Academics

Registration

When on-campus registration begins at the UofM, the Learning Abroad Center will register all students who are confirmed participants on the program. To prepare for registration, be sure that you have confirmed your place on the program and that your student account is free from any holds. You must be registered prior to departure.

For UMN students, it's important that you are registered for the exact number of credits that you will be taking on the program (16). The Learning Abroad Center will register you for a block of 12 placeholder credits (FOST 3xxx) and you will receive an email once this has been completed. It is then your responsibility to increase that amount to 16 via the MyU registration system. For more information about program coursework, click here.

Non-UMN students will be registered at the UMN by the Learning Abroad Center as active full-time, non-degree seeking UMN students for the term(s) that they are abroad.

Credit and Grade Options

All courses are for UMN students will come back as resident credit. All students, regardless of home institution,  must take their courses A–F. Exceptions will not be granted to this policy. 

Academic Policies 

Students should take some time to review the Learning Abroad Center academic policies.

Academic Schedule

During the classroom phase, classes operate on a block schedule. Students will typically have Thai language class in the morning from Monday-Thursday from 8:30-11:30am. Students will have lunch provided by ISDSI from 11:30am/12pm until 1pm.

During the first half of the classroom phase, students will have their Historical & Political Context of Thailand course from 1-4pm on Monday-Thursday. During the second half of the classroom phase, students will have their International Development course from 1-4pm on Monday-Thursday. Fridays are reserved for field excursions. No classes are held on the weekends, but student might have a required field visit on Saturday or an optional activity on the weekend. 

MSID Course Curriculum

You will enroll in four required courses in addition to an internship or research project:

It is important to keep in mind that for the first half of the program, you will be doing 3 semester-long courses condensed into 7 weeks. This means that your course load may feel heavier for the first 7 weeks in comparison to a typical semester. However, students also find that during the internship/research phase of the program, their workload is much lighter in comparison to a typical semester.

Internships and Research 

The internship or research experience is the cornerstone of the MSID program. Internships and research placements are grassroots experiences with local non-profit agencies. MSID does not organize internships with banks, embassies, for-profit organizations, or large political agencies.  As per University of Minnesota policy, students participating in an internship should be at their placement for 30-60 hours per credit. You will work at least 30 hours each week at your placement. You can see a list of sample past internships on the "Internships" page and sample past research placements on the "Research" page.

Past students and in-country staff have repeatedly stressed the importance of student initiative in successful internship/research experiences. Internship or research placements in Thailand can be very different from those in the US. Yes, it is true that some students receive a detailed job description from their agency when they arrive at their site, but that is the rare exception rather than the rule. You are just as likely to be given only a general idea of what to do. If you wait for someone to tell you exactly what you need to do and when you need to do it, you will be disappointed. When you get to your site, observe, think critically, try out ideas on your host-country colleagues, and use your imagination.

It is also important for you to remember that you will be in the linguistic minority. Your site might have several people who speak English or there might be only one person who speaks English. It is your responsibility to try and speak Thai rather than expecting people at your placement sites to speak English as the default. None of your placements require fluency in Thai; Thai can be a difficult language to learn and you will have only had 7 weeks to study it. You will make mistakes. You will not know certain words. You will become frustrated, uncomfortable, confused, or embarrassed at times. That is normal and part of learning to operate in a language that is not your own. 

Textbook Information

You do not need to bring textbooks to Thailand. Professors will typically provide you with the necessary reading materials. Materials not provided can be purchased in country. 

Instructors

The majority of your instructors will be local Thai professors from neighboring universities. They are experts in their fields and are looking forward to teaching college students from the US. Students are expected to respect the instructors and the cultural norms of the classroom.