Hyderabad, India Fall/Academic Year 2010-11
IAP Program Handbook
Congratulations on being selected to participate in the study abroad program in
Hyderabad, India!
This program is offered by International Academic Programs (IAP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in partnership with the Council for International Educational Exchange (CIEE). Throughout the course of your study abroad experience you will be communicating with both IAP and CIEE staff. It is essential that you pay close attention to all information provided to you from both organizations. This IAP Program Handbook supplements handbook(s) or materials you receive from CIEE as well as the IAP Study Abroad Handbook and provides you with the most up-to-date information and advice available at the time of printing. Changes may occur before your departure or while you are abroad.
CIEE handles the program’s day-to-day operations. Generally, questions about aspects of your program abroad should be directed to CIEE (e.g., program housing options, program facilities abroad, cultural tours offered as part of the program, etc.) Questions relating to your relationship with UW-Madison or your academics should be addressed to International Academic Programs at UW-Madison (e.g., course credits, equivalents, UW Madison registration, etc.)
This program handbook contains the following information:
Contact Information 1
Program Dates 2
Preparations Before Leaving 2
Travel and Arrival Information 3
The Academic Program 3
Living Abroad 4
Student Testimonials 6
Contact Information
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CIEE On-Site Contact
Kavita Gooty Venkata, Resident Director
Center for Distance Education
University of Hyderabad
Hyderabad 500 046
India
Tel: +91-040-2301-2714
Mobile: +91-986-604-7507
E-mail:
CIEE Pre-Departure Contact
Christopher Bettera, Enrollment Officer
CIEE – Hyderabad Program
7 Custom House Street, 3rd Floor
Portland, ME 04101
Tel: 207-553-4097
Fax: 207-253-0697
Email:
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UW-Madison Information
International Academic Programs (IAP)
University of Wisconsin-Madison
250 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Tel: 608-265-6329, Fax: 608-262-6998
Web: www.studyabroad.wisc.edu
Andrea Muilenburg
IAP Student Study Abroad Advisor
Phone: (608)-265-2915
E-mail:
Emergency Contact Information
In case of an emergency, call the main IAP number (608) 265-6329 between 7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; after-hours or on weekends call the IAP staff on call at (608) 516-9440.
In an emergency, you or a family member can call CIEE 24 hours a day at 1-800-40-STUDY (from the US) or 207-553-7600 (US and overseas). This number is monitored 24 hours per day and will put you in touch with CIEE program staff in Maine.
Embassy Registration
Program participants who are U.S. citizens must register at the U.S. Embassy before departure as this will help in case of a lost passport or other mishap. You can register on-line at https://travelregistration.state.gov. If you are not a U.S. citizen, register at your home country’s embassy or consulate.
Consulate General in Mumbai
Lincoln House
78 Bhulabhai, Desai Road
Mumbai 400 026
Tel: +22-2363-3611
Fax: +22-2363-0350
Web: http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/
Program Dates
Fall semester usually begins in mid July and ends in early December. Spring semester usually begins in late December and ends in early May. Please refer to CIEE program materials for more detailed program dates.
Preparations Before Leaving
Refer to the Pre-Departure Checklist on pages four and five of the IAP Study Abroad Handbook for essential information.
Immigration Documents
Participants will need to obtain a student visa. CIEE will provide program participants with application instructions as well as necessary documents to apply for the student visa. Pay attention to deadline dates set by CIEE and follow all instructions carefully. Contact CIEE with any specific visa questions.
Travel and Arrival Information
Travel and Arrival Information will be provided by CIEE.
The Academic Program
General Information
The University of Hyderabad (UoH) is a prestigious, sophisticated, high quality graduate institution with approximately 2,100 students on its large and relatively well-equipped campus. The student body is made up of mostly Indian students drawn from all over the country. Classes are relatively small and are taught through lectures, although most professors welcome discussion and active student participation. The main campus is on the outskirts of the city with a green, spacious, and attractive campus. Access to the city is easy with good bus and train service and cheap taxi transport.
