Pitzer Programs
Learn about Pitzer's unique global programs, which are designed to focus on intercultural understanding, community engagement, and social responsibility
What Makes Pitzer Programs Unique
Pitzer has carefully developed its programs abroad to include signature elements and embody Pitzer's core values. While the cultural contexts and experiences on each Pitzer Program may be different, they each share some common characteristics and impacts.
Pitzer Programs are a good fit for you if you:
- want to be part of a tight-knit cohort of students
- are seeking to take Pitzer classes that count toward your GPA
- are open to new adventures in non-traditional locations
- are excited to explore a topic in-depth through field research, internship, or service-learning experiences
Pitzer Program Impacts
Pitzer’s cultural immersion programs make students strong candidates for Fulbright Fellowships and other prestigious awards. Most fellowships winners at Pitzer completed a Pitzer Program.
Interdisciplinary Core Course
Each Pitzer Program offers a core course that weaves together lectures, fieldwork, study trips, and reflections on community engagement experiences in order to guide you in your cross-cultural learning and interdisciplinary understanding of the host country context.
The Fieldbook
The Fieldbook recognizes that writing is one of the deepest and most precise records of experience and an activity that both generates and reflects learning. Demanding of your time and intellect, the Fieldbook asks you to integrate the theoretical and experiential components of the program through a series of writing assignments.
Intensive Language Study & Family Stays
In each program location, Pitzer language instructors use an interactive approach that focuses on facilitating communication with people of your host community and language practice through an extended stay with one or more host families. More than any other aspect of a Pitzer Program, family stays help you understand the host culture and the issues important to their community and country.
Directed Independent Study Projects
Pitzer Programs provide an opportunity for you to carry out a directed independent study project, internship, or service-learning experience focused on a topic of interest or community need. These projects can often fulfill major requirements, and many projects can be used as the foundation for senior thesis work or postgraduate fellowships. In fact, Pitzer’s cultural immersion programs make students strong candidates for Fulbright Fellowships and other prestigious national awards like the Watson and Rotary Scholarships. The majority of Pitzer students winning such fellowships completed a Pitzer Program.
Social Responsibility