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JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> Rs. 20<br />

Choosing a Major<br />

Why Study in the U.S.<br />

Excelling With<br />

Integrity<br />

Explore<br />

New Horizons<br />

With a U.S. Education


How doYou Choo<br />

By MICHAEL GALLANT<br />

Students planning to<br />

pursue higher studies<br />

in the United States<br />

should keep a few key<br />

factors in mind while<br />

picking a major.<br />

Photographs © Getty Images<br />

From economics to anthropology,<br />

environmental biology<br />

to astronomy, musical theater to<br />

accounting, students have a huge<br />

array of choices when it comes<br />

to picking a major. For many,<br />

the decision can be daunting.<br />

But keeping a few key factors in<br />

mind can help you make a<br />

strong and informed choice.


<strong>July</strong>/<strong>August</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

se?<br />

Watch the job market<br />

Whom are companies trying to<br />

hire most? For instance, if you see<br />

postings everywhere for data<br />

scientists, artificial intelligence (AI)<br />

specialists or user interface/user<br />

experience (UI/UX) designers, and<br />

those disciplines intrigue you, looking<br />

at computer science study programs<br />

can be a great way to start.<br />

Money matters<br />

How much will you need to earn<br />

post-college to meet your financial<br />

obligations? A lot of information is<br />

available online about average<br />

salaries and expected growth for<br />

jobs in specific fields. So do your<br />

research and keep money in mind<br />

as you make your pick.<br />

Look at location<br />

Do you aspire to be a professor?<br />

Remember that choice professorships<br />

can be rare and competitive,<br />

and may require you to move far<br />

away from home. Or think of<br />

opportunities close to home. Is your<br />

home city a hub for clean energy<br />

start-ups, for instance? If so, perhaps<br />

a major in business, environmental<br />

engineering or design could set you<br />

up for success when it comes to<br />

landing a great job nearby.<br />

Get inspired<br />

Choose a major that excites you.<br />

The more inspired you are to learn,<br />

the more you’ll get out of your<br />

studies and the better prepared<br />

you’ll be to launch a successful<br />

career.<br />

The following pages will explore<br />

some majors and the associated<br />

career options that you can pursue.<br />

https://span.state.gov<br />

VOLUME LX NUMBER 4<br />

CONTENTS<br />

11<br />

2 How do You Choose?<br />

4 Strength and Structures<br />

8 Study the Mind<br />

11 Science of Air and Space<br />

15 Interpreting Information<br />

17 Understanding Social Life<br />

19 Business of Arts<br />

Editor in Chief<br />

Conrad W. Turner<br />

Editor<br />

Deepanjali Kakati<br />

Associate Editor<br />

Suparna Mukherji<br />

Hindi Editor<br />

Giriraj Agarwal<br />

Urdu Editor<br />

Syed Sulaiman Akhtar<br />

Copy Editor<br />

Shah Md. Tahsin Usmani<br />

Reviewing Editor<br />

Karl M. Adam<br />

19<br />

Art Director/<br />

Production Chief<br />

Hemant Bhatnagar<br />

Deputy Art Directors /<br />

Production Assistants<br />

Qasim Raza,<br />

Shah Faisal Khan<br />

Editorial Assistant<br />

Justina Bosco<br />

Courtesy Embry-Riddle<br />

Aeronautical University<br />

TED EYTAN/Courtesy Flickr<br />

24<br />

24 Building the Robots<br />

28 Why Study in the U.S.<br />

31 Interview Insights<br />

33 Fair Strategies<br />

36 Excelling With Integrity<br />

38 Legacy of Liberal Arts<br />

40 AES: Transforming Education<br />

40<br />

Front cover:<br />

Students of Embry-Riddle<br />

Aeronautical University work<br />

with Honeybee Robotics on<br />

a free-flying unmanned<br />

robotic spacecraft for<br />

asteroid resource<br />

prospecting and<br />

characterization. Photograph<br />

by Daryl LaBello/Embry-<br />

Riddle Aeronautical<br />

University.<br />

Articles with a star may be reprinted with permission. Those without a star are copyrighted and may not be<br />

