A different way of thinking
We believe that we are the leading alternative to a trend in study abroad in which students live in bubbles in foreign cities but don’t have genuine opportunities to experience the cultural realities of those cities and the nations of which they are integral parts. Cities throughout Europe often have urban spaces that are increasingly dominated by tourists and that create a false sense of culture when compared to those spaces experienced on a daily basis by locals.
The founder’s vision for SIS Intercultural Study Abroad has been the creation of a program that enables students to experience life outside these “bubbles,” living as locals as much as possible. Instead of looking at the local culture as if it were a museum, students at SIS are integrated into local society through coursework, host families, and service-learning projects.
Our intercultural study abroad program is rare among its competitors. In order to create an experience of integration that also meets university level academic standards we have created a unique method of instruction called EUFICCS.
At SIS, our students really do come first. Unlike the vast majority of study abroad programs, we are small, independent, and locally run. This means that we are 100% focused on the students enrolled in the program, thus offering a model for sustainable intercultural study abroad.