The program offers students a combination of specially designed courses and regular university courses in such fields as history, literature, philosophy, sociology, communication, management studies, anthropology, dance, art history, cinema, political science, economics, natural sciences, and Indian languages (Hindi, Telugu & Urdu). Many faculty members have experience teaching American students, either in the US or in India. CIEE students usually take UoH classes primarily from the arts, social sciences, and humanities departments.
Prior to coming to India, students can look up information on the basic program curriculum at CIEE's website as well in the CIEE program catalog. Additional course information is also available on at: http://www.uohyd.ernet.in/academic/academic_outreach/study_in_india_prog/index.html The CIEE staff has access to select course syllabi which can be forwarded to students and advisors on request.
Course Information
Students are required to take two courses on this program: a language course (Hindi, Telugu, or Urdu) and a core course on contemporary Indian society called “Indian Religious Traditions: An Introduction to Contemporary India”. Beyond these two courses, participants are required to choose two electives chosen from regular university classes and special study in India courses available at the university. Students are highly recommended to take at least one elective course in a department within the University for a deeper immersion experience.
Registration
Registration information will be provided by CIEE. In general, CIEE will communicate with you by email. You will receive detailed information on courses and requirements in your online CIEE acceptance materials. Read all of the CIEE materials carefully and return all CIEE forms directly to CIEE by their deadline date. Students will also be advised by the Resident Director upon arrival to help finalize their university course selections.
Equivalents and Course Equivalent Request Form (CERF)
Each course you take abroad must be assigned a UW-Madison “equivalent” course in order for your grades and credits to be recorded on your UW-Madison transcript. In order to establish UW-Madison course equivalents for your study abroad courses, you will submit a Course Equivalent Requests through your My Study Abroad account. Detailed information on the UW course equivalent process that you will use through your My Study Abroad account is available in the IAP Study Abroad Handbook.
Credits
Total recommended credit for the semester is 16 credits and total recommended credit for the academic year is 32 credits. Elective and language course contact hours are 60 and students will receive 4 UW-Madison credits for each course, unless otherwise indicated.
Pass/Fail/Drop/Audit
Please refer to the IAP Study Abroad Handbook for Academic Policies.
Grades and Grade Conversions
Students are required to attend all classes held in each course and participate, to the satisfaction of the professor, in practical study seminars. The examination system is designed to systematically test the student’s progress in class, labs, and field work through continuous evaluation. The majority of classes have two mid-semester examinations worth 20% each, and one final exam worth 60%. Some classes also have short quizzes, homework assignments, seminars, tutorials, and term papers. The final result in each course is calculated on the basis of this continuous assessment.
The grade conversion scale can be found in the IAP Study Abroad Handbook.
Living Abroad
Educate yourself about your host country. Read the Preparing to Live in Another Culture section of the IAP Study Abroad Handbook. You can also consult the following resources.
Websites of Interest:
UW-Madison International Academic Programs (IAP):
http://www.studyabroad.wisc.edu
CIEE’s website:
http://www.ciee.org
General orientation information (culture shock, international travel, etc.):
http://www.worldwide.edu
U.S. State Department information:
http://travel.state.gov
U.S. State Department Students Abroad site:
http://www.studentsabroad.state.gov/
Center for Disease Control (CDC):
http://www.cdc.gov/travel/
Lonely Planet Guidebook:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com
History of Hyderabad, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hyderabad_(India)
Useful Travel Books:
Fodor’s Berkeley Budget Guides
Frommer’s Travel Guides
Let’s Go
Lonely Planet
Michelin Guides
Rough Guide
Also check the International Travel Health Guide by Stuart R. Rose, MD.
