Friends World Program
Long Island University-Southampton College
239 Montauk Highway
Southampton, NY 11968
Telephone: 631-287-8474
Fax: 631-287-8463
fw@southampton.liu.edu
http://www.liu.edu/friendsworld
ENROLLMENT
Full-time:
65 men/150 women
FRESHMAN ADMISSION
PROFILE
Number who applied:
181
Number accepted:
165
Number enrolled:
92
Average GPA:
3.2
Freshmen retention rate:
70%
COSTS
Tuition per semester:
$13,520
Room and board:
$1,685-$5,300 (differs per program)
Fees, books, misc.:
$1,200-$4,200 (differs per program)
FINANCIAL AID
Most students receive aid. Merit, Service and Global Citizen scholarships available.
FACULTY
Full-time:
20
Part-time:
17
Ph.D.:
59%
Student/faculty ratio:
8:1
Friends World Program
Long Island University-Southampton College
239 Montauk Highway
Southampton, NY 11968
College Description
With six centers around the world - Latin America, European, China, South Asia, East Asia and West Africa and Six Programs in Contemporary Issues - Comparative Religion and Culture, Peace and Reconciliation-London, People and the Natural Environment-A Latin American Perspective, Alternative Japan-Kyoto, Holistic Living and Sustainability-Samskara-India and Development Studies-Ghana. Friends World Program is uniquely international. There are approximately 200 students currently enrolled with a student body and facultydrawn from many parts of the world. The Program is designed for students who are capable of assuming greater responsibility for their own lives and learning. The Program's worldwide facilities offer students the opportunity to live and study in two or more other cultures while earning an accredited Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies; to design individual programs of study based on their personal interests and goals; and to combine academic study with field experience and internships. While acquiring a balanced liberal arts education, including the development of practical fluency in one or more foreign languages and an appreciation of the culture and values of several world regions, students have the opportunity to carry out in-depth study and gain practical experience in their chosen field. In addition, they develop a deeper understanding of and a broader perspective on current world issues.
The Program began as Friends World College, founded on Long Island, New York, in 1965, under the sponsorship of the New York Yearly Meeting of Friends, and became part of Long Island University in 1991. While its beginnings were Quaker, the Program is nonsectarian. The purpose of the Program is to encourage men and women from every nation to treat the world as a university. A Friends World education emphasizes an intensive study of global issues and commitment to global citizenship.
Academic Life
The B.A. degree is awarded by Long Island University. Students have designed individual programs of study in most of the liberal arts fields, including African-American studies, animal behavior/wildlife studies, anthropology, archaeology, area studies (African, Asian, European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern), communications (film, journalism and photography), community health, community organization and development, criminal justice and comparative legal systems, economics, education, environmental studies/ecology, fine arts and crafts, gender studies, holistic and natural healing, human services, languages, music, Native American studies, nutrition, peace and conflict resolution, philosophy, psychology/counseling, religion, sociology, sustainable development, theater/mime, and United Nations studies.
The learning process is a carefully planned combination of academic study and field experience. The Program involves classroom study, immersion language training (often including homestays), and independent fieldwork in at least two other countries. Under the guidance of an international faculty, students develop skills and competence in a major academic field by combining reading and library research, hands-on experience, and analytical writing. Friends World students typically spend at least two years abroad working with center faculty members to design and carry out field studies (such as internships, apprenticeships, and investigative research) in several cultural settings. For example, they have studied Gandhian nonviolence in India, desert agriculture in Israel, and holistic healing and acupuncture in Japan and China. Students have worked with a feminist publishing cooperative in Paris, interned with a U.S. Congressman in Washington, researched agrarian economic development in Costa Rica, apprenticed with a modern dance company in Munich, worked with the United Nations in New York, and interned with a legal center in London. Many other projects range from anthropology to zoology.
