Hiram College continues to implement its model of the New Liberal Arts by signing two new Memoranda of Understandings (MOU) with international partners. Both partnerships go far beyond typical international exchanges, as they pave the way for students at participating institutions to pursue a major, minor, or area of study that is not available to them at their home college or university.
The first partnership is with the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC) — a private research university in Herzliya, Israel, founded on the model of the American Ivy League Universities. IDC enrolls a strong international student body, including a large number of American undergraduates, who take full Bachelor of Arts programs in English. Through its partnership with the IDC, Hiram aims to encourage its students to complete majors or minors in areas it does not offer. As designed, Hiram students will travel to the IDC for a year to enroll in upper-level courses in foreign policy, cyber security, and/or international business. These courses will be coupled with courses they have taken at Hiram so that they may complete a major not available solely through Hiram’s own offerings.
Conversely, Hiram and IDC officials are collaborating to leverage Hiram’s strength in health sciences to develop a year-long “pre-medical” curriculum for IDC students wishing to go to medical school. Since the IDC does not offer majors in natural or physical science, IDC students who aspire to be doctors must enroll elsewhere in courses required by medical programs. This program will also attract domestic college graduates who are interested in pursuing a health-related career but lack the prerequisites needed for graduate or medical school.
The second MOU is with a longtime partner, John Cabot University (JCU) — an American liberal arts college in the heart of Rome, Italy. In the 1970s, Hiram College helped JCU obtain its initial accreditation, and many Hiram faculty and students have taught or studied there over the decades. In this new relationship, it is expected that Hiram students will have the ability to pursue majors such as Art History, Classics and International Business; none of which are currently offered at Hiram. Meanwhile, John Cabot students can come to Hiram to study disciplines unavailable at JCU, such as Sport Management, Exercise Science, Natural History, and Creative Writing.
“IDC Herzliya and John Cabot are outstanding universities. Both embody a commitment to academic and professional excellence, both offer an international experience of the highest quality; and both extend the offerings that help students develop the 21st-century skill sets and mindsets underscored in our model for the New Liberal Arts,” said Lori E. Varlotta, Ph.D., president of Hiram College. “We look forward to nurturing these global partnerships because of their inherent benefit to our students, and for the opportunity to attract others looking for such well-designed, high impact experiences.”
Hiram also has formal exchange agreements with Bogazici University and Istanbul Aydin University in Istanbul, Turkey; Kanda University and Kansai Gaidai University in Japan.
Students can learn more about Hiram’s study abroad opportunities and exchange programs by visiting https://www.hiram.edu/academics/study-abroad/exchange-programs/.
by College Relations
