all university facilities including the student dining halls, libraries, computers, and sports facilities.
Catania is located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of Mt. Etna, the highest volcano in Europe. Especially rich in Baroque architecture, the city of Catania dates back to well over two thousand years. The Benedictine Monastery of the university stands on the site of the ancient Acropolis, which overlooks the entire city. Catania is an important port city with a bustling cultural and social life, blending the old with the new, proud of its past while sponsoring contemporary cultural and academic events.
Students who have completed at least four semesters of college-level Italian will begin preparation for study in Catania by completing the fall semester in Florence. In Florence, students will enroll in Advanced Italian, one academic seminar, and one course at the University of Florence. Students who are unable to study abroad for the entire year and wish to study in Catania will need to be interviewed by Judith Serafini-Sauli, professor of Italian studies. Professor Serafini-Sauli will determine whether the student is sufficiently prepared to enroll in the University of Catania.
Learn more about the Catania program»
The London Theatre Program
The London Theatre Program is jointly sponsored by the British American Drama Academy and Sarah Lawrence College and is designed to expose undergraduates to the rigor and excitement of professional British training in acting. The faculty includes some of Britain’s most distinguished actors and directors. The heart of each student’s program is scene study in classical and modern works. Students also take courses in voice, movement, and stage fighting and participate in fully staged performances at the end of each term. The program also includes courses in theatre history and dramatic criticism, as well as master classes, talks by leading professionals in the British theatre, and frequent outings to the theatre in London. Juniors and seniors may apply to the program for either a semester or for the entire year.
Learn more about the London program»
Sarah Lawrence College in Cuba (Fall Semester Only)
Sarah Lawrence College conducts a fall semester program at the University of Havana for qualified juniors or seniors. Students choose two courses from a broad range of offerings at either the Instituto Superior de Artes (music and visual arts) or the University of Havana. The course offerings at the University of Havana include topics such as Afro-Cuban culture, art history, Cuban or Latin American cinema, Cuban history, Latin American studies, literature, psychology, urban and rural sociology, U.S.-Cuban relations, and women’s studies. All courses are taught by Cuban faculty and are attended by Cuban students. Each student is also required to enroll in an advanced Spanish course. The most distinctive feature is an affiliation with Centro de Estudios
Demográficos (CEDEM), one of the research centers at the University of Havana. At CEDEM students meet with experts whose research and professional expertise focus on developments in contemporary Cuban society. Students select a research topic and are paired with a professor from CEDEM with whom they meet on a regular basis (much like a conference). This faculty member advises and oversees the student’s research throughout the semester. Since all instruction is in Spanish, students interested in applying for admission to the program must successfully complete Advanced Intermediate Spanish or the equivalent prior to departure.
Please note: The Cuba program is only open to Sarah Lawrence College students