reprinted.Contact SPAN at 011-23472135 or editorspan@state.gov<br />

Printed and published by<br />

David H. Kennedy on behalf<br />

of the Government of the<br />

United States of America<br />

and printed at Thomson<br />

Press India Ltd., 18/35<br />

Delhi Mathura Road,<br />

Faridabad, Haryana<br />

121007 and published at<br />

the Public Affairs Section,<br />

American Embassy,<br />

American Center, 24 K.G.<br />

Marg, New Delhi 110001.<br />

Opinions expressed in this<br />

44-page magazine do not<br />

necessarily reflect the views<br />

or policies of the U.S.<br />

Government.<br />

Courtesy Lake Superior State University<br />

Courtesy American Embassy School


Strength and<br />

Structures<br />

By MICHAEL GALLANT<br />

Earn a degree in<br />

architectural<br />

engineering and help<br />

buildings stand tall<br />

for decades to come.<br />

Above and below: Architectural engineering students at Kansas<br />

State University learn to accurately construct models and design<br />

plans to help make buildings safe and functional.<br />

Below left: An architectural engineering student at Illinois Institute<br />

of Technology uses standardized concrete cylinders to test the<br />

strength of concrete during a laboratory course.<br />

Courtesy Illinois Institute of Technology<br />

Photographs courtesy Kansas State University<br />

4 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


The creation of a new building may begin with<br />

an architect’s dream and finish with a builder’s<br />

hammer, but many important, and largely<br />

invisible, steps happen before an inspired<br />

design becomes a permanent manifestation of<br />

wood, metal or stone.<br />

For instance, floors and walls are planned to<br />

hold adequate weight, while roofs are designed<br />

to withstand the weather. Electrical and plumbing<br />

systems are woven into a building’s DNA and<br />

fire safety provisions are effectively integrated.<br />

Construction materials are sifted through and<br />

chosen for durability, safety, efficiency and<br />

practicality. And that’s just the beginning.<br />

For every modern building erected, who<br />

handles these disparate but vital calculations?<br />

“Most people understand that architects<br />

determine a building’s form and function,” says<br />

Kansas State University (K-State) Associate<br />

Professor Ray Buyle, “but architectural engineers<br />

are the ones who make a building work.” Buyle<br />

is the head of K-State’s GE Johnson<br />

Department of Architectural Engineering and<br />

Construction Science.<br />

Also known as ARE, architectural engineering<br />

is a little-known but hugely important discipline<br />

that keeps buildings standing and functioning,<br />

safely and correctly, in every aspect. Think of it<br />

as “a hybrid of civil engineering, mechanical<br />

engineering and environmental engineering,<br />

with a splash of architecture,” says Brent<br />

Stephens, chair of the department of civil,<br />

architectural and environmental engineering at<br />

the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). “In<br />

addition to taking classes in core civil<br />

engineering areas and learning key aspects of<br />

structural engineering, students blend in<br />

mechanical engineering courses to prepare them<br />

for designing energy, electrical, plumbing,<br />

heating and ventilation systems.”<br />

The multidisciplinary education of<br />

architectural engineering students doesn’t stop<br />

there. They can also expect to study topics like<br />

differential equations, physics and<br />

thermodynamics, says Stephens. Students can<br />

further benefit from studies associated with<br />

building science, including construction<br />

management, fire safety systems, energy<br />

modeling and beyond.<br />

It’s all in the service of making sure that the<br />

conceptual designs provided by an architect are<br />

built properly and can stand as permanent<br />

structures, says Michael Rich, a New Yorkbased<br />

designer, with a Bachelor of Architecture<br />

degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 5


Courtesy Kansas State University<br />

Architectural<br />

engineering is a<br />

choice major for<br />

students who are<br />

disciplined, who have<br />

an analytical thought<br />

process and who<br />

have an ability for<br />

creative problemsolving.<br />

New York.<br />

Since architectural engineering is such a<br />

technically rigorous field, students with a<br />

passion for STEM subjects are well positioned<br />

to thrive, says Rich. STEM is the commonlyused<br />

acronym for the subjects of science,<br />

technology, engineering and mathematics.<br />

Buyle sees architectural engineering as a<br />

choice major for students “who are<br />

disciplined, who have an analytical thought<br />

process and who have an ability for creative<br />

problem-solving.” Stephens adds that ideal<br />

students are those “who want to make<br />

buildings, and the world, better places,<br />

whether it be by reducing their impact on<br />

energy and the environment, or improving the<br />

indoor environment, or advancing structures<br />

to do things we haven’t done before.”<br />

A knack for communication and collaboration<br />

can also help architectural engineers<br />

thrive, says Rich. “Architects may push for<br />

radical or physically difficult designs, while<br />

engineers often want the simplest, most<br />

logical solution to a problem,” he continues.<br />

“It can be the engineer’s job to bring an<br />

architect back to reality.”<br />

In practice, architectural engineers are<br />

uniquely positioned to bridge that gap<br />

between artistic visions and physical realities.<br />

“Architectural engineers know that to make<br />

truly sustainable and high-performance<br />

buildings, everyone has to be at the table at<br />

the beginning of the design process, working<br />

in an integrated manner, acknowledging each<br />

other’s strengths and weaknesses, and trying<br />

to work toward a common goal,” says<br />

Stephens. “That, to me, is what architectural<br />

engineering is all about, and why I think it has<br />

a bright future.”<br />

K-State and IIT each offer dedicated<br />

architectural engineering programs. And, both<br />

institutions welcome international students<br />

into their classrooms and laboratories. If<br />

you’re interested in studying at either, be sure<br />

to check out their special offerings, including<br />

IIT’s multifaceted International Center and K-<br />

State’s scholarship and internship<br />

opportunities for engineers-in-training.<br />

Job opportunities can be plentiful and<br />

profitable for program graduates. But, before<br />

you begin dreaming about a future salary,<br />

Buyle advises selecting your educational<br />

institution wisely. “Make sure to choose an<br />

ABET [Accreditation Board for Engineering<br />

and Technology]-accredited program that is<br />

teaching-focused, rather than research-<br />

6 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


Photographs courtesy Illinois Institute of Technology<br />

ARE at Kansas State University<br />

www.are-cns.ksu.edu<br />

ARE at Illinois Institute of<br />

Technology<br />

https://engineering.iit.edu/caee<br />

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute<br />

www.rpi.edu<br />

Far left: Kansas State University<br />

students work on an architectural<br />

engineering design project.<br />

Left: Architectural engineering<br />

students at Illinois Institute of<br />

Technology (IIT) pour concrete,<br />

which they’ve designed and mixed<br />

themselves, into standardized test<br />

containers for a laboratory course.<br />

Below left: IIT students assemble<br />

rebars and ties for a concrete<br />

beam, during a junior-level course.<br />

ABET<br />

www.abet.org<br />

Go Online<br />

focused. The architectural engineering courses<br />

should preferably be taught by faculty members<br />

with extensive industry experience in the design<br />

profession, rather than by faculty or graduate<br />

teaching assistants with little or no industry<br />

design experience,” he says. “Inquire as to the<br />

program’s level of involvement with the ARE<br />

industry consulting firms that regularly hire the<br />

program graduates, and ask what the program’s<br />

job placement rate is upon graduation.”<br />

Regardless of the institution you choose or<br />

your first job after graduating, a career in<br />

architectural engineering can be both wonderfully<br />

challenging and hugely rewarding. “The greatest<br />

joy of the discipline is walking through or driving<br />

past a completed structure and knowing that you<br />

were an integral part of the design of something<br />

that will be serving the community for the next<br />

50 years or more,” says Buyle.<br />

Rich echoes the sentiment: “To have an<br />

influence on the built world, to see that project<br />

realized and to actually walk through a space<br />

that only previously existed on paper, is an<br />

incredible feeling and a massively rewarding<br />

experience.”<br />

Michael Gallant is the founder and chief executive<br />

officer of Gallant Music. He lives in New York City.<br />

JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 7


Agraduate degree in psychology from a U.S.<br />

university can open the doors to a career with<br />

many rewards—exploring the intricacies of<br />

the human experience, advancing theoretical<br />

research and helping individuals in need.<br />

Psychology is also a fast-growing and wellpaying<br />

field. The U.S. Bureau of Labor<br />

Statistics, for instance, estimates that jobs for<br />

psychologists in the United States will<br />

increase 14 percent from 2016 to 2026, with a<br />

median yearly income of $79,010 (Rs. 54<br />

lakh approximately) in May 2018.<br />

Students interested in pursuing a degree in<br />

psychology can choose from hundreds of<br />

highly-regarded schools. Many of these also<br />

offer financial assistance in various forms.<br />

Although most psychologists work in<br />

health care facilities, schools, government<br />

organizations and similar settings, a<br />

psychology degree can be utilized in many<br />

ways, notes Sethuraman Panchanathan,<br />

executive vice president of knowledge<br />

enterprise development at Arizona State<br />

University (ASU).<br />

“An education in applied and clinical<br />

psychology can certainly be utilized in a<br />

variety of professions that require a working<br />

understanding of human behavior, beyond the<br />

traditional avenues. This might include<br />

business, law, education, marketing and<br />

communications,” says Panchanathan.<br />

“Understanding how the human mind<br />

works will also be an asset in occupational<br />

environments where the symbiotic<br />

relationship between human and machine<br />

continues to evolve,” he adds. “The more we<br />

understand the capacity humans have for<br />

adapting, handling change and thriving in a<br />

changing workplace, the more seamless the<br />

integration of artificial intelligence will be.”<br />

“Indian students planning to apply to ASU<br />

should have the equivalent of a four-year<br />

bachelor’s degree, with an equivalent of 3.0<br />

GPA [grade point average] in the last two<br />

years of coursework,” says an ASU<br />

representative, noting that “many students<br />

from India have a three-year bachelor’s and a<br />

two-year master’s, which are equivalent to the<br />

U.S. four-year bachelor’s. Applicants must<br />

take the Graduate Record Examinations<br />

Study the<br />

Mind<br />

By STEVE FOX<br />

The discipline<br />

of psychology is<br />

wide and varied, and<br />

so are the career<br />

opportunities.<br />

Designed by Freepik.com<br />

8 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


(GRE). Students from India need to also<br />

demonstrate English proficiency through the<br />

Test of English as a Foreign Language<br />

(TOEFL) or other mechanisms.”<br />

Students who complete ASU’s two-year<br />

Master of Science in Applied Behavior<br />

Analysis program will spend about $102,000<br />

(Rs. 70 lakh approximately) overall, including<br />

living expenses and health insurance. Those<br />

who complete the Ph.D. program, which<br />

includes a master’s and provides for<br />

significantly reduced expenses for students<br />

who take research or teaching assistant jobs,<br />

will spend about $55,000 (Rs. 38 lakh<br />

approximately) overall if they finish in five<br />

years and $66,000 (Rs. 45 lakh approximately)<br />

if they finish in six years. The Ph.D. is a good<br />

investment, notes Laurie Chassin, director of<br />

graduate training in psychology at ASU.<br />

“The overwhelming majority of our<br />

doctoral students secure a position<br />

immediately upon graduation. It is rare that a<br />

student would not have a job or post-doctoral<br />

position already lined up before graduation,”<br />

she says. “Graduates of our doctoral programs<br />

take up jobs as faculty members in<br />

From right: Sethuraman<br />

Panchanathan, executive<br />

vice president of<br />

knowledge enterprise<br />

development at Arizona<br />

State University; Richard<br />

Lewis, chair of the<br />

psychology department<br />

at Pomona College; and<br />

Adam Sapp, director of<br />

admissions at the college.<br />

Courtesy Arizona State University<br />

Photographs courtesy Pomona College<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 9


Psychology at ASU<br />

https://psychology.asu.edu/<br />

Psychology at<br />

Pomona College<br />

https://bit.ly/2VdtvPF<br />

Go Online<br />

Courtesy Pomona College<br />

Right: The programs offered by<br />

Pomona College and Arizona<br />

State University (below) help<br />

students understand how<br />

psychology can be applied to<br />

real-world problems.<br />

The overwhelming<br />

majority of our<br />

doctoral students<br />

secure a position<br />

immediately upon<br />

graduation.<br />

universities or teaching colleges, which<br />

combine their skills as researchers and<br />

teachers. They may also take up research jobs<br />

in industry, government, medical schools,<br />

health care or other nonprofit settings.<br />

Graduates of our clinical program may also<br />

take up jobs providing clinical services in<br />

hospitals, schools or community mental health<br />

facilities or as supervisors or program<br />

evaluators in these settings.”<br />

The road to these and other occupations<br />

often starts with an undergraduate degree in<br />

psychology, says Richard Lewis, chair of the<br />

psychology department at Pomona College, a<br />

liberal arts institution located in Claremont,<br />

California.<br />

“Our program’s emphasis on critical<br />

thinking, data analysis and communication<br />

skills prepares students for a broad range of<br />

careers,” says Lewis. “Most of our graduates<br />

eventually go on to obtain an advanced<br />

NICKSCHWEITZER/Courtesy Wikipedia<br />

degree, with a third of them earning a<br />

doctorate.”<br />

Pomona College’s admission requirements<br />

are demanding, but flexible.<br />

“Pomona does not have GPA or<br />

standardized testing minimum requirements,”<br />

says Adam Sapp, director of admissions.<br />

“Applicants from India who are interested in<br />

Pomona should complete either their national<br />

curriculum or international high school<br />

curriculum. In addition to high school<br />

transcripts, Pomona requires letters of<br />

recommendation from a counselor and two<br />

teachers, standardized test scores (SAT or<br />

ACT), two student-written essays and a<br />

completed Common Application.”<br />

Pomona is a four-year college, with the<br />

total cost of attendance for the <strong>2019</strong>-20<br />

academic year being $76,836 (Rs. 53 lakh<br />

approximately), including tuition, fees, room<br />

and board, books and personal expenses.<br />

Almost half of all international students<br />

receive some type of financial aid, which<br />

could include student work allotments and<br />

grant-based scholarships, the latter coming<br />

directly from Pomona and not subject to<br />

repayment.<br />

“Students from India are well-represented<br />

on campus,” says Sapp. “Our admissions<br />

team spends time in India nearly every year to<br />

recruit students. On average, international<br />

students make up between 11 and 13 percent<br />

of all students at Pomona. The college enrolls<br />

students from about 60 foreign countries, and<br />

India is always near the top of the list of<br />

overall international student enrollment.”<br />

Steve Fox is a freelance writer, former newspaper<br />

publisher and reporter based in Ventura, California.<br />

10 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


Science of<br />

AirandSpace<br />

By JASON CHIANG<br />

Aerospace engineering focuses on the<br />

design, construction and maintenance of<br />

aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, missiles and<br />

weapons systems. People who pursue it as<br />

a career path get to work with some of the<br />

most complex technologies in the world,<br />

and engineer future breakthroughs. They<br />

are employed primarily in manufacturing,<br />

analysis and design, research and<br />

development, and in governmental bodies.<br />

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor<br />

Statistics, the median annual wage for<br />

aerospace engineers in the United States<br />

was $115,220 (Rs. 81 lakh approximately)<br />

in May 2018, with expected growth of 6<br />

percent from 2016 to 2026. The demand is<br />

being sustained also by the need to<br />

redesign aircraft to reduce noise pollution<br />

and have better fuel efficiency. As<br />

international governments refocus their<br />

space exploration efforts, new companies,<br />

like Elon Musk’s SpaceX, have also<br />

emerged to provide access to space.<br />

With international<br />

governments and private<br />

companies focusing on<br />

space explorations and<br />

increasing efficiencies,<br />

a degree in aerospace<br />

engineering has become<br />

quite sought-after.<br />

Courtesy Georgia Institute of Technology<br />

Courtesy Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University<br />

Above: A student inspects the<br />

low-speed wind tunnel, a stateof-the-art<br />

facility for experimental<br />

research, at Georgia Institute of<br />

Technology’s Daniel Guggenheim<br />

School of Aerospace Engineering.<br />

Left: The Daytona Beach, Florida,<br />

campus of Embry-Riddle<br />

Aeronautical University.<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 11


Photographs courtesy Georgia Institute of Technology<br />

ERAU<br />

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), with<br />

campuses in Florida and Arizona, offers a Bachelor of Science<br />

in Aerospace Engineering (BSAE) program, which prepares<br />

students to solve complex challenges in design, propulsion and<br />

systems for aircraft and super-crafts. It offers them the chance<br />

to learn real-world, on-the-job engineering principles practiced<br />

by companies and government agencies around the globe.<br />

The BSAE degree focuses primarily on the engineering of<br />

mission-oriented vehicles, with courses in aeronautics, airplane<br />

and space vehicle design, structures and propulsion. Graduates<br />

enjoy an extremely high job placement rate—96 percent are<br />

employed or have chosen to go on to higher education within a<br />

year of graduating, according to the university. They are<br />

sought-after in the aerospace and aviation field, including by<br />

industry leaders like NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and<br />

