Study Abroad

Study Away and Mobility Opportunities

Crossing cultural boundaries is a hallmark of the Corcoran experience. Among the many possibilities are a travel study course in India with Corcoran faculty, an exchange program with Swedish students on site in Washington, D.C., and a photography research experience in El Salvador.

A number of international courses have been designed to complement the curricula of both degree-seeking and Continuing Education students. An extraordinarily high percentage of Corcoran students take advantage of our International Study programs—living, learning, and connecting in destinations throughout Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

New York Studio Program

The New York Studio Residency Program is open to advanced (usually junior year) students selected by the college for independent study during either the fall or spring semester.  The program stresses self-directed studio work, coupled with critiques, seminars, and an exposure to the cultural life of New York City.  It is taught by experienced faculty drawn from AICAD member colleges and is administered for AICAD by two part-time, on-site staff. 

The semester-long program is located in a building on Jay Street in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood. Students have access to individual art studios, a seminar room, a wood shop, a computer room, and a kitchen/dining area. The New York Studio Residency Program offers two options: 

• Independent Study: Students receive studio space to pursue their work based on a plan developed with their chair or program director.
• Internships: Students can work with professional design firms or assist artists and other professionals.

Students participating in either option must attend seminars and visiting artist lectures, maintain a journal, and keep up with required studio work or internship tasks for a total of 13 credit hours per semester. The four faculty members consist of two art critic/writers and two artists, with a man and woman in each group. There is a studio manager for the facility as well who works with the director and the students.

Applicants must submit a formal application, be in good academic standing, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, and secure recommendations by two faculty members. Participants will be selected by a jury of Corcoran faculty and deans. The Corcoran deadlines for expressing an interest in applying to the program are October 14 for the following spring semester and March 15 for the following fall semester.

Credits earned while enrolled in the New York Studio program are granted by the School of Visual Arts and are recorded by the Corcoran as equivalent credit after successful completion of the program. Credits earned through the program do not count against the Corcoran’s undergraduate limit of a maximum nine credit hours of transfer credit.

For more information, please visit http://nysp.aicad.org

MORE INFORMATION & To Register

For more information on the Mobility and study abroad programs, please contact Stephanie Moos, associate director of student affairs at smoos@corcoran.org.

LADAKH, INDIA 

Ladakh, a high-altitude desert beyond the peaks of the Himalaya, offers few resources in an extreme climate. Yet it has been the home of a thriving agricultural society for over a thousand years. In this course students explore the coping skills and attitudes that allow the people of Ladakh to survive and prosper in peace and harmony under the harshest of circumstances. Students examine community and family structures, the role of ancient localized knowledge, as well as Buddhist traditions to learn whether Ladakh is prepared to meet the challenges of increasing westernization without losing its ecological balance and social harmony. The course will meet four times during the spring semester to prepare for a month-long tour of Ladakh beginning in June in New Delhi.

MORE INFORMATION & to Register

For more information on this study away program, please contact Robert Devers, coordinator of study away programs at rdevers@corcoran.org.

Corcoran Study Away's Facebook Page

SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, Mexico

THE PITTMAN STUDY AWAY PROGRAM

The Pittman Study Away Program was officially launched in January of 2009, through the vision and generosity of our patrons, Robert and Veronique Pittman.

This program is a formal collaboration between the Corcoran Gallery and College of Art + Design and the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature in Mexico City and their affiliated colleges of art and design, La Esmerelda, and Designo & Artesanias. 

The vision behind this collaboration is to develop bi-national artistic and educational programs in which there are full reciprocal exchanges between the students, faculty, visiting artists, and exhibitions of both institutions to deepen our collective appreciation and understanding of each other’s artistic culture, histories and collective futures.

Through these exchanges, program participants will cross borders and explore the environments and communities found in Washington, DC, Mexico City as well as in the heart of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, at The Ignacio Ramirez “El Nigromante” Cultural Center, locally known as Bellas Artes.

In San Miguel de Allende the Corcoran will expand the academic setting well beyond the classroom to a seventeenth century Spanish Colonial town, considered to be one of Mexico’s most beautiful cities, and has a unique tradition of attracting artists and art students from around the world.

Through the Pittman Study Away Program, American and Mexican students and faculty will become fully immersed in the celebration of a cross-cultural experience, working collaboratively to shape a mutually enriching dialog and collective imagination through the language of art.

Faculty Artists in Residence

In Mexico, The Pittman Study Away Program provides month long residencies for faculty through an initiation into the world of cross-cultural exchange, to expand their practice creating new works of art, engaging the community through lectures and special projects, and teaching in a new landscape and culture.

This immersion into the art, culture, and history of Mexico will inspire our faculty to also expand their curricular parameters for our students, and result in personal and professional growth and contribute to the global citizenship of our faculty.

