Educational Experience

A class building at the University of Arizona.

The objectives of the Border Studies Program require that students play an active role in their educational experiences and in striving to understand the complexities of the border region and the effects of globalization. The program design brings together three distinct components in this binational, multicultural region: homestays, courses, and field studies. Each of these provides quite different perspectives and contributes to a multidimensional understanding of the borderlands.

Participants on the Border Studies Program will benefit from the expertise of faculty at the University of Arizona in Tucson, faculty at the Universidad Pedagogica Nacional in Nogales, Sonora and faculty of Borderlinks in Tucson.

The Program also works in cooperation with the rich variety of human, educational, and organizational resources in the Tucson and Nogales areas devoted to border issues.

Students earn 18 credit hours (or equivalent) for successful completion of the required coursework and field study.

The Program begins with a week-long, on-site orientation, which introduces students to Tucson, AZ and the southern Arizona borderlands, to the many aspects of the program, and to the families they will be living with.

The Border Studies Program office is located in the beautiful Historic Y building in Tucson. It has a great central location and is only a few blocks from the University of Arizona campus.

"Value everything: make sure to have lots of conversations about why you’re here and how you feel. Learn to use language wisely, but don’t be afraid to talk in class, check all of your assumptions, don’t let work or people stress you out too much; it’s just life. Appreciate the skies, go to Big Bend!"-2003 Program Participant

Back to top

Earlham Home Page