SpaceX.<br />

Mandar Kulkarni, assistant professor of aerospace<br />

engineering at ERAU Daytona Beach, says that the university’s<br />

main goal is to “provide a comprehensive education to prepare<br />

graduates for productive careers and responsible citizenship,<br />

with special emphasis on the needs of aviation, aerospace<br />

engineering and related fields.” He adds, “All foreign citizens<br />

and Americans living abroad who apply for admission are<br />

12 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


Embry-Riddle<br />

Aeronautical<br />

University<br />

https://erau.edu<br />

Aerospace<br />

Engineering,<br />

Georgia Tech<br />

https://ae.gatech.edu<br />

Go Online<br />

DAVID MASSEY/Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University<br />

Above left: A helicopter<br />

simulator at Georgia<br />

Institute of Technology’s<br />

Daniel Guggenheim<br />

School of Aerospace<br />

Engineering.<br />

Above: Students of<br />

Embry-Riddle<br />

Aeronautical University<br />

work on the Eco Eagle<br />

project at its Eagle Flight<br />

Research Center facility,<br />

in Daytona Beach. Eco<br />

Eagle is a piston-gas<br />

electric-hybrid aircraft.<br />

Above: Students at a<br />

work session at the<br />

Daniel Guggenheim<br />

School of Aerospace<br />

Engineering.<br />

JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 13


DARYL LABELLO/Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University<br />

Left: A student of Embry-Riddle<br />

Aeronautical University (below)<br />

works on a free-flying unmanned<br />

robotic spacecraft for asteroid<br />

resource prospecting and<br />

characterization.<br />

Below left: A student laboratory<br />

session at Georgia Institute of<br />

Technology’s Daniel Guggenheim<br />

School of Aerospace Engineering.<br />

WILLIAM BUMGARNER/Courtesy Wikipedia<br />

automatically considered for the Embry-<br />

Riddle Scholarship, created in honor of the<br />

university’s namesake,” making ERAU a<br />

great option for international students<br />

considering aerospace engineering as a career.<br />

Students from over 141 countries attend<br />

ERAU, and the admissions staff understands<br />

the complexity of the international admission<br />

process. The university provides support on<br />

matters like immigration regulations, housing<br />

and health insurance. Its admissions representatives<br />

also organize information sessions<br />

through the year in various locations<br />

worldwide.<br />

Georgia Tech<br />

Each year, more than 1,200 students from<br />

around the world come to Atlanta, Georgia,<br />

Courtesy Georgia Institute of Technology<br />

to study aerospace engineering at the Daniel<br />

Guggenheim School of Aerospace<br />

Engineering at the Georgia Institute of<br />

Technology (Georgia Tech). It has more than<br />

40 tenure-track faculty members and many<br />

cross-disciplinary research collaborations.<br />

College education is a significant<br />

investment, and prospective students must<br />

weigh tuition, fees and other expenses<br />

against their future earning potential.<br />

Keeping this in mind, Georgia Tech offers a<br />

full range of options to help offset financial<br />

costs for students who qualify based on need,<br />

academic excellence or area of study. This<br />

includes competitive scholarships, financial<br />

aid, earn-while-you-learn co-op and<br />

internship programs, and research<br />

opportunities for stipends or class credit.<br />

“Our students get ample opportunities<br />

from the very first semester to participate in<br />

design-build-fly competitions, undergraduate<br />

research, minors or certificates, and<br />

vertically-integrated projects,” says Lakshmi<br />

Sankar, Regents Professor and Sikorsky<br />

Professor at the school. “We also provide<br />

many opportunities for study abroad in<br />

locations worldwide. Students may also<br />

pursue an undergraduate thesis, a combined<br />

BS/MS [Bachelor of Science/Master of<br />

Science] program focusing on research, or a<br />

program that focuses on international<br />

experiences.”<br />

Jason Chiang is a freelance writer based in Silver<br />

Lake, Los Angeles.<br />

14 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


Right and below:<br />

Baylor University’s<br />

department of<br />

statistical science<br />

is a growing<br />

program, with<br />

12 faculty,<br />

30 graduate and<br />

50 undergraduate<br />

students.<br />

Interpreting<br />

Information<br />

By JASON CHIANG<br />

tatistical science is usually defined as the<br />

science of learning from data, and of measuring,<br />

controlling and communicating uncertainty. It<br />

provides the necessary guidance for new<br />

scientific and societal advances, and informs<br />

crucial decision-making. In this digital age,<br />

statisticians have more data than ever before<br />

to drive new and innovative areas of study.<br />

According to a Forbes magazine article, there<br />

are 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created each<br />

day, and that pace is only accelerating with<br />

the rapid growth of the Internet of Things all<br />

over the globe.<br />

Statistics programs focus on theories and<br />

methods of data collection, tabulation,<br />

analysis and interpretation. Graduates typically<br />

pursue careers in business, academics,<br />

industry, government, medicine, publishing,<br />

scientific research and many more diverse<br />

fields. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor<br />

Statistics, the mean annual wage for a<br />

statistician in the United States was $92,600<br />

(Rs. 64 lakh approximately) in May 2018.<br />

With data-driven analytics and statistical<br />

analysis becoming increasingly important in<br />

all global industries, the programs of the<br />

School of Statistics of University of Minnesota<br />

(UMN) and the department of statistical<br />

science of Baylor University in Texas are<br />

options Indian students can consider.<br />

Photographs by JEANNE HILL<br />

With the rapid growth of<br />

Internet of Things, the<br />

demand for statistical<br />

science graduates has<br />

been increasing steadily.<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 15


