International Travel and Study Abroad

The Bush School is committed to providing valuable experiences with a global emphasis through international travel, language development, events and speakers, internships, and other opportunities.

Numerous school-sponsored trips have taken place, and students have journeyed individually to dozens of nations around the globe. The Bush School sponsors two to three-week international field seminars in January and May and study abroad opportunities that can last a semester; participants earn several hours of graduate credit. Study abroad opportunities are available to IA students in their third semester with prior approval from the advisor and program director. Students collaborate with TAMU Study Abroad and work from a list of institutional options.

Field Seminars/Study Abroad trips

• India (New Delhi) Most recent listing is INTA 689: India Government. This is a two-week educational program integrating classroom teaching with relevant site visits, focusing on the economic development and political economy of India. It introduces students to the economic, political, security, and cultural dimensions of India. The seminar is held in conjunction with a leading institute of higher education in India, Jawaharlal Nehru U.
• Turkey This seminar introduces students on-site to Turkey, its culture, history, and contemporary politics and explains its relations with the European Union and the U.S.
• China (Beijing & Shanghai) Most recent listing was BUSH 689: Economic Development and Foreign Policy in China. Students are introduced to the dynamics of Chinese economic growth, the global implications of a “rising China,” and the major foreign policy challenges China faces today.
• Qatar (Doha) This two-week seminar introduces students to the Gulf countries, especially the small Gulf states of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE.
• Germany/Belgium (Berlin & Brussels) Most recent listing was Bush 689: European Foreign and Security Policy in a Transatlantic Context. Students attend lectures, briefings, discussions, and academic events and visit such sites as the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, NATO HQ, the German Foreign Ministry, and the German Parliament. They participate in political, cultural, and social events to further their understanding of the European Union and its relationship with the U.S.
• Germany (Berlin) To be offered as PSAA 689: German and European Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy. This will be offered as a faculty-led, two-week program that will focus on the themes of sustainable development in the European context (its definition, articulation in the media, stakeholders on all sides of the issue, comparison to the US) and environmental policy-making (an intergovernmental politics and policy approach). Pre-trip lectures and assignments are required in the spring.

Semester Abroad (typically taken in the third semester of study):

• Doha, Qatar Those interested in furthering their study of modern Arabic and Middle East societies and politics can take advantage of our special arrangement with Texas A&M Qatar (TAMUQ). Students work as interns at TAMUQ while they study Arabic at the Georgetown campus in Education City, where they exchange graduate assistantship help for the language class. They earn 9 TAMU credit hours for their efforts.
• Shanghai, China The Bush School has an open exchange agreement with the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, right now for summer and fall 2010. Some Chinese language skill is necessary to take advantage of Mandarin language study.
• Berlin, Germany The Bush School anticipates a reciprocal student exchange agreement in 2011 that allows GBS students to pay for tuition/fees here, but study abroad in the international affairs program operated by Frie U of Berlin and its two partners, Potsdam U and Humboldt U. Some German language skill is necessary, although some courses are in English.