Cross-cultural programs
Cross-cultural applications for May 2024 will open in October 2023.
Cross-cultural experiences are invitations to explore and grow. They offer a journey of personal discovery into the richness and challenges of other cultures and communities. Immersed in new environments, you will experience diverse lifestyles, make new friendships and learn respect for other heritages all while meeting personal challenges that build character. And, get hands-on opportunities to focus on the issues of peace and reconciliation and begin toward a path of lifelong mission and service.
The cross-cultural experience is a pivotal element of the Bluffton University general education curriculum, which strives to place each student in an ever-expanding context from individual identity to global citizen. Through personal interactions in diverse settings within and outside of the United States, students are challenged to examine what it means to be a responsible citizen in the global community and to develop an ethic of justice, service and peacemaking.
Meet Bluffton's cross-cultural requirement by choosing one of the following options:
The university offers a variety of experiences from which students may choose, according to their interest in a particular location or theme or their long-range career plans. Domestic and international experiences are available during the month of May. (3 semester hours)
Semester long programs are offered in Chicago, Guatemala, and Washington, D.C. Semester long programs include classes which fulfill some of your general education requirements.
Chicago - (14 semester hours)
Chicago provides opportunities for urban student teaching, social work or internship
programs.
Greece - (15 credit hours)
A new semester-long cross-cultural experience in Athens, Greece, has been established
with the American College of Greece (ACG).
Guatemala - (17 semester hours)
Live with Guatemalan families in Guatemala City, take classes through the Central
American Study and Service program and complete a field placement.
Washington Community Scholars' Center (WCSC) - (15 semester hours)
Discover Washington, D.C.....city life, cultural diversity, career-building opportunities,
university classes and the connections between faith and work at the Washington Community
Scholars' Center.
Bluffton students have completed their cross-cultural requirement with experiences in Italy, London and other locations.
(6 semester hours)
Students may choose to study one foreign language for six semester hours as a way
to fulfill the cross-cultural requirement. Currently Bluffton offers Spanish.
Financial assistance is available. Contact Elaine Suderman or Paul Neufeld Weaver.
Semester-long experiences
Students returning from 2022 semester-long experiences shared about challenges, beauty and culture.