School of<br />

Statistics, UMN<br />

https://cla.umn.edu/<br />

statistics<br />

Department of<br />

statistical science,<br />

Baylor University<br />

www.baylor.edu/<br />

statistics<br />

Go Online<br />

Photographs courtesy University of Minnesota<br />

Above: Ford Hall, home of the<br />

School of Statistics of University<br />

of Minnesota. The school’s faculty<br />

and students (top) work with<br />

collaborators across the campus<br />

and around the globe, including<br />

research groups and local<br />

companies.<br />

Statistics graduates<br />

pursue successful<br />

careers in fields<br />

like business,<br />

academics, industry,<br />

government,<br />

medicine, publishing<br />

and scientific<br />

research.<br />

Old and established<br />

Founded in 1851, UMN is a public research<br />

university located in Minneapolis. It<br />

welcomes over 7,000 students from about 130<br />

countries. Its faculty and students work with<br />

collaborators across the campus and around<br />

the globe to create meaning from vast<br />

amounts of new information. This research<br />

requires not only existing statistical models<br />

and methodologies, but also creating and<br />

developing models, methods and software to<br />

address new and evolving challenges.<br />

“Our courses are taught by internationally<br />

distinguished faculty,” says Matthew Dangel,<br />

administrator at the UMN School of Statistics,<br />

“including many elected fellows of major<br />

statistical organizations such as the American<br />

Statistical Association, the Institute of<br />

Mathematical Statistics and the International<br />

Statistical Institute. Many faculty members are<br />

or have been editors of major journals.<br />

Several professors are the recipients of awards<br />

for excellence in teaching.” He adds that the<br />

school also provides opportunities for<br />

interdisciplinary collaboration and professional<br />

development through the university’s Institute<br />

for Research in Statistics and its Applications<br />

(IRSA). “Students are encouraged to work as<br />

research assistants for IRSA’s Statistical<br />

Consulting Center, where they receive handson<br />

experience in solving challenges for realworld<br />

clients,” says Dangel. “Furthermore,<br />

students gain access to IRSA’s conferences,<br />

workshops and short courses, where their<br />

knowledge of statistics and data science is<br />

applied across disciplines to address critical<br />

challenges of the 21st century.” Dangel adds<br />

that statistics graduates pursue successful<br />

careers in fields like business, academics,<br />

industry, government, medicine, publishing<br />

and scientific research.<br />

New and innovative<br />

Baylor University is a private university and<br />

has a total enrollment of over 17,000 students,<br />

including those from 91 countries. Although<br />

the university first administered Ph.D. and<br />

Master of Arts (now Master of Science)<br />

degrees in statistics in 1991, the undergraduate<br />

Bachelor of Science degree in statistics was<br />

initiated in 2005. Since then, the program has<br />

had an increasing number of students express<br />

interest in the major. A minor in statistics has<br />

been added to provide an attractive option to<br />

students entering graduate school or exploring<br />

professional career opportunities.<br />

The department provides quality statistics<br />

instruction at all levels, to help discover and<br />

disseminate statistical knowledge and develop<br />

scholars, skilled professionals and leaders,<br />

sensitive to the needs of society.<br />

“We are a program that focuses on both<br />

theory and methodology, with a strong<br />

emphasis on modern computational methods,”<br />

says Jeanne Hill, senior lecturer of statistical<br />

science and undergraduate program director.<br />

“The mission of Baylor University is to<br />

educate men and women for worldwide<br />

leadership and service.”<br />

Jason Chiang is a freelance writer based in Silver<br />

Lake, Los Angeles.<br />

16 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


Understanding<br />

Social Life<br />

By BURTON BOLLAG<br />

JEFF MILLER/UW-Madison<br />

Sociology<br />

students seek to<br />

understand how<br />

society works,<br />

and are equipped<br />

to enter a wide<br />

range of<br />

professional<br />

fields.<br />

Above: Professor Ivan Ermakoff<br />

teaches a political sociology class<br />

at the University of Wisconsin-<br />

Madison.<br />

Above right: Associate professor<br />

Hana Brown (center) with<br />

sociology students of Wake Forest<br />

University. The department chair is<br />

Joseph Soares (right).<br />

For Indian students considering studying<br />

abroad, a degree in sociology can help them<br />

gain a broader understanding of how society<br />

works. It can also open up a breadth of career<br />

opportunities.<br />

Sociologists study a broad range of topics,<br />

including family, friendship groups, intimate<br />

relationships, education, culture, politics,<br />

economics, crime, inequalities, health issues<br />

and environment. They learn to deal with<br />

challenging problems creatively, conduct<br />

research, develop analytical and critical<br />

thinking skills and communicate ideas<br />

effectively.<br />

Wake Forest University, a private university<br />

in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has<br />

about 120 undergraduate students majoring in<br />

sociology. Most choose from one of the<br />

department’s three concentrations: business<br />

and society, which could lead to finance,<br />

marketing and other corporate careers; crime<br />

and criminal justice, for careers in criminal<br />

justice or to go on to law school; and the<br />

Photographs courtesy Wake Forest University<br />

social determinants of health and well-being,<br />

which prepares students for careers in public<br />

health or for medical school. About half the<br />

students who complete the program go on to<br />

graduate school.<br />

About 15 percent of the sociology majors<br />

are international students. They are “well<br />

served by the business and society concentration,”<br />

says Joseph Soares, department<br />

chair, “because it looks at global market<br />

forces and how markets are structured by<br />

social forces. We give students up-to-date<br />

market information, and get them to analyze it<br />

and understand what’s going on.”<br />

“Our business and<br />

society students do very<br />

well in the job market;<br />

they get high-paying<br />

jobs,” he adds.<br />

The well-resourced<br />

campus has small<br />

classes for better<br />

faculty-student<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 17


Sociology at<br />

Wake Forest<br />

University<br />

http://sociology.wfu.edu<br />

Sociology at<br />

University of<br />

Wisconsin-<br />

Madison<br />

www.ssc.wisc.edu/soc<br />

Go Online<br />

Photographs by Bryce Richter/UW-Madison<br />

Above and left: Students and faculty of the<br />

University of Wisconsin-Madison’s sociology<br />

department attend a talk by sociologist Matthew<br />

Desmond (right), author of the Pulitzer-winning book,<br />

“Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.”<br />

Graduates are<br />

going into private<br />

sector jobs with<br />

companies like<br />

Google and<br />

Facebook, as<br />

senior scientists<br />

evaluating the<br />

massive amounts<br />

of data being<br />

collected and<br />

what it means.<br />

engagement. The<br />

sociology class size, for<br />

instance, is capped at<br />

35 students. The tuition<br />

fee is about $55,000<br />

(Rs. 38 lakh<br />

approximately) per<br />

year, plus additional<br />

charges for housing, meals and so on. More than<br />

56 percent of its undergraduate students receive<br />

need-based and merit-based financial assistance.<br />

The university offers a range of grants, scholarships,<br />

work-study and subsidized loans to meet the<br />

financial needs of the students.<br />

Another option for students interested in<br />

sociology is University of Wisconsin-Madison,<br />

which has a long history as a leading research<br />

institution. Its sociology department has about 250<br />

undergraduate majors, about 10 percent of whom<br />

are international students, as well as 120 graduate<br />

students, and nearly 25 percent of them are international.<br />

Graduate studies in sociology at the<br />

university is a Ph.D. program. It does not have a<br />

master’s degree program in this subject.<br />

Many international graduate students return to<br />

their home countries after their studies to join<br />

university faculties. Department Chair James M.<br />

Raymo says that for students with a serious<br />

academic interest in the field, it is very useful to<br />

study in a country with a strong tradition in<br />

sociology.<br />

“It is important to study in a place with a long<br />

history of rigorous research in the discipline. This<br />

lets students return to their countries with an<br />

ability to really understand the subject and<br />

participate in the international arena.”<br />

For undergraduate students, American or<br />

international, who are not residents of Wisconsin,<br />

tuition is about $37,000 (Rs. 25 lakh approximately)<br />

annually. Admissions for graduate studies<br />

are quite competitive, and only about 15 percent of<br />

applicants are accepted. There are no particular<br />

academic requirements, though research<br />

experience, for example at a think tank, increases<br />

the chances of acceptance.<br />

Once accepted into a graduate program in<br />

sociology, or other social sciences at the University<br />

of Wisconsin-Madison, students should have no<br />

financial worries. “Unlike law, business or medical<br />

school, we guarantee our students—assuming good<br />

performance—five years of support,” says Raymo.<br />

This includes all tuition payments, social benefits<br />

like health insurance and a living stipend. In<br />

exchange, graduate students work as teaching or<br />

research assistants, typically for 20 hours per week.<br />

Graduate students in sociology choose from<br />

about a dozen specializations, including political<br />

sociology, economic sociology, demography and<br />

ecology, and medical sociology. Students must<br />

write a book-length research thesis to earn their<br />

Ph.D. degrees.<br />

Many of those who earn a Ph.D. degree in<br />

sociology take up jobs as researchers or policy<br />

analysts with government, international<br />

organizations or think tanks. Increasingly, says<br />

Raymo, “graduates are going into private sector<br />

jobs with companies like Google and Facebook, as<br />

senior scientists evaluating the massive amounts of<br />

data being collected and what it means.”<br />

Burton Bollag is a freelance journalist living in<br />

Washington, D.C.<br />

18 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


Courtesy College of Charleston<br />

College of<br />

Charleston alumnus<br />

