After Return - AU 694:
Integrating Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Study Abroad
When you return, you will need to take a one-credit class called AU 694. This is not a traditional class, in the sense that there are no regular class meetings. It is an opportunity for you to reflect on what you've learned, both in and outside the classroom.
You will be writing a final paper with the assistance of a faculty mentor. The paper is supposed to combine what you learned in the classroom with what you learned from living in your host country. You and your faculty mentor will decide together on the specific topic of your paper and on how it will be written. It will be at least ten pages long - if you have not written at least twenty pages in your classes while abroad, this paper will need to be longer. The total number of pages for all Segment III classes must be at least thirty pages. The paper will be graded for both content and composition.
Finding a faculty mentor
The first step is to find a faculty mentor. Please start this process the moment classes begin. The mentor can be any regular faculty member at SFSU. It does not have to be from your major or minor, and the mentor does not need to have experience in your host country. Think about professors whose classes you have enjoyed, who have an international emphasis in their classes, or with whom you have worked closely in the past when you are deciding which professor you will ask.
When you ask your professor to be your AU 694 mentor, please print out and bring a copy of this letter to give to the professor. This is a fairly new cluster, and not everyone has heard of it before. The letter will help explain and answer some of their questions. You may also direct them to this website 鈥 there is a section for faculty mentors as well.
Please be polite when you ask a professor to be your mentor 鈥 you are asking her or him to donate their time to you. Also, be prepared that your first choice may say no 鈥 he or she may have too many projects that semester to participate. If your professor has more questions or wants to talk with someone about the program, please refer her or him to the cluster coordinator.
Segment III Petition
Completed Sample GE Petition Form for Bilateral and CSUIP Students
Once a mentor has agreed to work with you, go to Academic Advising (Admin 211) and ask for a Segment III Petition. Fill out the courses that you took for the Segment III while abroad and bring it to the Cluster Coordinator to sign. Check with the department website of the Cluster Coordinator for office hours.
Once you have a mentor and the Segment III petition has been signed, the Cluster Coordinator will give you a permit number that will allow you to add the class. You cannot register ahead of time for AU 694, but there is also no course limit. It is important that you find a mentor and get the petition signed early in the semester, before the add/drop deadline.
Once you are registered for the course, you and your faculty mentor will decide together how often you will meet, what deadlines you will have for your project, and what milestones you should turn in (thesis statement, draft, etc.).
If you or your faculty mentor have any questions that the website does not answer, please contact Trevor Getz, Cluster Coordinator tgetz@sfsu.edu.
|
