Freshman Seminar Abroad

Freshman Seminar Abroad offers incoming freshmen the opportunity to travel to a foreign country, make friends with fellow freshmen, learn what a college course is like, get to know a professor, and become better connected with Ball State.

In summer 2009, the Rinker Center for International Programs took a group of 10 to 20 freshmen to St. John's, Newfoundland. The course focused on the politics of climate change. Students learned how the United States and Canada cooperate in protecting the environment and explore the international dimension of climate change, the Kyoto Accords, and other international responses to climate change. Program destination may change for summer 2010.

Program dates will be selected in spring 2010. Registration will be open beginning May 1, 2010. Students will enroll in a fall semester course, Political Science (POLS) 293, section 001S, on a first-come first-serve basis. Here is how it worked in 2009: Students arrived on campus. Following a program orientation, they traveled to East Lansing, Michigan, where they joined freshmen from Michigan State University on the trip. They then departed from the Detroit airport for Newfoundland.

Program Fee: $2,000

The program fee includes:

• round-trip airfare
• excursions
• program orientation (including housing and meals)
• housing (with breakfast)

The Freshman Seminar Abroad fee does not include tuition, which will be billed during the fall semester.

Helpful tips in obtaining your passport:

• Once you download your passport application, complete it and take it to the nearest post office that processes passports.
• Make sure that a notarized birth certificate and a passport photo is attached to your application.
• Take two personal checks with you to the post office—one for the United States Postal Services and one to the Department of State.
• Do not procrastinate. It can take up to four weeks to process your request.
• Your passport is valid for 10 years.

To participate in this program, complete the online registration form and mail your payment to the Rinker Center for International Programs. Once you register and we receive your payment, more information will follow. Direct questions to Jim Coffin.

Students who plan to participate in this program should have a passport or apply for one. Expect this process to take at least four weeks. To apply, visit the U.S. State Department Web site .

Program Dates: To be decided for 2010 

Itinerary (preliminary) - dates below are for summer 2009: