Anthropology

Study Abroad

Anthropology majors are encouraged to study abroad or in a foreign environment. Studying abroad provides you with the opportunity to experience another culture, improve foreign language skills, and participate in activities and coursework not found at Mount Holyoke. The study abroad process can be made easier by talking with your academic advisor, your department chair, and the Center for Global Initiatives about your plans. This will help you decide which programs are the most relevant, affordable, and beneficial for your educational needs. Also, don’t forget to talk with other students who have studied abroad! They have firsthand experience, and are often happy to chat with other students about the ups and downs of studying in another part of the world.

Places to Study

MHC Student Stories

Anthropology Study Abroad Countries and Universities

CAMPUS ORG COUNTRY
CET Beijing China
SIT Kenya Health Kenya
St. Andrews United Kingdom
MHC Montpellier France
MHC Montpellier France
Hong Kong University Hong Kong
SIT Brazil Culture Brazil
Victoria (AustraLearn) New Zealand
Cornell in Nepal Nepal
University of Buenos Aires Argentina
Sydney Australia
SIT Bolivia Culture & Dev. Bolivia
SIT Brazil Amazon Brazil
SIT Balkans Croatia
DIS Denmark
Amer. Univ. in Cairo Egypt
CIEE in Hyderabad India
Antioch Buddhist Studies India
IES in Dublin Ireland
Middlebury Florence Italy
Siena School Liberal Arts Italy
CIEE in Tokyo (Sophia) Japan
SIT Kenya Coastal Kenya
SIT Kenya Health Kenya
Amer. Univ. in Beirut Lebanon
IHP Global Ecology Multiple
Cornell in Nepal Nepal
Victoria New Zealand
Auckland (AustraLearn) New Zealand
Auckland New Zealand
Victoria (AustraLearn) New Zealand
SIT Peru Literature & Culture Peru
Kalamazoo in Senegal Senegal
SIT Spain Landscapes Spain
Hamilton in Madrid Spain
Edinburgh United Kingdom
St. Andrews United Kingdom
SIT Vietnam Cultture & Dev. Vietnam

Stories from MHC Study Abroad Students


I wish I could say that there was one definitive moment during my time in China that really captures the significance of my experience. Most of what I've experienced here is truly indescribable - how can I tell anyone what it's really like to work side by side Chinese peasants in the rice paddies, or what it's like to see the Meili Snow Mountain range for the first time? How can I tell anyone what it's like to hear a woman's first-hand account of her life during the Communist Party's rise to power, or the Cultural Revolution - the same woman who quietly cooked me dinner every night I lived in her home? Being abroad has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, though I certainly can't say it's been all fun and games. I've faced some tremendous challenges, most obviously in the form of a serious language barrier, but also in my ability to really understand and live in a world completely different from the one I'm accustomed to.
   
It wasn’t the going that was difficult for me. I was excited, perhaps a little nervous about the number of shots I had received, and the layover in Abu Dhabi by myself, but mostly excited. It was the coming home that changed everything. I cried the first time I entered a grocery store, not in relief, but in frustration.  Everything in my own country seemed suddenly foreign as well as wasteful. I had come from a country with water and food shortages, housing thousands of refugees, and in the midst of a political uprising (I ended up being evacuated before the close of my program).  Healthcare was non-existent in some areas, and this was a country far better off than some. People were hopeful. I developed a keen sense of gratitude in coming home, and also of injustice. I learned about the structure of my own culture and how it’s reflected around the world. I also began to realize who I want to be in this world, and what type of capacity for change I have. Everything has shifted since my time abroad, and also stayed the same, but it is colored with a new acuity of experience.