In Washington, DC, The Pittman Program welcomes Faculty Artists in Residence for month long residencies in partnership with the Mexican Cultural Institute, one of the most important artistic and cultural centers established outside of Mexico.  Its primary mission is to promote the vast and rich traditions of Mexico’s cultural past and present.  

Mexican Faculty Artists in Residence engage the whole of the Corcoran community through sharing and perusing their artistic practice, teaching students, lecturing, and through exhibitions of their work. Working along side our faculty and students creates a reciprocal learning opportunity through art education to broaden our pedagogical discourse and understanding.

Robert Devers

Director: Pittman Study Away Program

ABOUT SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

San Miguel de Allende, nestled in the mountainous central region of Mexico, is part of the “Bajio” region in the state of Guanajuato. This “low” region in reality averages about 7000 feet, but is called so for being a relatively flat area ringed by mountains. San Miguel El Grito (as it was originally known) was founded by a Franciscan monk in 1542. It was an important stopover of the silver route from Zacatecas.

When the Mexican War of Independence began in the nearby town of Dolores (now know as Dolores Hildago) on September 16, 1810, in an act now celebrated as “El Grito”, the rapidly growing revolutionary army came to San Miguel El Grande. Dolores Hildago is known as the “Cradle of National Independence” while San Miguel calls itself the “Forge of National Independence”, for it was here that General Ignacio Allende joined the army as Padre Miguel Hildago’s chief lieutenant and led the army to several victories. Allende was not able to enjoy a Mexico independent from Spanish oppression, however, as he was captured during battle and summarily executed. He is now a national hero, and the town renamed itself “San Miguel de Allende” in 1826 to honor his actions.

As its mineral wealth waned, San Miguel was popular as both a quiet, beautiful place to live and an attraction for the wealthy for its natural hot springs. By 1900, the town itself was in danger of dying out. Having been declared a national monument in 1926 (no neon signs, no modern buildings), the old Centro district still has the colonial style elegance of its wealthy past.

It was after World War II that San Miguel de Allende began to revive as a tourist attraction, as many GI’s discovered that their education grants stretched further in Mexico at the US accredited art school, the Instituto Allende, founded in 1950.

San Miguel de Allende is world famous for its mild climate, colonial architecture, and an expatriate population that estimates a number between 6,000 and 8,000. The total population is about 85,000, and is primarily made up of Americans and Canadians, with a smattering of Europeans and other nationalities. Many people have elected to retire here, as the large community of foreigners has brought about a number of conveniences that would normally not be available in a town of this size. San Miguel de Allende was declared a World Heritage Site in 2008.

Corcoran Study Away's Facebook Page

MORE INFORMATION & to Register

For more information on this study away program, please contact Robert Devers, coordinator of study away programs at rdevers@corcoran.org.

Jerusalem, Israel

Scholarship for the Deane and Paul Shatz International Exchange Program of the Corcoran College of Art + Design

Four Corcoran students will be chosen!

Travel. Meet new friends.
Collaborate. Photograph.

This will be a three-credit photography class during the summer of 2013. Four Corcoran  students will participate with four students from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Sciences in Jerusalem, Israel.

Students will travel to Israel in May with Corcoran faculty member Na'ama Lewin and meet with Bezalel students in Jerusalem.

In June, the same Bezalel students and a faculty member will visit Washington to collaborate with Corcoran students in the nation's capital. In between visits, Corcoran and Bezalel students will work together virtually.

Flight, hotel, touring, and most credit costs will be covered with the scholarship.

Travel
Corcoran to Israel May 21-June 4
Virtual collaboration June 5-June 22
Bezalel to Washington June 23-July 7

Scholarship Application

Application due March 25

For more information contact naama_lewin@corcoran.edu.

The Mobility Program

As a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), the Corcoran participates in a mobility program with more than 30 affiliated institutions in the United States and Canada. Current or prospective juniors may apply to attend one of the participating institutions with which we have a reciprocal agreement. Tuition and financial aid continue to be handled by the Corcoran, although the host school may charge lab and student fees separately.

Applications are due one semester prior to the desired semester of study (October 14 for the following spring semester and March 30 for the following fall semester). Interested students must meet with the associate director of student affairs for assistance in selecting the most beneficial program for their educational and career goals, interests, and abilities. Completed applications are sent to the host institution by the Office of Student Affairs (not by the individual student).

The mobility program is open to full-time bachelor students entering or in their junior year who are in good academic standing, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, have obtained their chair’s approval, and otherwise meet the eligibility requirements of their specific program. Students may attend another mobility institution for one semester only. While students choose which mobility program institution they wish to attend, the host institution retains sole discretion to accept or decline an application and to approve course selection.

