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Exchange School OR field school?

ashakhera
edited February 2014 in General
So I'm majoring in International Studies, and a part of my degree is to do either an exchange school or
field school. The problem is I'm having trouble deciding which one to do! Any suggestions? Does a field school give you more beneficial experience or are they both the same? 

*If I were to do a field school it would be the Southeast Asia one/ or the linguistics one in Fiji (that's my minor)
 and as for an exchange the opportunities are endless. 

Thanks! 

Comments

  • Whydoihavetoregister
    I think exchange is longer than field school, plus exchange lets you take more variety of courses? The field school programs that's been advertised by SFU international seemed to be limited to certain subject areas and courses. You can always find out by going to the SFU international exchange office, they're beside the White Spot Triple O's.
  • BeAnBeAnBeAnBeAn
    Yeah field school is more direct and focused on a related course/topic I think and exchange school is just going to somewhere else to study and take courses to fulfill your SFU credits just like any other school.
  • Annie
    How many SFU students actually go to an exchange school, in IS or any other programs?  It sounds like it would be quite the adventure, but it doesn't seem to get talked up very much.
  • latnahcc
    Hi! I think I may be able to help since I went on Field School last year.

    I contemplated about both and did adequate research.

    Exchange is when you go to a school in a different area as an individual student. You must apply for courses on your own and make sure that they are transferable credits. You also have to find housing on your own. All in all, it seems like a more independent experience and you get a lot of freedom in your course schedule and so forth.

    I went to Prague last Summer for the field school program. Field school is usually centered around one specific discipline, for instance the Prague one is a Humanities program. The courses are already selected for you and they are transferable. You will go with a group of SFU students and an SFU director. Housing will already be planned for you. Your program fee includes the tuition, program fees (which included various field trips, museums, etc for us), breakfast meals, and housing.

    I personally really enjoyed my field  school experience. It was the first time for me to go abroad so it was nice to not have to worry about housing or applying for courses. Everything is laid out for you BUT you still get a lot of freedom to design your experience. It's also really rewarding to be with a group of like minded people. I met a lot of life long friends from this trip.

    In conclusion, I think it's great that you're considering studying abroad. Although I am biased towards my almost perfect experience in Prague, I think you should talk to more people before deciding which program is better for you :)

    PS look at the deadlines! Exchange deadlines tend to be MONTHS ahead of actual departure.

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