Global Connections

Go global at Calvin

At Calvin, learning goes far beyond the college's 400-acre campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the classroom, in research projects, internships and off-campus programs, you'll discover how connected the world really is.

Academic programs

Cross-cultural learning is woven throughout all of Calvin's 100+ academic programs. Several programs provide direct pathways to other cultures.

Languages: Explore the many cultures represented by the seven modern languages taught at Calvin: Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Spanish.

Korean language students answer the question, "Why take Korean at Calvin?"

Asian studies: Dig deep into the history, culture, philosophy, religion and languages of China, Japan and Korea in this interisciplinary program.

African Studies: Get an interdisciplinary overview of African history, culture, religion and more.

International development studies: Study the best ways to create sustainable business and strong communities in developing countries.

International relations: Learn how to influence the world's political systems by studying regional and global governments.

Off-campus programs

Semester programs: Study development work in Honduras, business in China or science in the Netherlands. Or study in England, France, Spain, Thailand, Hungary or Ghana and more.

Interim trips: Spend three weeks in one of more than 20 locations around the world each January. In 2010, students explored rural health in India, community development in Kenya, biology on the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and French in Quebec, Canada.

See the 2010 interim photo gallery »
Pictures from Grand Rapids to India and back.

Research opportunities

In the classrom: Be a part of exciting research and development work that faculty and students are doing in countries around the world:

• Geography students created online atlases for Eritrea, Thailand and Nepal. Learn more »
• Senior engineering students designed an optimized amaranth popper to help fight hunger and poverty in developing countries. Learn more »

With faculty: Join faculty in their research and explore cultures from a scholarly point of view. Recent faculty-student research partnerships include:

• A case study of media and peace in East Africa
• A study of the Afro-Hispanic newspapers of Argentina and Urugauy from 1820-1899
• An examination of African pastors' attitudes about HIV in Liberia
• A history of Christian faith in 20th-century Eastern Europe

See more about the McGregor Summer Research Fellowship »

Internships

Get hands-on experience in your field in exciting locations around the world. Many academic programs have strong connections to international companies and organizations—ask your professors about specific opportunities that you might take advantage of. These programs regularly have students find internships abroad.

• Business
• Engineering
• International Development Studies