and abstract artist<br />

Brian Rutenberg.<br />

Business<br />

of ArtsArts<br />

management programs<br />

equip students to apply<br />

business administration<br />

techniques and processes to<br />

By CANDICE YACONO<br />

the world of art.<br />

JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 19


For students who love the arts but are also<br />

interested in business, studying arts<br />

management may be the perfect way to blend<br />

their passions. An arts management program<br />

teaches such disparate topics as grant writing,<br />

fundraising, accounting and arts finance, with<br />

concentrations in one or more forms of visual<br />

or performing arts. Graduates go on to work<br />

in a range of settings, from museums, art<br />

galleries and opera houses to digital streaming<br />

start-ups and dance companies. They may<br />

even go on to represent famous artists.<br />

Arts management is a global industry, and<br />

there are several institutions to study it in the<br />

United States. Undergraduate applicants can<br />

consider the College of Charleston in South<br />

Carolina; for graduate school, students can<br />

consider American University in Washington,<br />

D.C.<br />

Photographs courtesy College of Charleston<br />

Southern hospitality<br />

“Charleston is an international tourist<br />

destination and a city steeped in arts, history<br />

and culture,” says Karen Chandler, director of<br />

the program at the College of Charleston. “A<br />

U.S. degree in arts management is a good<br />

investment for prospective Indian students as<br />

it will equip them with the arts, business and<br />

managerial skills required to manage nonprofit<br />

and for-profit arts and cultural<br />

institutions in the United States, India and<br />

throughout the world. Students will also learn<br />

how to manage, promote and raise funds for<br />

performing and visual artists.”<br />

Students from about 61 countries attend the<br />

College of Charleston. All freshman international<br />

students are considered for meritbased<br />

scholarships.<br />

Undergraduate students at the College of<br />

Charleston may minor or major in arts<br />

management. They may also opt for a<br />

concentration in music industry. The college<br />

even has a student-run record label, called<br />

1770 Records. The undergraduate program<br />

may be combined with any other degree as a<br />

double major or minor.<br />

When undergraduates complete their<br />

studies, they go on to jobs like performing arts<br />

event management, production, marketing and<br />

development, as well as museum curation and<br />

artist management.<br />

Students say the university’s location at the<br />

center of a national arts hub allows them to<br />

directly engage with the arts community<br />

through internships, volunteering, guest<br />

speakers and other perks.<br />

Work-study is available for students,<br />

allowing them to get paid as they gain job<br />

experience working on campus. All students<br />

in the program complete an arts-oriented<br />

internship as part of their requirements.<br />

“Internships are often completed in arts and<br />

cultural institutions in Charleston, though<br />

students have also completed them in other<br />

U.S. cities,” says Chandler. These include<br />

institutions like the John F. Kennedy Center<br />

for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.,<br />

and arenas like Madison Square Garden in<br />

TED EYTAN/Courtesy Flickr<br />

20 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong><br />

EHPIEN/Courtesy Flickr


New York City.<br />

Students can opt for a new one-year<br />

graduate certificate program in arts and<br />

cultural management, which can be taken by<br />

itself or as part of two master’s degree programs<br />

in public administration and creative<br />

writing. Students can take this certificate<br />

program in-person or online.<br />

Capitol of culture<br />

American University in Washington, D.C.,<br />

offers a Master of Arts program that trains<br />

students in arts management as well as<br />

finance, marketing, fundraising, governance<br />

and leadership, cultural policy and<br />

communication fundamentals necessary for<br />

their career.<br />

The program prides itself on its global<br />

connections, network of graduates and<br />

professionals, and bonds with major<br />

foundations and arts institutions. It can be<br />

completed full-time in two years. Part-time<br />

study is available; classes are scheduled in the<br />

evenings, making it a perfect choice for<br />

working professionals and those seeking a<br />

career change. The program has a 39-credit<br />

RON COGSWELL/Courtesy Flickr<br />

Photographs courtesy Kochi Biennale Foundation<br />

Top and above: Nicole Marroquin, artist and<br />

associate professor of art education at<br />

School of Art Institute of Chicago, speaks at<br />

a conference in Kochi. Partnered by U.S.<br />

Consulate General Chennai, it explored the<br />

systemic shifts within the larger frameworks<br />

of art education. The conference was<br />

organized in conjunction with the Students’<br />

Biennale, an exhibitory platform which ran<br />

parallel to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (left), in<br />

March <strong>2019</strong>.<br />

Left: Karen Chandler, director<br />

of the arts management<br />

program at the College of<br />

Charleston (top left and<br />

above left).<br />

Below: A Volkswagen<br />

Beetle, decorated with Indian<br />

motifs, at the American<br />

University campus.<br />

Below left and below far<br />

left: The Katzen Arts Center<br />

at American University<br />

provides state-of-the-art<br />

instructional, exhibition and<br />

performance spaces for all<br />

the arts disciplines.<br />

JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 21


Graduates go on to work<br />

in a range of settings,<br />

from museums, art<br />

galleries and opera<br />

houses to digital<br />

streaming start-ups and<br />

dance companies.<br />

curriculum.<br />

According to the International Affairs<br />

Office, U.S. Department of Education, “Credit<br />

hours or units represent a mathematical<br />

summarization of all work completed, and are<br />

not the same as the actual classroom contact<br />

or instructional hours. U.S. institutions use<br />

credit formulae to record all types of<br />

academic work, not just taught courses.”<br />

American University’s arts management<br />

program includes both research work and<br />

professional practice. Students gain hands-on<br />

experience by creating a master’s portfolio<br />

and working with local organizations in the<br />

Washington, D.C., area or spending one<br />

semester at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art in<br />

London, focusing either on art and business or<br />

art museums, galleries and curating. In<br />

addition to required classes, students complete<br />

12 credits of electives, as well as a 5-credit<br />

capstone course tailored to their interests and<br />

needs. A thesis option is available for students<br />

who want to work in research or study for a<br />

doctorate.<br />

A shorter, 15-credit Certificate in Arts<br />

Management and an 18-credit Certificate in<br />

International Arts Management, offered in<br />

conjunction with the School of International<br />

Service, are also available for students who<br />

aren’t seeking a full Master of Arts, but still<br />

want a rigorous one-year program.<br />

Candice Yacono is a magazine and newspaper<br />

writer based in southern California.<br />

22 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


“Witness,” a dance<br />

performance by the students<br />

of the College of Charleston.<br />

Courtesy College of Charleston<br />

Arts Management,<br />

College of<br />

Charleston<br />

http://artsmgmt.cofc.edu<br />

Arts Management,<br />

American<br />

University<br />

https://bit.ly/2Vjrdi0<br />

Go Online<br />

JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 23


Building<br />

the<br />

Robots<br />

By MICHAEL GALLANT<br />

Want to create the<br />

high-tech machines of<br />

the future? A degree<br />

in robotics engineering<br />

might be a good fit<br />

for you.<br />

Courtesy Lake Superior State University<br />

It’s easy to think of robots as fantastical<br />

science fiction inventions; automatons that live<br />

only in books, movies and the imagination. But<br />

the reality is quite different.<br />

From farms to factories, medical facilities to<br />

mining operations, robots, large and small, are<br />

increasingly playing an important role in lives<br />

and industries around the world. Regardless of<br />

whether these highly-complex machines are<br />

harvesting crops, assembling products or<br />

helping patients recover from surgery, they<br />

would be nothing without the experts who<br />

design them.<br />

Robotics engineering—the art, craft and<br />

science of creating and applying robots—is a<br />

young but rapidly growing area of study in the<br />

United States. An increasing number of<br />

American institutions, including Widener<br />

University in Pennsylvania and Lake Superior<br />

State University (LSSU) in Michigan, are<br />

offering dedicated majors in the field. And, for<br />

the right student, earning a graduate or<br />

undergraduate degree in robotics engineering<br />

can be a remarkable experience.<br />

Nick Lubeck is a freshman studying robotics<br />

engineering at Widener University. He describes<br />

the discipline as an alchemy of electrical and<br />

mechanical engineering, with a focus toward<br />

computer science. “Robotics engineering can be<br />

applied to any industry that exists,” he says, “so<br />

24 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


Above: Lake Superior State University Robotics<br />

Director Jim Devaprasad (left) instructs a student on<br />

use of robotics simulation software.<br />

Below: Widener University offers the option to pursue<br />

dual degrees in robotics engineering and other majors<br />

like mechanical engineering and computer science.<br />

Below left: Xiaomu Song, associate professor at<br />

Widener University’s department of robotics<br />

engineering.<br />

a wide range of knowledge must be given as a<br />

basis. Then, it splits into more specific fields<br />

and applications.”<br />

When it comes to classwork, robotics<br />

engineering students like Lubeck engage in a<br />

wide range of fascinating challenges. Deep<br />

studies into computer programming and<br />

electrical, mechanical and manufacturing<br />

engineering are key, says LSSU Robotics<br />

Director Jim Devaprasad. Xiaomu Song,<br />

associate professor at Widener University’s<br />

department of robotics engineering, emphasizes<br />

the importance of studying physics, mathematics,<br />

circuitry, microprocessors, kinematics,<br />

machine design, artificial intelligence and<br />

Photographs courtesy Widener University<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 25


