International

Colby's global reach is enhanced and its campus community enriched by international scholarships, programs to promote interaction among American and international students, and an institute for the study of international human rights at Colby—all supported by the Oak Foundation. Colby recruits Oak Scholars from Zimbabwe and Denmark and from anywhere in the world if an applicant and their family have suffered political oppression. In 1998 the foundation created the Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights, which brings a front-line human-rights practitioner to campus for one semester each year. Oak Fellows have included activists from Pakistan, Congo, Colombia, Kosovo, Sudan, Paliestine, Cambodia, Zimbabwe, the Phillipines, Bangladesh, and Israel. All of the Oak Fellows risked their lives exposing and combating human-rights abuses, including child labor, ethnically motivated murder, and violence against women and against indigenous populations.

Understanding the changing face of the European community, instability in Latin American countries, dramatic changes in China and Russia, and many other international developments demands an appreciation of anthropology, politics, history, and economics. Colby's interdisciplinary international studies major also incorporates courses on the environment, international institutions, trade, and finance. International studies majors must concentrate in international policy or in one of five areas of the world if they do not have a second major in an area studies program. Majors pursue careers in public policy, government, economics, public service, diplomacy, and international business as well as academic careers with an international focus.

Each year the Institute of International Education publishes a list of the colleges that send the most students abroad, and every year Colby shows up near the top of the list. More than two thirds of Colby's students spend time studying overseas before they graduate, and with the Jan Plan students have multiple opportunities to extend their Colby experience around the globe. Language acquisition programs in France and Spain, internships in London's financial district, teaching opportunities in Russian and Japanese schools, or social science research in Latin America&madash;they are all ways that foreign study helps prepare Colby students for global world of today. With a long history of internationalism, Colby has connections that can help open doors all over the world.