Credits earned at the host institution through the AICAD mobility program are accepted as Corcoran equivalent credits and thus do not count against the Corcoran’s undergraduate limit of a maximum nine credit hours of transfer credit. Grades received while on mobility become part of a student’s permanent record and are included in calculating his/her cumulative GPA.

AICAD colleges participating in the mobility program are:

Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alberta Canada
Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
Art Institute of Boston; Boston, Massachusetts
California College of the Arts, Oakland, California
Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
College for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan
Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio
Cooper Union School of Art, New York, New York
Corcoran College of Art + Design, Washington, D.C.
Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri
Laguna College of Art & Design, Laguna Beach, California
Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, Connecticut
Maine College of Art, Portland, Maine
Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland
Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, Massachusetts
Memphis College of Art, Memphis, Tennessee
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, Massachusetts
Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto, Canada
Oregon College of Art & Craft, Portland, Oregon
Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, California
Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island
Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida
San Francisco Art Institute; San Francisco, California
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The following institutions outside of the United States and Canada have an affiliation with AICAD and participate in many of AICAD’s programs.

Burren College of Art; Ballyvaughan, Ireland
Osaka University of Arts, Osaka, Japan
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, Israel

Mobility Program Overseas Option

The Mobility program provides an opportunity for students to spend a semester during their junior year at their choice of a number of colleges across the country or, spend a semester attending a fellow AICAD school in Canada, Ireland, or Japan. The program is open to full-time Bachelor’s students in good academic standing who meet all eligibility requirements. 

MORE INFORMATION & To Register

For more information on the Mobility and study abroad programs, please contact Stephanie Sarvana, associate director of student affairs at ssarvana@corcoran.org.

More Information for Students

Study Abroad

Corcoran students may also apply to study abroad for one semester during their junior year outside of the AICAD mobility program. The college has preapproved several schools and programs that have hosted Corcoran students in the past; this list is available from the Office of Student Affairs. The number of students eligible to participate each semester is limited.

Students wishing to study abroad at a preapproved school continue to pay tuition to the Corcoran, and credits earned are accepted after review without counting against the nine-credit limit on transfer credits. Grades received become part of a student’s permanent record and are included in calculating his/her cumulative GPA.

Interested students should meet with the associate director of student affairs for assistance in choosing the program that most fits their needs. An internal application to participate in Study Abroad is due October 1 for the following spring semester and March 1 for the following fall semester.

Eligibility requirements include good academic standing, a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, and completion of an essay describing the student’s goals for studying abroad. The application, essay, and a course plan must be approved by the student’s department chair and submitted to the Office of Student Affairs, which will rank applicants in consultation with the Dean’s Office. Completed applications are sent to the host institutions by the Office of Student Affairs (not by the individual student).

After returning, students who successfully complete a Study Abroad program can be required to present an overview of their experiences at a gathering of faculty and fellow students.

Students may wish to attend schools abroad that are not preapproved by the Corcoran. A student may ask that a school be considered for preapproval status by contacting the associate director of student affairs; if the school is approved by the Provost’s Office, the student may then pursue the procedures outlined above.

Alternately, a student may take a Leave of Absence to study at a school not approved by the college; however, any credits earned and grades received will be reviewed for acceptability upon the student’s return and treated under the terms of the college’s Transfer Credit Policy. Students who wish to participate in non-approved programs are not required to apply for these programs through the Corcoran or seek departmental approval for participation.

Mobility/Study Abroad Tuition and Housing

Students participating in the mobility program or an approved study abroad program pay Corcoran tuition directly to the Corcoran College of Art + Design (there are no exceptions to this policy). If applicable, the student receives the regular financial aid award to which he or she is entitled. Students participating in the mobility program or study abroad programs are not eligible for employment from the host institution.

Students must contact the host institution to determine if there are any additional fees, outside of tuition, that are required. Policies on these fees vary by institution and program and are to be paid directly to the host institution by the student. Students are responsible for arranging and paying for housing and transportation during the mobility/study abroad semester.

Mobility/Study Abroad Grades

While away, students are governed by the host institution’s academic regulations. All courses taken at a host institution must be pre-approved by the student’s chair or program director, and a mobility/study abroad course substitution form must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar prior to the student’s exchange semester. Credits received through the mobility and approved study away programs are counted toward the student’s residency at the Corcoran College of Art + Design, and are factored into the student’s cumulative GPA.

After completing a mobility/study abroad semester, student must request an official transcript of their grades to be sent to the Office of the Registrar at the Corcoran to apply the credits to their program. Official transcripts and final course substitution forms are due no later than 30 days into the semester following their exchange semester. If credits for the exchange semester are not finalized by this deadline, a registration hold will be placed on the student’s record, and he or she will not be able to register for future semesters or make changes to his or her current schedule.