Info Nights
Learn more from faculty and students about studying abroad.
Israel Dig, Israel Study Tour, and Study Tour of Turkey
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Monday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m.
120 Thomas
Top 10 Reasons to Study Abroad
Faculty-led, world-focused
Penn State faculty-led programs offer students the guidance of trusted faculty, with the freedom to explore the world. Our faculty will create the ideal itinerary for you.
This program provides an analysis of the historical and current processes leading to economic, political, and social reforms in East Central Europe. This region is rich with a diverse set of ethnic cultures, economic developments, and political experiments before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In addition to the "emerging markets" movement among countries who choose to move toward Western capitalism and democracy, the students will also learn about activities including legal, economic, political, and social changes which are currently underway.
In this intensive program, students will be immersed in the subject matter through readings, lectures, independent research, and class discussions. The course will be held in Maastricht, The Netherlands, and the study tour part of the program will take students to a number of the transitional European countries they will study. The destinations planned for the study tour include Berlin, Germany; Prague, Czech Republic; Krakow, Poland; Budapest, Hungary; and Vienna, Austria.
Maastricht, with a population of 125,000, provides a mix of small-town charm and urban sophistication. Today the city is best known as the signing location of the Maastricht Treaty, which accelerated the process of European integration. Originally situated at a shallow ford on the Maas River, Maastricht was used by the Romans as a crossing point to reach their base in Aachen, Germany. In medieval times Charlemagne incorporated the city into the Holy Roman Empire. In subsequent ages, a number of European powers fought for control of Maastricht, due to its strategic location and formidable system of fortifications (still standing in many parts of the city).
Maastricht is located in the southernmost part of The Netherlands, with easy access to many major points of interest in Europe. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague are three hours to the north. The city is only sixty-four miles from Brussels and a mere thirty miles from Cologne. The Maastricht Aachen Airport and the central train station provide easy access to all of Europe. In the past, students have used free time on some weekends to take advantage of these opportunities.
programs of the College of Agricultural Sciences, the
College of Arts and Architecture, the College of Health and Human Development, the College of the Liberal Arts,
the Smeal College of Business, and University Office of Global Programs
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