Often, for every robot<br />

used in the field, there<br />

are two new jobs that<br />

become available.<br />

Courtesy Widener University<br />

Widener University<br />

www.widener.edu<br />

Lake Superior State<br />

University<br />

www.lssu.edu<br />

Go Online


Courtesy Widener University<br />

Photographs courtesy Lake Superior State University<br />

Above: A Widener<br />

University student with<br />

WUbot, a robot which helps<br />

students learn robotics<br />

programming.<br />

Above right: Lake Superior<br />

State University Robotics<br />

Director Jim Devaprasad<br />

(left) with a senior level<br />

mechanical engineering<br />

student, in the robotics lab.<br />

Above left: Lake Superior<br />

State University offers its<br />

students hands-on<br />

experience with high-tech<br />

machines and the<br />

opportunity to partner with<br />

leading industries and<br />

corporations to develop<br />

capstone projects.<br />

Left: Widener University<br />

provides students access to<br />

modern, well-equipped<br />

laboratories and computer<br />

facilities, and exposure to<br />

real-world aspects of the<br />

engineering profession.<br />

mechatronics as well.<br />

Broader skills like communication, creativity<br />

and strategic thinking can also be key to success<br />

in robotics. “Being inventive in solving<br />

problems and having the ability to communicate<br />

these solutions are vital to any engineering<br />

discipline,” says Lubeck.<br />

Widener University and LSSU make it easy<br />

for international students to find out more about<br />

their robotics programs and apply to join the fun.<br />

Students from India should expect to provide a<br />

variety of documents, including proof of<br />

proficiency in English and standardized test<br />

results demonstrating the skills and experience<br />

needed to thrive as a robotics engineer.<br />

Both institutions also offer an array of<br />

scholarships and financial aid options. LSSU, for<br />

instance, offers a dedicated robotics scholarship<br />

to incoming freshmen. And through the<br />

university’s One Rate Tuition program, students<br />

from around the world pay the same lower rate<br />

of tuition as those from Michigan.<br />

Widener University offers opportunities like<br />

the #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarship, which<br />

covers a minimum of 50 percent of tuition costs<br />

for selected international students. Other<br />

scholarship opportunities include the chance for<br />

incoming engineering students to receive free<br />

laptops.<br />

For those who receive an undergraduate or a<br />

graduate degree in robotics engineering,<br />

Devaprasad describes outstanding career<br />

opportunities, flexibility and earning potential.<br />

There are “tons of job opportunities all over the<br />

world,” he says, “with a variety of industries and<br />

businesses already in robotics or looking to get<br />

into robotics.” Furthermore, the work is great<br />

fun, he says, emphasizing that it’s hard to get<br />

bored with such vast opportunities in so many<br />

different fields.<br />

What sort of student should pursue a degree in<br />

robotics engineering and help meet the global<br />

demand for new experts in this discipline?<br />

“Anyone who is interested in technology and its<br />

applications in industry and day-to-day life,”<br />

says Devaprasad, as well as those who have “a<br />

desire to help solve problems and make human<br />

life better.”<br />

The world of robotics does, however, present<br />

its own unique challenges. When entering the<br />

workforce, Devaprasad warns, newly-minted<br />

robotics engineers should be ready to face<br />

perceptions like robots replace people and that<br />

the growth of robot usage will lead to massive<br />

unemployment. “Actually, so far, studies have<br />

shown that in industry, robots do not replace<br />

people, but do displace people, with a greater<br />

need for people with skills, education and<br />

training,” he says. “Often, for every robot used<br />

in the field, there are two new jobs that become<br />

available.”<br />

For Lubeck, “The biggest challenge that<br />

robotics engineers face is failure. You can say<br />

that for any major, but robotics engineering sets<br />

the bar for failure as a challenge. Improvement<br />

and development is the basis of robotics. And<br />

when that fails, it does not feel good.”<br />

No matter how bad it may feel, though,<br />

Lubeck advises persevering when engineering<br />

projects don’t go as hoped for, working hard and<br />

never backing down from a problem. “Seeing<br />

something work is one of the greatest feelings<br />

that you can have,” he says. “With robotics<br />

projects, there’s really no limit or end to what<br />

you can do.”<br />

Michael Gallant is the founder and chief executive<br />

officer of Gallant Music. He lives in New York City.<br />

JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 27


Why Study<br />

in the U.S.<br />

By BHAVVNA JOLLY<br />

U.S higher education<br />

offers a unique value<br />

proposition, and grooms<br />

students to address<br />

challenges faced by their<br />

communities, countries<br />

and the world at large.<br />

IWAN BAAN (http://www.iwan.com)<br />

28 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


For over a century, the United States has been<br />

one of the most sought-after destinations for<br />

students and scholars seeking high-quality<br />

education and research opportunities. The<br />

confluence of people from diverse backgrounds,<br />

experiences and ideologies has<br />

created a pluralistic society, which cultivates<br />

creativity and promotes independent thought,<br />

inquiry-based learning and equal opportunity.<br />

These tenets are also the hallmark of the U.S.<br />

higher education system, which has produced<br />

world leaders, change agents and citizen<br />

ambassadors. It is no surprise then that U.S.<br />

universities have produced, for instance, the<br />

highest number of Nobel laureates and most<br />

of the chief executives of companies on the<br />

global Fortune 100 list. U.S. institutions are<br />

also among the top global higher education<br />

institutions to influence inventions and<br />

innovation.<br />

Statistically, the United States has been the<br />

most preferred destination for higher<br />

education among international students. In<br />

2017-18, there were 1.09 million international<br />

students in the country. Data from the Open<br />

Doors reports, based on U.S. Department of<br />

State-funded annual surveys of the number of<br />

international students in the United States,<br />

reveal that since 2000-01, the number of international<br />

students in the country has almost<br />

doubled, with China and India being the top<br />

two countries of origin. Furthermore, the<br />

number of Indian students studying in the<br />

United States has almost doubled in the last<br />

six academic years.<br />

The U.S. higher education system,<br />

represented by more than 4,700 accredited<br />

institutions of higher education, has the<br />

capacity to nurture large cohorts of students.<br />

U.S. classrooms are a meeting ground of<br />

multicultural perspectives as well as academic<br />

and socioeconomic backgrounds. This<br />

diversity helps students become more<br />

emotionally intelligent, situationally aware<br />

and tolerant toward differences.<br />

Classroom discussions, for instance, are not<br />

only more enriching, but also compel learners<br />

to understand problems from all vantage<br />

Emerson College’s academic<br />

facility in Los Angeles is<br />

designed to expand the<br />

interactive and social<br />

aspects of education.<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 29


Courtesy Dilpreet Singh<br />

Courtesy Lavanya Prakash<br />

Go Online<br />

Courtesy Manmohan Thorat<br />

Study in the U.S.<br />

http://www.usief.org.in/<br />

Study-in-the-US.aspx<br />

EducationUSA<br />

India<br />

www.facebook.com/<br />

EducationUSAIndia/<br />

University of<br />

California,<br />

Berkeley<br />

www.berkeley.edu<br />

Montgomery<br />

College<br />

www.montgomery<br />

college.edu<br />

University of<br />

Maryland<br />

www.umd.edu<br />

Oklahoma State<br />

University<br />

https://go.okstate.edu/<br />

From above far left: U.S. university alumni Dilpreet<br />

Singh, advocate-on-record, Supreme Court of India;<br />

Lavanya Prakash, technical accounting lead at Booz<br />

Allen Hamilton, Washington, D.C.; and Manmohan<br />

Thorat, EducationUSA coordinator, USIEF Mumbai.<br />

points. Students, thus, come up with solutions<br />

that work for people in different contexts.<br />

“Universities in the United States, especially<br />

Berkeley Law, have great diversity. My class<br />

of 120 students had people from 49 nations,”<br />

says Dilpreet Singh, advocate-on-record,<br />

Supreme Court of India. “It gave me an<br />

opportunity to draw a great comparative<br />

perspective, in terms of academics, life and<br />

relationships.”<br />

Another noteworthy aspect of the U.S.<br />

higher education system is the sheer number<br />

of areas of study. This gives students the<br />

freedom and flexibility to customize their<br />

learning experience. At the undergraduate<br />

level, students are encouraged to explore a<br />

breadth of subjects and academic themes,<br />

before they dive deep into their majors. In<br />

fact, several U.S. universities offer undergraduate<br />

students the opportunity to enter<br />

their degree programs “undecided,” without<br />

declaring a major area of study—a rare<br />

phenomenon in international education.<br />

Graduate students have the flexibility to chart<br />

their own course within their interest areas,<br />

through the specific research they choose to<br />

pursue. “I went to Montgomery College, a<br />

community college in Maryland, and<br />

transferred to the Robert H. Smith School of<br />

Business at the University of Maryland, where<br />

I double majored in accounting and finance. I<br />

had the flexibility to complete 150 credits in<br />

3.5 years, which is otherwise a five-year<br />

course-load,” says Lavanya Prakash, technical<br />

accounting lead at Booz Allen Hamilton in<br />

Washington, D.C. “Upon graduation, I landed<br />

a great job at Ernst & Young. I loved the<br />

experience of studying in the United States<br />

because I was able to study everything from<br />

maths to science, and not just focus on one<br />

subject in the initial years.”<br />

Students can choose the type of institution<br />

they want to attend, the class size they deem<br />

conducive to learning, the professors they<br />

want to engage with, the research opportunities<br />

and facilities they want to access, the<br />

internships and post-study work options they<br />

would like to avail, and the cities and<br />

economic regions in which they want to be<br />

located. American college campuses follow<br />

the philosophy of building purposeful<br />

architecture that complement learning through<br />

constant engagement with spaces, people,<br />

resources and processes. “I completed a<br />

Bachelor of Science in mechanical<br />

engineering, with a minor in sociology, from<br />

Oklahoma State University. Of all the<br />

countries, I chose the United States because I<br />

was in tune with the culture, and I’d always<br />

admired the country and its values,” says<br />

Manmohan Thorat, EducationUSA<br />

coordinator at United States-India Educational<br />

Foundation, Mumbai. “My educational<br />

experience was extremely rich in terms of the<br />

knowledge I acquired at Oklahoma State<br />

University. Whether in student groups,<br />

classes, conferences or internships, I could do<br />

justice to my interests and capabilities.”<br />

These and many other remarkable features<br />

of U.S. higher education form a robust<br />

instructional paradigm, which has empowered<br />

thousands of graduates to build meaningful<br />

lives and careers. They have contributed to<br />

strengthening their communities, built<br />

visionary organizations and addressed the<br />

challenges facing the world. While education<br />

systems and students’ motivation to acquire<br />

knowledge keep evolving through the ages,<br />

the success stories of U.S. university alumni<br />

are examples of the power of quality<br />

education.<br />

Bhavvna Jolly is a senior program officer,<br />

EducationUSA, at the United States-India<br />

Educational Foundation, New Delhi.<br />

30 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


Interview<br />

Insights<br />

By SUPARNA MUKHERJI<br />

Alumni<br />

interviews<br />

are an<br />

important part<br />

of the U.S.<br />

university<br />

admissions<br />

process and<br />

help find the<br />

right candidate<br />

for an<br />

institution.<br />

T<br />

he admission process at U.S. universities is<br />

quite rigorous. Not just for prospective<br />

students, but also for the institutions. Given<br />

the large, and growing, number of applicants<br />

every year, admissions officers often find it<br />

difficult to meet and review all of them. But,<br />

universities do have a loyal group of alumni<br />

who are happy to get involved in the process,<br />

by interviewing prospective students.<br />

One such alumnus, with about a decadelong<br />

experience in conducting interviews, is<br />

Eugene Bae. He holds a master’s degree in<br />

technology and policy as well as a doctorate in<br />

nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts<br />

Institute of Technology (MIT). Bae currently<br />

works as an Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer<br />

in the Public Affairs Section at the U.S.<br />

Embassy in New Delhi.<br />

Excerpts from an interview.<br />

HEMANT BHATNAGAR<br />

Eugene Bae, alumni<br />

interviewer for MIT,<br />

and Assistant Cultural<br />

Affairs Officer at the<br />

U.S. Embassy in<br />

New Delhi.<br />

MIT<br />

www.mit.edu<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 31<br />

Go Online


Alumni interviews<br />

provide a way to get<br />

some additional<br />

perspective on a<br />

student’s<br />

background,<br />

interests, passions,<br />

motivation level and<br />

so on.<br />

SIphotography/iStock/Getty Images<br />

Could you please tell us a bit about your<br />

role as an alumni interviewer for MIT?<br />

I was looking for ways to give back to MIT,<br />

because of the great education that I received<br />

there. One of the ways was to participate as,<br />

what we call, educational counselors. They are<br />

part of a global alumni network, which assists<br />

the MIT admissions office in its evaluations of<br />

applicants. I’ve been doing it for about 10<br />

years. I started in Beijing, did it in Korea and I<br />

am looking forward to continuing this here in<br />

India.<br />

The educational counselors’ work is really<br />

focused on the undergraduate admissions<br />

process. Students’ application packages<br />

typically include their transcripts from high<br />

school, standardized test scores, letters of<br />

recommendation, awards, recognitions and so<br />

on. All these things are very quantitative and<br />

descriptive. But, as MIT and many other<br />

institutions understand, a kind of personal<br />

connection is important to assess whether or<br />

not a student would be a good fit for the<br />

school.<br />

An institution utilizes its alumni network<br />

around the world to meet prospective<br />

students. We tell them what a great institution<br />

it is, share our own experiences about what<br />

we did during our time there and answer<br />

questions that they might have to help them<br />

determine if the institute is the right fit for<br />

them. Alumni interviews provide a way to get<br />

some additional perspective on a student’s<br />

background, interests, passions, motivation<br />

level and so on.<br />

What are some of the main qualities that<br />

interviewers look for in their candidates?<br />

I think that each university has its own<br />

criteria and way of evaluating students.<br />

Universities usually look for someone who is<br />

intellectually stimulated, a self-starter, intellectually<br />

curious; someone who has demonstrated<br />

maturity, communicates well; someone who is<br />

strong in the different academic disciplines.<br />

That said, I look for students who have<br />

demonstrated that they have a deep and active<br />

passion for the field of study they’re<br />

interested in. I’m keen to know how they<br />

have taken their interest in a field and done<br />

something to demonstrate a passion for it that<br />

goes beyond just “I like it.”<br />

The second thing that we look for is<br />

students who are a good match for the<br />

institution. We sometimes look for that<br />

indescribable, intangible quality of someone<br />

who is just, for lack of a better word, brilliant.<br />

Someone you meet and, within five minutes<br />

of a conversation, you are just awed by their<br />

intellectual stimulation, rigor and enthusiasm.<br />

You feel that this person would make a<br />

tremendous contribution to your alma mater.<br />

Educational counselors need to express these<br />

qualities through examples and anecdotes. I<br />

use the interview process to get to know the<br />

students—Why are they the way they are<br />

today? Who shaped their interests? What life<br />

events? What encouraged them to pursue a<br />

particular field of study? I have a few<br />

questions that I ask. But, the conversation<br />

really goes in the direction that the students<br />

want to take it; I’m just along for the ride.<br />

Do you have any tips for a successful<br />

interview?<br />

Number one: prepare. I don’t mean that<br />

you look in a mirror and rehearse lines—that<br />

becomes pretty obvious to the interviewer.<br />

What I mean is spend some time asking yourself<br />

some serious questions, like “Why do I<br />

want to go to this institute?” “What is it that<br />

really interests me about that school?” “What<br />

would I do if I were given that opportunity?”<br />

“Is there something special about this institute<br />

versus many other great universities?”<br />

The second thing I would say is that<br />

students should be honest with themselves.<br />

When a person starts talking about something<br />

that they are genuinely passionate about, you<br />

don’t have to spur them on to talk about it.<br />

Genuine interest and passion just flow out of<br />

that person during the conversation. I’m not<br />

saying that you have to know everything<br />

about the institute. I try to discern if a student<br />

has deep passion about something, whether it<br />

be a social, economic, political, religious,<br />

academic or scientific issue. We want to<br />

understand what are those passions and what<br />

is it about you that is unique or different.<br />

Also, be on time, be respectful and dress<br />

appropriately for the interview. And lastly, and<br />

this is the hardest part: try to have fun. I know<br />

that the application process is a stressful time<br />

and getting a call for an interview with alumni<br />

can seem overwhelming. But, just go out<br />

there, do your best and enjoy yourself.<br />

32 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


Fair<br />

StrategiesBy RUPALI VERMA<br />

Courtesy EducationUSA, USIEF<br />

A guide for<br />

prospective<br />

students on<br />

how they can<br />

get the most<br />

out of U.S.<br />

university<br />

fairs.<br />

For many prospective students, attending a<br />

U.S. university fair is an essential part of the<br />

journey toward choosing the right university,<br />

and crafting a successful application. Students<br />

get to have one-on-one conversations with<br />

university officials, who are the direct source<br />

of information, learn about the unparalleled<br />

opportunities that exist in the United States,<br />

share ideas with peers and get expert advice<br />

on admission tests, applications, funding and<br />

more. Preparing well for these events can give<br />

students the confidence to create meaningful<br />

connections with the representatives of the<br />

schools they want to attend.<br />

EducationUSA at the United States-India<br />

Educational Foundation (USIEF) has been<br />

organizing “Study in the U.S.” fairs for<br />

almost two decades and helping students get<br />

the most out of them.<br />

Students must ask themselves some<br />

important questions when they begin<br />

considering higher education in the United<br />

States.<br />

• What do I want to study?<br />

• Where do I want to study?<br />

• What characteristics must the university<br />

or college possess?<br />

• Which characteristics are not important<br />

for me?<br />

Answering these questions will also help<br />

students derive the most out of the university<br />

fairs.<br />

Before the fair<br />

Students should research the colleges and<br />

universities ahead of time to find those that<br />

match their criteria. There are more than<br />

4,700 accredited institutions of higher<br />

education in the United States. Students have<br />

their own unique expectations from college<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 33


