IFSA Study in India: Field Experience

Our IFSA Study in India: Field Experience program provides an opportunity to become part of a rich legacy of student-scholars observing, engaging with, and learning from communities in and around Pune. All students will complete an intensive field-based learning experience, conducted during the final month of the semester abroad. In addition to the required class, choose 4 - 5 elective classes taught by local experts in global and public health domains as well as Indian culture, politics, and economics.

REQUIRED CLASS

Three field experience options are available, designed to deepen your engagement with the local community and its culture. You are matched with a project tailored to your personal, academic, and professional interests articulated during the application and prearrival process and developed with the support of IFSA’s on-site staff and community networks.

Internship or Directed Research or Independent Study 

Conducted under close academic supervision, each class involves a minimum of 120 contact hours in the field and entail a final paper or project with accompanying presentation. Internships require students to thoughtfully and critically integrate the academic, experiential, and professional within an organizational context, whereas directed research involves a formal research project carried out within an organization, a library, or the field. An independent study allows students to develop their skills in a specific cultural practice, such as classical Indian music or dance, documentary filmmaking methods, or other artistic and artisanal forms. For more detailed information and examples of previous student placements, contact your IFSA Admissions Counselor. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

LANGUAGE CLASSES

Because of the immersive field experience you will have, we strongly encourage you to enroll in a full language elective to prepare yourself to make the rich of this incredible opportunity and interact respectfully with the communities hosting you.

Essential Hindi

Essential Hindi is taught intensively during the first two weeks of the semester for those students without a Hindi language background. It has two focuses: to equip students with essential communication skills, key words, and phrases, to engage in basic conversations, as well as build their ability to read basic signs and request emergency assistance; and to promote students’ understanding of the local environment and culture in contemporary India enhance their language skills in real world settings. (1 U.S. semester credit hour)

Beginning Hindi I

Language instruction in colloquial Hindi, emphasizing functional use of the language in contexts that students can be expected to encounter in daily life. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

If you have previous Hindi experience or are interested in studying a different Indic language, contact your IFSA Admissions Counselor about a potential independent study option.

ELECTIVE CLASSES

Not all electives may be offered in a given semester depending on enrollment and faculty availability.

Development Economics

The Indian economy serves as a complex, fascinating example of high technology, expanding trade, vibrant entrepreneurship, and a highly skilled workforce, co-existing in sometimes tenuous balance with widespread poverty, social inequality, and critical gaps in health care, education, and infrastructure. This class explores how developing economies seek to address and reconcile these disparities, focusing on technological change, political economy, trade, social entrepreneurship and microfinance, and international aid as they are managed and applied within India and other case studies. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Epidemiology

As the core science of public health, epidemiology is the study of disease and illness through the lens of social determinants of health, as well as research methods, data management, and subsequent communication. The class is designed to enable students to gain foundational knowledge of epidemiological principles, the basic models for disease occurrence, and skills to design and interpret studies that measure variables both accurately and ethically. Students will explore timely topics such as the impact of socioeconomic factors and lifestyle on disease occurrence, its changing patterns including recent pandemics, and the potential for prevention and intervention on a population basis. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Gender and Indian Media

From Hindu mythology to the pages of Bollywood gossip magazines, Indian womanhood has been a constantly evolving site for the mapping of cultural norms, desires, and anxieties. The simultaneous exaltation and oppression of femininity is both reinforced and contested in the mass media—a key tool of communication in a diverse and complex democracy. Through critical exploration of gender in Indian film, theatre, television, and advertising, this class addresses timely and relevant questions relating to women's issues in contemporary India. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Maternal and Child Health

For decades, maternal and child health have been critical components of the development agenda. The proportion of population of women in reproductive ages (15-45 years) and children (up to 15 years) makes them the biggest consumers of health services. Thus, preventive aspects of maternal and child health become important to ensure healthy population at present and in the future. This class thus aims at exploring maternal and child health in an Indian context, including important aspects of preventive obstetrics, preventive pediatrics, maternal and child nutrition, growth monitoring and immunization, etc. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

National Health Policy in India

In India, the health of the society at large is the responsibility of the national government. This class will introduce the formation of the national health policy and examine the design, features, and reach of services governing the health services market. Specialization and alternative treatments create affordable options, while pharmaceutical infrastructure play important role in policy design and implementation. Students will investigate the relationship between health policy and the healthcare system in India, from the challenges generated by implementation to the institutions involved and the ongoing need for skilled healthcare workers. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Social Determinants of Health

In this class, health will be discussed not only as a biomedical but also as a socio-cultural phenomenon as it relates to Indian society. In addition to many other health determinants, socio-cultural norms and values shape attitudes of people and communities. India is a vast canvas to look for varied responses of its people to various diseases, National Health Programmes, NGOs’ efforts, etc. This class explores facilitators and barriers while responding to health and illness issues, as well as pluralistic health care delivery systems and their outcomes. Despite limited resources, India’s achievements in the health field will be highlighted. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Social Justice Theory and Practice

Social justice movements in India may be most widely known through the iconic figures of Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar, but there is a rich and diverse tradition of Indian social justice theory and action dating from the British Raj era to modern Dalit, tribal, and women's movements. This class offers students an overview of social justice thought and activism in India, evolving through nationalism and the freedom struggle, 20th century political and social movements, and contemporary economic, caste, and gender disparities. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

The World’s Largest Democracy

India is one of the longest continuously democratic states in the developing world. This class offers an opportunity to understand the various institutions that govern India and the complex, diverse processes of governance—from local to national. Students will examine key concepts that have shaped relationships between the people and the state, as well as between national politics and local governance, and their impact on how social, economic, and cultural paradigms are structured in India. Pune, with its diverse demographics, culture, and landscape, is a perfect location to study how the institutions of modern parliamentary democracy function at different levels. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Understanding India through its Art

This class aims to provide the students with knowledge of Indian culture within the context of art history. The history of the Indian subcontinent since its origins in the Indus Valley Civilization will be evaluated through its paintings, sculptures, pottery, and textile arts—and in a more limited way, its architectural styles. Particular attention will be given to religious influences from the Mughals, Buddhists, and Hindus; the British and other colonizing powers; and the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group and other post-Independence artistic trends. Students will develop a critical understanding the past and present of the current India in which we live. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)