An issue we think about a lot here at Gulliver is increasing Study Abroad participation among students in majors/programs that traditionally make it hard for them to go abroad. The most notable examples come from the sciences – engineering, physics, etc. – in which the coursework is so specific and extensive that credit-transfer is often complicated. But another, less well-known, area of study for which this is often a problem is the fine arts. BFA candidates also often struggle to find courses abroad that are comparable to those they get at their home institutions. And that’s a problem particularly near and dear to my own heart – I’ve got a background in art history and many artist friends, and too many of them never studied abroad.
For that reason I was really pleased to see this Artdaily article this morning on the new Study Abroad program at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University.
Grand Tour
In a program reminiscent of the artistic and/or touristic “Grand Tours” of the 18th and 19th centuries, AAU students spent a semester in Corciono, Italy participating in an ” intense curriculum of on-site, plein-air painting.” There’s now a show up in San Francisco of the work produced during the program. AAU is taking the lead in making Study Abroad a priority among fine art undergraduates – I hope their model is quickly implemented elsewhere.
The Gulliver Blog 