Courtesy @USAndChennai<br />

We think of international students as a<br />

wonderful way to share our values<br />

and develop relationships with future<br />

scientists, business and political<br />

leaders. We think that’s an enriching<br />

thing in American education. It’s really<br />

a two-way street of benefit.<br />

—Caroline Casagrande, Deputy Assistant Secretary for<br />

Academic Programs in the U.S. Department of State’s<br />

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs<br />

Source: www.deccanchronicle.com<br />

Above: Full house at the<br />

U.S. Embassy India-led<br />

student visa session at<br />

the EducationUSA U.S.<br />

University Fair 2018 in<br />

New Delhi.<br />

Below right:<br />

Prospective students<br />

interact with a U.S.<br />

higher education<br />

institution representative<br />

at the event.<br />

Photographs courtesy EducationUSA, USIEF<br />

EducationUSA<br />

India Fair <strong>2019</strong><br />

EducationUSA is the official source of<br />

information on higher education in the<br />

United States. It is supported by the U.S.<br />

government, and offers accurate, current and<br />

comprehensive information to prospective<br />

students. This year, the EducationUSA India<br />

Fair will cover 10 cities in the country, from<br />

<strong>August</strong> 30 to September 12.<br />

Log on to www.usief.org.in for more<br />

information about the fair.<br />

life, and the choice of the university must be<br />

influenced by these expectations. Students may<br />

have different parameters for shortlisting<br />

colleges. But, they must keep in mind the<br />

preferred course, costs, geographical location,<br />

size, climate, facilities and proximity to family,<br />

among other factors.<br />

Students should make a short and crisp list<br />

of questions to ask the U.S. university<br />

representatives at the fairs. Since most U.S.<br />

universities review applicants holistically,<br />

admissions representatives can’t tell students if<br />

they will be admitted to a program until they<br />

apply. Questions about GRE, SAT or GPA cutoffs<br />

and other profile review requests are<br />

generally not productive. Instead, students<br />

should focus on asking questions related to<br />

what they want to study, their research<br />

interests, job outcomes and so on.<br />

“The EducationUSA fairs have always been<br />

very productive, with interested students and<br />

parents,” says Melissa Tixeira, International<br />

Recruitment Adviser for Colorado State<br />

University. “Students should always ask<br />

questions on campus life, housing and meals,<br />

scholarships, career service center, job fairs,<br />

etc. and avoid questions on immigration and<br />

permanent residency, full funding, essay or<br />

statement of purpose edits, etc.”<br />

34 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


Go Online<br />

EducationUSA<br />

https://educationusa.state.gov<br />

USIEF<br />

www.usief.org.in<br />

During the fair<br />

Students should attend the presentations by<br />

university representatives at the fair. These give<br />

an overview of the programs they offer.<br />

It is important for students to budget their<br />

time and maximize their interaction with the<br />

university representatives. If the conversation<br />

becomes lengthy and detailed, students can<br />

always suggest a second meeting in-person, over<br />

the phone or Skype. Having a list of questions in<br />

advance could help them stay on track.<br />

Students should take notes about all the<br />

valuable information collected from university<br />

representatives. Write down any general impressions<br />

and anything that needs to be remembered<br />

accurately. This exercise will help in taking<br />

decisions and writing application essays.<br />

After the fair<br />

If students are unable to get responses to their<br />

queries, they should write to the representatives<br />

after the fair and also thank them for their time.<br />

This will help to showcase genuine interest in<br />

the specific university.<br />

It is great to know what you want to study and<br />

pre-select your major based on your interests<br />

and academic needs. At the same time, it is also<br />

important to stay open to other possibilities.<br />

Representatives might share information that<br />

gets you excited about a program you may not<br />

have considered initially.<br />

“Grab a business card from a representative<br />

and feel free to reach out to her/him with any<br />

questions about application requirements, status<br />

and more,” says Katherine Beczak, assistant<br />

director, Office of Part-Time and Graduate<br />

Enrollment Services at Rochester Institute of<br />

Technology, New York. “We are happy to be<br />

your point of contact and liaison with the<br />

university. That’s what we’re here for.”<br />

Rupali Verma is an EducationUSA Adviser at<br />

United States-India Educational Foundation, New<br />

Delhi.


ExcellingWith<br />

Integrity<br />

By STEVE FOX<br />

U.S. universities<br />

expect students<br />

to work with<br />

honesty and<br />

integrity, and<br />

avoid all forms<br />

of academic<br />

dishonesty.<br />

Right: Integrity Peer Educators<br />

at University of California San<br />

Diego promote integrity (far<br />

right), educate students on<br />

ethics and advise students<br />

who have been reported for<br />

academic integrity violations.<br />

Thousands of students dream of studying in<br />

the United States, home to some of the<br />

world’s best higher education institutions. But<br />

some of them often underestimate the<br />

workloads, the deadlines and the examination<br />

routines. The demanding environment might<br />

tempt some to sacrifice integrity—in other<br />

words, to cheat or indulge in unethical<br />

behaviors like plagiarism, collaborating on<br />

assignments meant to be done alone and<br />

buying term papers online.<br />

Students cheat for a variety of reasons,<br />

notes Tricia Bertram Gallant, director of the<br />

Academic Integrity Office at the University of<br />

California San Diego (UCSD) and an expert<br />

on integrity and ethics in education. These<br />

include the “pressure to obtain a university<br />

degree in order to have a secure livelihood,<br />

the contract cheating industry, and ignoring<br />

the problem for too long by many schools,<br />

colleges and universities around the world.<br />

The Internet has made it easier,” she says.<br />

“And students sometimes make bad<br />

decisions.”<br />

MARCY ZIMMERMAN<br />

Tricia Bertram<br />

Gallant, director<br />

of the Academic<br />

Integrity Office<br />

at University of<br />

California<br />

San Diego.<br />

Academic integrity is defined by the<br />

International Center for Academic Integrity<br />

(ICAI) as a commitment, even in the face of<br />

adversity, to the six fundamental values of<br />

honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility<br />

and courage. ICAI is a consortium of learning<br />

institutions, founded to combat cheating,<br />

plagiarism and academic dishonesty in higher<br />

education. The organization also helps<br />

cultivate cultures of integrity in academic<br />

36 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


communities across the world. It says,<br />

“Promoting the fundamental values of<br />

academic integrity in education requires<br />

balancing high standards of integrity with the<br />

educational mission, as well as compassion,<br />

and concern.” At UCSD and other U.S.<br />

universities, it is fundamental, says Bertram<br />

Gallant.<br />

“Academic integrity is so important<br />

because it means that you will experience a<br />

fair education and your degree will be an<br />

honest, respectable and trustworthy symbol of<br />

your knowledge and skills. Without integrity,<br />

there can be no education or learning,” she<br />

says. “Why do so many international students<br />

choose to study in America? Because the<br />

market value of American university degrees<br />

is high, and the reason it is high is because of<br />

integrity.”<br />

While UCSD has a rigorous program to<br />

promote and enforce academic integrity,<br />

Bertram Gallant notes that its objectives<br />

extend far beyond the time students spend on<br />

campus.<br />

“With an emphasis on academic integrity,”<br />

she says, “universities are developing<br />

professionals and leaders who will continue to<br />

act with integrity and create fair, respectful,<br />

responsible, honest and trustworthy<br />

organizations and relationships. A true<br />

democratic society can only exist if the<br />

majority of people and organizations act with<br />

integrity.”<br />

UCSD encourages those who witness<br />

cheating to respond by interrupting the<br />

behavior, redirecting the person to more<br />

ethical choices, engaging others for help or<br />

Photographs courtesy University of California San Diego<br />

reporting it to authorities. But, while<br />

violations carry consequences, the program is<br />

educational rather than punitive, with an<br />

emphasis on “excelling with integrity.”<br />

Integrity Awards are given annually to campus<br />

community members who exemplify and<br />

promote academic, research and professional<br />

integrity.<br />

Most students reported for cheating at<br />

UCSD take responsibility for their actions,<br />

Bertram Gallant notes, and are directed into<br />

an Integrity Mentorship Program. The 10-<br />

week program puts them in touch with<br />

educators, who help them explore strategies<br />

and techniques for achieving academic<br />

success with integrity. This approach, which<br />

requires the students to write essays<br />

explaining why they cheated and then<br />

complete several other assignments, can turn<br />

their experiences into positive “teachable<br />

moments.”<br />

“Our point is that just because students<br />

make a bad decision and cheat once, it doesn’t<br />

mean that they are ‘bad persons,’ whom the<br />

university should expel,” says Bertram<br />

Gallant. “As educational institutions,<br />

universities have an ethical obligation to help<br />

students learn from their experiences.”<br />

In guiding students on how to avoid the<br />

many potential pitfalls that violate academic<br />

integrity, she suggests applying three primary<br />

questions:<br />

• Values: Is the action honest, respectful,<br />

responsible, fair and trustworthy?<br />

• Standards: Is the action prohibited by an<br />

instructor’s or the university’s academic<br />

integrity policy or honor code?<br />

• Exposure: If the action was known to a<br />

professor, would it be acceptable?<br />

Most of all, Bertram Gallant notes, students<br />

should be proactive in determining what is<br />

and isn’t acceptable in terms of academic<br />

integrity.<br />

“People who don’t ask questions are more<br />

likely to mess up,” she says. “They should<br />

assume things are going to be different here<br />

[at a U.S. university], do their homework to<br />

find out what’s expected of them and use the<br />

university’s resources to find answers to<br />

whatever questions they may have.”<br />

ICAI<br />

https://academicintegrity.org<br />

Academic Integrity<br />

at UCSD<br />

http://bit.ly/2ES7eBC<br />

Why do so many<br />

international<br />

students choose to<br />

study in America?<br />

Because the market<br />

value of American<br />

university degrees<br />

is high, and the<br />

reason it is high is<br />

because of integrity.<br />

Go Online<br />

Steve Fox is a freelance writer, former newspaper<br />

publisher and reporter based in Ventura, California.<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 37


DRBURTONI/Courtesy Flickr<br />

Legacy of<br />

By ARCHIT GUHA<br />

Despite their<br />

size, the impact<br />

of a small<br />

liberal arts<br />

college<br />

experience can<br />

often be<br />

everlasting.<br />

Small liberal arts colleges, which are<br />

characterized by an emphasis on undergraduate<br />

education and a commitment to the<br />

liberal arts, represent a unique institutional<br />

model. Born in the U.S. higher education<br />

system, it is now exported globally. What<br />

impact do these colleges have on students?<br />

The students acquire skills that they carry<br />

with them into their futures and the world.<br />

Most credit their undergraduate education at<br />

small liberal arts colleges for shaping many<br />

aspects of their lives.<br />

The liberal arts as an ethos is, perhaps, the<br />

most significant takeaway for majority of the<br />

students. Take, for example, Apple Inc. cofounder<br />

Steve Jobs, who attended Reed<br />

College in Oregon for just a semester, but<br />

continued to praise its benefits in guiding his<br />

mission late into his career. He championed<br />

the cause of “technology married to the liberal<br />

arts and humanities,” and also famously<br />

credited a calligraphy class offered at Reed<br />

College for influencing the “beautiful<br />

typography” of the first Macintosh computer.<br />

I graduated from that college about four<br />

decades after Jobs attended it, in 2014. Its<br />

most significant impact for me so far has been<br />

the inculcation of an openness to multiple<br />

possibilities in my professional and academic<br />

life, as well as a genuine curiosity and<br />

appreciation for knowledge across different<br />

disciplines and domains. Mira Kamdar, class<br />

of 1980, who has had a distinguished career in<br />

journalism and policy, echoes this sentiment.<br />

“When I graduated from Reed with a degree<br />

in French, I thought a Ph.D. and a career in<br />

academia were the next natural steps for<br />

me...But, since then, I have veered in many<br />

directions, writing and researching mostly<br />

about India...A strong foundation in the liberal<br />

arts allowed me to hold my own across many<br />

contexts,” she says.<br />

Even for those who follow through with<br />

their academic goals, the experience of<br />

studying at a small liberal arts college is a<br />

defining choice. Jason Swinderman, class of<br />

38 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


DJROBGORDON/Courtesy Flickr<br />

Liberal Arts<br />

KRISSA CORBETT CAVOURAS/Courtesy Flickr<br />

Reed College<br />

www.reed.edu<br />

Sarah Lawrence College<br />

www.sarahlawrence.edu<br />

Above far left: Reed<br />

College offers Bachelor of<br />

Arts degrees in 40 majors<br />

and programs.<br />

Above and above left:<br />

Sarah Lawrence College<br />

is known for its low<br />

student-to-faculty ratio and<br />

highly personalized course<br />

of study.<br />

Go Online<br />

2015, majored in biology at Reed College<br />

and is now a Doctor of Medicine/Ph.D.<br />

student at the University of California, San<br />

Francisco. While the liberal arts are often<br />

viewed as limited to the humanities, for him,<br />

it was the education in the sciences that really<br />

stood out. “The commitment to taking<br />

ownership of scientific research in the lab<br />

and classroom, as an undergraduate, is quite<br />

incredible,” says Swinderman. “And, it may<br />

be hard to find that kind of emphasis in the<br />

sciences in other educational settings.”<br />

Another distinctive aspect of these<br />

colleges is the sense of community, and the<br />

commitment to building it. Mirra Savara<br />

went to Reed College in the 1960’s from<br />

India, and then came back to become a<br />

leader in the women’s rights movement. She<br />

looks back at her time at the college as<br />

“monumental,” as she got her first taste of<br />

movements, organizing and activism by<br />

getting involved in protests and movements.<br />

The campuses nurture a commitment to<br />

causes, whether international, national, local<br />

or even specific to the college, thereby<br />

empowering students to act on behalf of<br />

their communities.<br />

The small student bodies can often be<br />

viewed as a limiting factor, but for Sumudhu<br />

Jayasinghe, that is exactly what she<br />

cherishes. “It teaches you that no matter<br />

where you go, finding and building<br />

community is important,” says the 2013<br />

batch student of Sarah Lawrence College,<br />

New York, “even when you are in much<br />

larger settings that encourage anonymity.”<br />

Small liberal arts colleges may account<br />

for only one percent of the undergraduate<br />

student population in the U.S. higher<br />

education landscape, but for that one<br />

percent, the experience can be an education<br />

for a lifetime.<br />

Archit Guha is an EducationUSA Adviser at<br />

the United States-India Educational Foundation,<br />

New Delhi.<br />

It teaches you that no<br />

matter where you go,<br />

finding and building<br />

community is<br />

important, even when<br />

you are in much<br />

larger settings that<br />

encourage anonymity.<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 39


AES:<br />

Transforming<br />

By SUPARNA MUKHERJI<br />

Photographs courtesy American Embassy School<br />

The American<br />

Embassy School<br />

in New Delhi<br />

provides American<br />

education with an<br />

international<br />

perspective to<br />

help students be<br />

responsible and<br />

compassionate<br />

global citizens.<br />

In September 1963, SPAN featured an article<br />

on the American International School in New<br />

Delhi. It said, “American students learn with<br />

children whose homes can be found on every<br />

continent…in a well-equipped, newly<br />

constructed complex of buildings that was<br />

specially designed to create a pleasant and<br />

functional environment. This is the American<br />

International School of 1963. It was not<br />

always so.”<br />

In the next several decades, the school<br />

would undergo many more transformations, in<br />

terms of its student and faculty strength,<br />

campus size, facilities, teaching<br />

methodologies, and even its name. It is now<br />

known as the American Embassy School<br />

(AES). But, what remains unchanged is its<br />

goal—the pursuit of knowledge and<br />

excellence to develop “responsible and<br />

compassionate global citizens.”<br />

AES provides students, from prekindergarten<br />

through grade 12, American<br />

education with an international perspective.<br />

“About 80 to 85 percent of our teachers have<br />

international experience,” says Jim Laney Jr.,<br />

director of the school. “We have a very small<br />

percentage of local students…We do have<br />

many Indian-heritage students, but they are<br />

from Los Angeles or London or Australia or<br />

other places. So, they also bring in their<br />

international perspectives.”<br />

Change at heart<br />

The school started as a small set-up on<br />

Janpath in 1952 as the American School,<br />

moved to a new campus in Chanakyapuri in<br />

1963, and is now spread over nearly five<br />

hectares.<br />

“The facilities have developed since the<br />

1960’s,” says Laney. For instance, “The<br />

school started with one small gymnasium in<br />

the early 1960’s and, now, we have one very<br />

large gymnasium and one smaller gymnasium,<br />

plus other outdoor spaces like a swimming<br />

40 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


Education<br />

Above left and above center left: Flexible learning<br />

spaces at the American Embassy School allow students<br />

and teachers to move around through the day in<br />

different tasks in different groupings.<br />

Top, above, left, center left and above far left:<br />

Through its various activities, facilities and resources,<br />

the school nurtures the intellectual, physical, social and<br />

emotional development of its students and community<br />

members.<br />

To share articles go to https://span.state.gov JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 41


Left, below left,<br />

right and center<br />

right: Glimpses of<br />

various activities at<br />

the American<br />

Embassy School.<br />

These celebrate the<br />

diversity among its<br />

students from about<br />

56 countries as well<br />

as the international<br />

perspectives of its<br />

faculty members.<br />

Far Right: Jim<br />

Laney Jr., director of<br />

the school, with<br />

students.<br />

Photographs courtesy American Embassy School<br />

42 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong>


It’s more important than<br />

ever before to be able to<br />

work with people from<br />

diverse backgrounds with<br />

different experiences.<br />

American Embassy School<br />

https://aes.ac.in/<br />

SPAN September<br />

1963 edition<br />

https://bit.ly/2VUqRTc<br />

Go Online<br />

pool. We have a beautiful theater for<br />

students’ performances. Libraries are<br />

really important for us; we have two<br />

now. We have robotic spaces and<br />

makerspaces, where kids with creative<br />

spirit get involved. We have the space,<br />

the tools and the teachers who can guide<br />

them.” AES also has many other<br />

facilities, including indoor and outdoor<br />

stadiums, playgrounds, meeting areas<br />

and art studios.<br />

Modernizing practices<br />

While the buildings and facilities<br />

were being adapted to meet the growing<br />

needs of the school’s community, so<br />

were the educational practices.<br />

“It’s more important than ever before to<br />

be able to work with people from diverse<br />

backgrounds with different experiences…to<br />

understand cross-disciplinary<br />

connections,” says Laney. AES, for<br />

instance, has an India Studies Program,<br />

which helps students learn about the host<br />

country. Its recent India Week celebration<br />

featured Indian music, dance, food and<br />

activities like yoga. “We also had artisans,<br />

who came from different parts of India, to<br />

teach the kids and give them firsthand<br />

experience of working on those arts and<br />

crafts,” says Czaee Chagla, the school’s<br />

marketing and communications manager.<br />

AES builds in ways for students to<br />

collaborate and learn together and from<br />

one another, as well as give back to<br />

society. “Eighty percent of our high<br />

school students…are part of community<br />

service. And, it’s really at the core,” says<br />

Ylva Kovacs, the school’s director of<br />

admissions. Thus, the school motto:<br />

Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve.<br />

“Another aspect we emphasize is<br />

giving kids tools and opportunities to<br />

develop their critical thinking skills, find<br />

ways to think together about a problem<br />

and to encourage those kinds of<br />

conversations from different<br />

perspectives,” says Shirley Droese, the<br />

school’s director of curriculum and<br />

professional learning.<br />

Technology plays a huge role in<br />

supporting the new ways of teaching<br />

and learning. “It’s a way for students to<br />

personalize their own learning,” says<br />

Droese. “It brings the world into the<br />

classroom more authentically, especially<br />

for teachers to utilize some of these<br />

resources that wouldn’t necessarily be<br />

available otherwise, except maybe<br />

through an encyclopedia or a book.”<br />

The road ahead<br />

AES is now experimenting with<br />

flexible learning spaces, where students<br />

and teachers can move around through<br />

the day in different tasks in different<br />

groupings. “We divide kids up not based<br />

on a roster, but on what we are teaching<br />

and on what they need. And the most<br />

important part is the emphasis on what<br />

they need,” says Susan Vernon, a grade 5<br />

homeroom teacher. “We typically have<br />

them working with peers or with teachers<br />

in smaller groups, so that there’s equity<br />

and access to the materials by all, not just<br />

a few who are confident.”<br />

“We are talking about collaboration<br />

and creativity and communicating with<br />

one another and just following your own<br />

passions,” adds Laney, “while you are<br />

learning the mathematics and the<br />

science and the reading and writing that<br />

we want you to learn if you’re 10 years<br />

old or 16 years old.”<br />

JULY/AUGUST <strong>2019</strong> 43


Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on<br />

the surface of the moon. Neil<br />

Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander and<br />

the first man to walk on the moon, took<br />

this photograph with a 70mm lunar<br />

surface camera.<br />

The <strong>July</strong> 20, 1969, lunar landing was<br />

an unprecedented achievement—a<br />

milestone in human history. How did it<br />

happen? It was the result of decades of<br />

relentless scientific development as well<br />

as courageous astronauts who were<br />

determined to explore the unknown.<br />

Technologies that are common today<br />

came out of Apollo space research. CAT<br />

scans, computer microchips, cordless<br />

devices and satellite television are but a<br />

few. Scientific knowledge gained from<br />

NASA programs continue to enhance<br />

the quality of life today.<br />

Text courtesy ShareAmerica<br />

Photographs courtesy NASA<br />

Registered under RNI-6586/60

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