Students choose to study abroad for a variety of reasons: to gain exposure to new cultures, to travel to new countries, to practice or master foreign language skills or to meet people from different parts of the world. At Saint Louis University’s study abroad program in Maastricht, students have the opportunity to do all of these things.
Maastricht is located in the southern tip of The Netherlands, where the country meets Belgium and Germany. SLU is one of 12 institutions from the United States, Mexico and Europe that participate in the consortium that makes up the Maastricht Center for Transatlantic Studies (MCTS).
According to Maria Bravo, program coordinator at SLU’s International Center, the program in Maastricht was designed with a unique focus on transatlantic relationships and developments.
“Most of the courses [at MCTS] have a comparative, international focus,” Bravo said. Courses from the social sciences, humanities, fine arts and business comprise the majority of course offerings, and though the center hosts students and professors from all over the globe, all classes are taught in English. Students live in dormitories on campus where each student has his or her own room.
Senior Laura Andounian studied at the MCTS in the spring semester of 2000 and said that the program’s size was one of the things that made it attractive. The program is relatively small; about 20 to 60 students attend each semester.
“The Maastricht program was ideal because classes were in English, but I could still practice German,” Andounian said.
Senior Joe Hahn attended the MCTS in the fall of 2001 and found that not speaking Dutch had no impact on his ability to get around in the Netherlands.
“One of the biggest perks of the program is that everyone in the country speaks English. They learn it from sixth grade on,” Hahn said.
Both Hahn and Andounian said that the program was ideal for anyone who wanted to do a lot of European traveling. During a semester, students will take 4 classes in a block schedule, each course lasting three and a half weeks.
“I liked the block schedule because we only had to focus on one course at a time and it gave us a lot of time to do non-academic things,” Andounian said.
“Every weekend was a three-day weekend. There’s also a five-day break between each block and a one-week break in the middle of the semester. The schedule frees you to experience Europe,” Hahn said.
According to Bravo, studying in Maastricht has many of the same advantages as studying at SLU’s popular Madrid campus, including the transfer of scholarships, financial aid and academic credit.
Students who are interested in learning more about study abroad in Maastricht should contact the International Center at 977-2318 or attend the upcoming information session on April 4 at 4 p.m. in DuBourg Hall 150.
