Approved courses or a substantive intercultural experience or foreign language skills or any combination of all three
Engaging thoughtfully and fluidly across cultures begins with one’s own self-awareness. With this learning objective, you will deepen your cultural agility - by taking three intercultural courses that provide opportunities to learn about others while reflecting upon your own self in relation to others. The goal is for you to build your capacity to understand multiple cultures and build intercultural competence.
Intercultural Courses
Students will deepen cultural agility through a mix of three self-reflective courses focused on global perspectives.
You’ll take at least 3 of these intercultural courses:
NOTE: Any ACE 9 or CDR: Human Diversity in the US course will count for this requirement.
Below are some examples (please do not feel limited by these options):
- ANTH 351: Peoples and Cultures of East Asia
- ANTH/ETHN 212: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
- ANTH/ETHN/SOCI 217: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
- ANTH/GLST 280: Colonization, Decolonization and Globalization
- BSAD 420: Global Leadership and Culture Map
- CZEC 387: Women Totalitarian Experience: Culture, Identity and Memory
- COMM 311: Intercultural and Intergroup Communication
- ETHN 100: Introduction to Ethnic Studies
- GEOG 431: Cultural Geography
- GLST 201: Introduction to Global Studies
- GLST/HRHA 101: Human Rights in a Global Context
- GLST/HRHA 350: Refugees, Displaced Persons and (Im)migrants
- POLS 476: Ethnic Conflict and Identity
- RELG 180: Culture, Religion, and Society in Contemporary Asia
- RELG 208: Introduction to Islam
- HIST/ETHN 171: History of Latin America
- HIST/ETHN/LAMS 272: Modern Latin America
- HIST/ETHN 150: African Culture and Civilization
POLS/ETHN 375: Conflict and Development in Africa
Is there another course in the catalog that you feel meets this requirement? Please discuss it with your Peace Corps Prep Coordinator.
Substitution Option:
A maximum of two courses can be substituted with an Intercultural Experience or Foreign Language Course/Proficiency
Intercultural Experience – Engage in an intercultural experience—including studying, volunteering and/or teaching abroad or in a different cultural context from your own in the United States (including U.S. territories).
Select from these intercultural experiences:
- Domestic Intercultural Experience can include prolonged intercultural experiences in the U.S., such as volunteering with a community center or school. The experience must last at least 40 hours. If the experience also aligns with one of Peace Corps’ six sectors, these experiences may simultaneously count for that hands-on experiential requirement.
- Study Abroad for credit can be substituted to fulfill this requirement. To satisfy the requirements, study abroad experiences must take place in a country that has at some point hosted Peace Corps Volunteers (see the list of current and past countries here). A one-week to a full summer experience may substitute for one course, while a full semester experience may substitute for two courses.
Foreign Language Skills – Develop language skills by taking courses in a foreign language or American Sign Language. Please note that sign language or native/fluent experience with more than one language can also satisfy this requirement. All are encouraged to hone their capacity to interact professionally in more than one language.
Select from these language courses:
- Foreign language courses offered by Modern Languages & Literature including Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
- American Sign Language courses offered by Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.
- Foreign language courses approved for transfer credit (for example study abroad or domestic language programs, Critical Language Scholarship, or Community College).