SIT Nepal: Development, Gender, and Social Change in the Himalaya

Program Overview

This study center program facilitates experiential learning in Nepal, a country balancing tradition and progress, to explore development and social change. Sandwiched between the emerging global powerhouses of China and India, Nepal is at the center of transnational relations and is becoming increasingly globalized, and students investigate the historical, social, political, religious, cultural, environmental, and economic forces shaping and reshaping governance and communities in Nepal. Students live with a host family in Kathmandu, as well as participate in a village homestay in the Himalayas, experiencing daily activities of a rural community to better understand the lifestyle of many Nepalis. During their study abroad experience, students also partake in excursions around Nepal, as well as to India. One such excursion includes a trek in the Himalayas, some of the most majestic and beautiful mountains in the world. At the end of the program, students will spend nearly four weeks in an individual pursuit--either original research on a topic of interest, or an internship.