The Friends World Program has gone truly international as freshman/first year students commence their studies in London. While participating in the Foundation Year Program, a core program of seminars and studies focused on global history, global literature and pressing global issues, students work closely with faculty advisors to define their educational interests and goals and to design an individual learning plan for the second semester of independent field studies, complemented by group course work. Continuing, transfer and visiting students have the opportunity to study in any number of Friends World Centers and Programs.
As a record of their learning and growth, students maintain journals or portfolios of their work. The Portfolio of Learning replaces the usual assignments and examinations of traditional colleges. The B.A. degree is conferred by Long Island University after successful completion of 120 credits, the preparation of a senior thesis or senior project report, and an external evaluation. Long Island University is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, (215) 662-5606.
Up to 60 semester hours of credit are accepted toward the B.A. degree from the following sources: transfer credits from other accredited institutions of higher education, College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests, military service, and College Board Advanced Placement examinations. Credit may also be awarded for pre-enrollment learning acquired through life experience. Such learning must be approved, documented and evaluated by the Friends World faculty.
Friends World Program has a 37-member faculty supported by Long Island University faculty on the LIU campuses of Southampton College, C.W. Post and Brooklyn/LIU. Friends World faculty are drawn from ten countries and command twenty-five languages. A worldwide average student-faculty ratio,8:1, emphasizes Friends World's commitment to personalized learning. Each of the Program centers is staffed by a core group of faculty advisers and draws adjunct faculty members from other institutions and professional groups in the region. In addition, scores of field advisers provide supervision and support for individual students during field studies.
Campus Life
Since 1965, Friends World students have carried out studies in more than seventy-five countries, literally making the world their campus. In 1991, the Program affiliated with Long Island University and relocated the Friends World Headquarters to the campus of Southampton College in Southampton, Long Island, 90 miles from New York City. An urban center in London, England, is home base for The Foundation Year Program, for the Peace and Reconciliation Program and for British and European Studies students studying and working on projects throughout the British Isles and on the European Continent. The Latin American center in San José, Costa Rica, serves Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The ancient city of Kyoto, considered the "heart of Japan," is the location of the East Asian center. The center in Bangalore, India, helps students carry out programs in South Asia. Zhejiang University in Hangzhou is the location of a center for studies in the People's Republic of China. The newest center is the West African center, located in Kumasi, Ghana with a program in Development Studies beginning fall 2003. In addition, students have the opportunity to study in three distinct areas in one year by opting for the year-long program in Comparative Religion and Culture. Selected students focus on beliefs and religio> us practices in Taiwan, India, and Turkey. Thus, while the headquarters of the Program is in the United States, students carry out their learning all over the world. In the truest sense, the Program's "community" is the entire globe.
Facilities and Resources
Each of the regional centers maintains a small library of books and materials relating to the regional culture, as well as a resource file of individual and institutional contacts and advisers that students use in developing and carrying out their field studies. In addition, the centers often make cooperative arrangements with local facilities in the region, such as libraries, language institutes, research laboratories, and other colleges and universities. Students with valid Long Island University I.D. can access LIU library databases.
Financial Aid
Aid is awarded on the basis of need, as determined by the College Scholarship Service, using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Long Island University participates in most of the federal and state programs of aid for U.S. students, including the Federal Pell Grant, Work-Study, Direct Student Loan, and Perkins Loan programs. Students who are not U.S. citizens are ineligible for the aid programs listed above. They may be given partial tuition grants but will need to cover the balance of tuition and all living and travel costs from their own resources.
Friends World automatically evaluates students for merit, service and Global Citizen scholarships based on school average, demonstrated service commitment and study abroad.
Admission Requirements
The Program seeks self-reliant, mature, intelligent, and world-minded men and women of all nationalities, races, and socioeconomic groups. Completion of a college-preparatory high school program is generally required, although applicants presenting a passing score on the GED test are also considered. Early admission is considered for qualified high school juniors. Programs are also available for Transfer students and for Visiting students from other colleges and universities who desire a semester or year of study abroad.