Spend 4 weeks over the summer immersing in the regional Deaf culture of the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. RIT Global was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of State's IDEAS Program for this program which aims to broaden study abroad opportunities through a four-week immersive experience centered on European Deaf cultures.
- Learn about regional European history, Deaf education practices, and the basics of international sign languages while engaging with local community organizations in four countries. Gain insight into disability rights, education, and societal disparities.
- The first three weeks of the program are based at RIT’s campus in Zagreb, Croatia. There, you will learn about the unique historical, geographical, economic, social, and political landscape that has shaped Croatia and the Deaf community in the Balkan region of Europe.
- During a week-long study tour to Serbia, Hungary, and Slovenia, you’ll visit cultural and historical sites while delving into the social, political, and legal aspects affecting the Deaf communities.
- RIT Global received an award from the U.S. State Department to increase its study abroad programming to highlight European Deaf culture.
Term: Summer
Location: Zagreb, Croatia
Program dates: May 16-June 13, 2025
Left to Right: Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia
Course:
- Deaf Culture in Europe (3 credits)
All coursework will take place during the summer while in Croatia, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia.
No course pre-reqs. Open to all undergraduate majors, all year levels. Participants must be fluent in ASL - program is taught in ASL.
Housing
In Zagreb, students will live in shared apartments with other RIT Rochester students. The apartments are equipped with Wi-Fi and are usually within 30 minutes of campus. Please note that it is possible that students on this program may be placed in mixed-gender apartment-style housing, in which bedrooms are separated by gender, but the apartment itself has students of the opposite gender.
On the study tour to Serbia, Hungary, and Slovenia, students will stay in shared hotel rooms.
Application Deadline: February 15, 2025
Video is signed in ASL and captioned.
Upcoming Student Info. Meetings - Croatia Summer Programs
Info. meetings will cover the basics of all summer Croatia programs and go over the application process.
If you need interpreting or captioning support for a meeting, please reserve at myaccess.rit.edu
- Friday, December 6th, 1-2 pm, Zoom - Register and get link
- Tuesday, January 21st, 5-6 pm, Zoom - Register and get link
- Wednesday, February 5, 5-6 pm, Zoom - Register and get link
To Apply
1) Make an appointment with study abroad advisor Myles Chalue, to go over the required application steps - choose date and time
2) Start an application in the Compass.
Before starting an application you will be prompted to fill out a Compass profile. After completing your profile information, you will need to search for the "Deaf Culture in Europe" program under "Search Programs" to complete an application.
3) To assess your ASL skills, please submit a 1–2 minute video following the instructions below:
Record yourself addressing the following topics in ASL:
- Introduce your name.
- State your student status (e.g., NTID student or from another college such as COS, COLA, etc.) and how long you have been at RIT.
- State your major.
- Mention where you are from.
- Explain why you want to participate in the Deaf Culture in Europe: Croatia & the Balkans Study Abroad program.
Use your @g.rit.edu email address to submit your video on this Google Drive by the application deadline.
Program Cost & Financial Aid
Program Cost: A student budget worksheet outlining all program costs will be available soon. Join the budget worksheet interest list for Croatia's summer programs, and we will send you a budget worksheet once it is available.
Financial Aid:
Since you’ll only be earning 3 credits on the Deaf Culture in Europe program, you will not likely be able to use any financial aid towards program costs. Typically, students earning 5 or fewer credits in the summer have limited options for using financial aid (perhaps only a portion of a Pell Grant (if you receive one) or private loans.
However, if you would like to meet with RIT financial aid to see what aid may be available to you, follow these steps:
- Make an appointment with your financial aid assistant director (call Financial Aid at 585-475-2186) and mention that you are calling for a study abroad appointment.
- Upload a copy of your budget worksheet(s) via the Financial Aid upload portal at https://join.rit.edu/register/FA_upload (at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled meeting so they have time to prepare).
- Before uploading the budget worksheet to the financial aid portal, add your name and student ID to the file name
- Choose “Other Financial Aid Forms and Documentation” as your document type in the Financial Aid portal.
- The RIT financial aid office is located in Bausch and Lomb Center (Bldg. 77), 2nd floor, 2125
To find out the name of your financial aid assistant director for your degree program visit: https://www.rit.edu/admissions/aid/contact
Scholarships:
- RIT Education Abroad Travel Grants ($500-$1,000)
All students with pending applications in the RIT Study Abroad Compass for this program will be automatically considered for an RIT Education Abroad Travel Grant. You will be informed of your scholarship status shortly after the application deadline. Scholarships are awarded based on financial need. - Other scholarships: RIT Study Abroad Scholarships, National Study Abroad Scholarships
RIT Students only