Books on India:
More “Essential”
Culture Shock! India: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette – Gitanjali Kolanad
A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
The Bhagavad Gita – Various Translations (one chapter of the Mahabharata)
The “Indian Epics”: The Ramayana, The Mahabharata
The Argumentative Indian – Amartya Sen
In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India – Edward Luce
Gandhi an Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth – Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
Snakes and Ladders – Gita Mehta
Karma Cola: Marketing the Mystic East – Gita Mehta
Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
Additional
AIDS Sutra: Untold Stories from India – Amartya Sen (Collection of essays)
Development as Freedom – Amartya Sen
White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India – William Dalrymple
City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi – William Dalrymple
Autobiography of a Yogi – Paramhansa Yogananda
The Essential Gandhi: An Anthology of His Writing on His Life, Work, and Ideas – Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
Siddhartha – Herman Hesse
Kim – Rudyard Kipling
Shantaram – Gregory David Roberts
Communication
When making calls, keep in mind time zone differences (www.timeanddate.com/worldclock). To make an international call to the United States, dial the access code for the country from which you are calling plus the United States country code (always “1”) followed by the appropriate U.S. area code and local number. To call internationally from the United States, dial “011”, the country code, city access code (if necessary) and the phone number . Country and city codes can be found online (www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/dialing.html). Some of above steps can vary if you are using a calling card.
Refer for your CIEE handbook for detailed information regarding communicating via telephone, email, and mail while in India.
CIEE highly recommends purchasing a cell phone and Indian SIM card once you arrive in Hyderabad. This makes it much easier to stay in contact with fellow participants, new and old friends, and family.
Skype is a free, downloadable software application that allows users to make live video and voice calls over the internet. Skype users can also add money to their account and can then use the service to call land lines and cell phones internationally at very low rates. Additionally, Skype also provides an instant messaging function as well as file sharing.
To create a Skype account, users must download the application from www.skype.com and create a user name and password. Once the application is installed onto their computer, they can search for friends either by first and last name or using their friends' Skype usernames. Once a friend is added to a users contact list, they will be able to see whether that person is available to chat. If two users both have web-enabled video cameras for their computers, they will be able to chat face to face. For users without a web cam, a microphone is all that’s required for calls to another computer.
Student Testimonials
The testimonials below are from past participants; they reflect various students’ experiences and are included to provide different perspectives. IAP does not endorse any specific view expressed in this section.
Preparations Before Leaving
Pack less than you think you will need. And you probably still pack too much. Plus you need lots of room for things you buy in India.
Travel and Arrival Information
Travel. Travel. Travel. India is so diverse; you can only see that by seeing different cities and sites. My favorite was the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab. Make sure to get there before sunrise. It was amazing. You can also stay and eat for free in the pilgrim/traveler dorms!
Getting around India is easiest, fastest, and most comfortable by train. They are fun and you meet interesting people. People love to know about you, so talk to them. To purchase train tickets online go to: http://www.irctc.co.in/
Academic Program
The classes were pretty easy. It turns out great because it gives you ample time explore, travel, and get involved in campus and city activities. Be proactive and find these activities. They might find you, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Living Abroad
Do yoga every morning, or play soccer with the students!
Living in Hyderabad was great. It was one of my favorite cities in India. Make sure you travel around and explore all that the city has to offer. Great shops are hiding everywhere.
Housing was great and food is cooked by a staff. No worries.If I were to do it again I would have probably stayed in a home stay.You get to experience aspects of the culture that you just won’t get otherwise.
The guest house is a nice way to bond with people in the program, though you are "babied" a lot.
If you want to do an internship or some volunteering, check out some Hyderabad NGOs on Idealist.org. Email communication can be sporadic, so if you really want to work with them it would be best to go to their office personally.
The Hostels are an excellent place to stay. You get to meet a lot of Indians and other international students and it is cheaper than the guesthouse.
The University is a “Central” university, which means it is administered by the national government. It also means that there are a certain amount of “quotas” that are reserved for “scheduled” or “backwards” castes. This means that the Campus is an incredibly diverse place. Students come from all over India and from very diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. This can be a bit disorienting and overwhelming, but try to take advantage of it: talk to as many different people you can, and read up on Indian history before you get there.
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