Experience the vibrant history and culture of Mexico on the Pacific coast in the city of Huatulco, in the Yucatán in Merida, or in the Mexican state of Oaxaca while volunteering your time with a community-based agency assisting local populations during spring break.

Program offered for spring break 2026.

Information Meeting Scheduled for:

Date:     September 24, 2025

Time:     3:00 pm

Room:   1015 Multicultural Center

More information:

• International Engagement in Huatulco, Mexico
• International Engagement in Merida, Mexico
• International Engagement in Oaxaca, Mexico

Discover the power of code in a global context!

Program offered for spring break 2026.

Information Meeting Scheduled for:

Date:     September 24, 2025

Time:     3:00 pm

Room:   Multicultural Center

More information:

• Coding across cultures in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

This program brings together the study of the Italian language and the culture and civilization of Italy in the present and the past.

Program offered for summer 2026.

Information Meeting Scheduled for:

Date:     September 24, 2025

Time:     5:00 pm

Room:   B106 Wells Hall

More information:

• Italian Language, Literature, and Culture

Join a timely and thought-provoking webinar with Happymon Jacob, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Shiv Nadar University and Director of the Council for Strategic and Defense Research. This talk will examine the complex factors shaping India's current geopolitical situation and analyze how recent global shifts, including the return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, are challenging India's strategic assumptions and partnerships.

India's aspirations as a rising power and a key swing state are now tested by a rapidly evolving global order. What adjustments must India make to sustain its rise? How should it recalibrate its strategic relationships, particularly with the U.S.? And what decisions must it take in the short, medium, and long term to navigate this difficult landscape?

Register here for free!

Interested in studying abroad in Shiga, Japan? 

Visit the JCMU table at the Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) Study Abroad Fair to find out more information about our programs, learn about funding opportunities, and discuss how a JCMU program could fit into your academic plan! 

If you are unable to attend the fair, schedule an advising appointment to talk with a JCMU program coordinator.  

Eye on Africa is a seminar series that provides scholars, policy-makers, applied practitioners, students, and the interested public with cutting-edge and highly-contextualized knowledge about the African continent.

Muslim Journeys series: Zara Chowdhary (University of Iowa) presents The Lucky Ones

Join GenCen for a conversation with Dr. Pallavi Banerjee (Dept of Sociology, University of Calgary), author of The Opportunity Trap: High-Skilled Workers, Indian Families, and the Failures of the Dependent Visa Program.

The Opportunity Trap is the first book to look at the impact of the H-4 dependent visa programs on women and men visa holders in Indian families in America. Comparing two distinct groups of Indian immigrant families---families of male high-tech workers and female nurses---Dr. Pallavi Banerjee reveals how visa policies that are legally gender and race neutral in fact have gendered and racialized ramifications for visa holders and their spouses. Drawing on interviews with fifty-five Indian couples, Banerjee highlights the experiences of high-skilled immigrants as they struggle to cope with visa laws, which forbid their spouses from working paid jobs. She examines how these unfair restrictions destabilize---if not completely dismantle---families, who often break under this marital, financial, and emotional stress. The Opportunity Trap provides a critical look at the visa system in the United States, underscoring how it fails immigrant families.

Dr. Pallavi Banerjee is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and University of Calgary, Research Excellence Chair. Her research is situated at the intersections of immigration, gender, families, unpaid and paid labour, intersectionality, transnationalism. She is the author of the award-winning book entitled, The Opportunity Trap: High-Skilled Workers, Indian Families and the Failures of Dependent-Visa Policy published by New York University Press. Her other award-winning research has been published in many peer-reviewed journals including the American Behavioral Scientist,  Social Problems, Gender & Society, Canadian Ethnic Studies, Sociological Forum, Gender, Work and Organization, among others. She has also written opinion-pieces in venues such as The Globe and Mail, The Conversations and Ms Magazine.  She directs the Critical Gender, Intersectionality and Migration Research Group at the University of Calgary and is the lead researcher in the Youth and Anti-Racist Integration (YARI) Collective. Her research is supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Set in a stunning area of natural beauty, Swansea University spans two campuses at each end of Swansea’s waterfront where students can study several fields of social science or select from a wider range of courses from more than 35 departments and schools. This program type is designed for students seeking a rigorous and self-guided experience. To be successful, students must commit to uphold a significant degree of proactivity and professionalism

Program offered fall and spring semester.

Information Meeting Scheduled for:

Date:     September 26, 2025

Time:     12:00 pm

Zoom:   https://msu.zoom.us/j/92888759549

More information:

• Swansea University

Study in the centers for artistic innovation and digital humanities as you explore the creative capitals of London and Edinburgh.

Program offered for summer 2026.

Information Meeting Scheduled for:

Date:     September 26, 2025

Time:     12:00 pm

Zoom:   https://msu.zoom.us/j/92358115747

More information:

• Digital Culture in London and Scotland