Humanitarian Capital of the World Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

You learn things during this program that you wouldn't learn at your typical university. The rigor is much less than normal college, the classes and workload is not heavy. However, you do gain a better idea about global health and humanitarian action through what is really happening in the world and at different organizations. I think this helps bring the field of global health into much better perspective and gives a better idea of what a career in this field would look like.

On-site administration of your program

The homestay coordinator is very nice and the homestays were pretty good. The other administration in this program is pretty apathetic. The academic coordinator especially, it is a bit confusing what his role is. He was active in the beginning and then kind of zoned out.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We stayed with homestays. Some homestays were a hit or miss, but I think tended to be on the better side. I personally stayed with a Scottish Swiss woman who had 4 dogs, 2 cats, and a bird. It was not as much cultural exposure that I wanted, but other students really enjoyed the homestay and the cultural experience they had with them.

Food in Switzerland is not great, not a place to go for food. What people say about cheese and chocolate is so true. The chocolate rocks, ate it almost everyday. They also eat a lot of bread. Eating out is very pricey. There are small portions and large prices. The program does give a stipend for lunch but I would advice spending it at Migros (a supermarket) or packing food. Some other good choices is this sandwich shop nearby and this pasta place. When traveling outside of Switzerland indulge because Switzerland is not the place to go to experience good food.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt dissatisfied. I felt like it was not as culturally different as I hoped it would be. I felt like it was very similar to the US. I also felt like the lack of interaction with locals also made it difficult to feel and know the local culture. You are stuck with American university students for classes, and mostly make friends among these and hang out and travel with them so you don't really get much chance to know the local culture and interact with students from that culture unless you luck out with your homestay. I wish that there was more interaction with the local people and speaking and exchanging ideas with local students.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Great healthcare insurance and the staff helps you find it if you need help. Also it is included in the tuition and usually means no out of pocket costs. Better than US I think.

I felt very very safe in Switzerland.

I think I really wanted a different cultural experience and I felt like that was missing from this program. I wish I could interact with more local people and have conversation and exchange ideas on different topics.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Thanks to the University of Michigan they really supported me financially for this study abroad trip and made it affordable. Also, the stipend that the program gives for food was helpful with additional costs. There were some other initial costs at the beginning that was a bit unexpected.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

You can get along fine with English and when out and about people usually switch to English, so there was not much motivation to learn French.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Americans

• Briefings
• MSF
• Morocco

• Fostering Peer Relationships
• Cultural Exposure
• Local Interaction

The Academic or Linguist