Without knowledge of the global context, a designer in the 21st century may have an incomplete perspective when tacking design problems. That's why the College of Design emphasizes the value of study abroad as part and parcel of a solid design education.
Created five years ago by the College of Design, the Prague Institute is the only foreign study facility owned and operated by the North Carolina University System. With a focus on sustainability and community engagement, learners at the Institute become intimately connected to Prague, the oldest most intact Medieval city in Europe.
Design instructors also lead a program in Ghana, with an emphasis on learning how people actually live day-to-day and working with them to develop design solutions that enhance their lives.
The Prague Institute offers the opportunity for any student to study for a summer, semester or year in Prague through a variety of design studios and general education courses. Special programs are offered at times through several NC State University colleges and departments.
Located in the medieval center of Prague, the Institute is convenient to art galleries, book shops, art supply stores as well as an outdoor fruit and vegetable market, cafes, and restaurants.
Students commute about 20 minutes from their residence, a small hotel (pension) located on a hill overlooking the city via subway or tram. It is located in Vinohrady a popular section of Prague with a grocery store, markets and restaurants nearby. In warmer weather, there is a yard and outdoor sitting area. Breakfast is included and each room has a refrigerator and kettle. The Institute is equipped with 3 kitchens, so cooking and meal preparation happens there.
An information session will be held on August 22 at 12:30 p.m. in Burns Auditorium for students interested in study abroad opportunities in the Czech Republic.
Please contact the Student Affairs Office for detailed course information at 919.515.8306
Since 1997, design students have participated in the only studio art experience hosted by a U.S. college in one of Africa's greatest cultural centers: Ghana. The Art and Design International Program abroad offers an empirical experience by requiring students to investigate the motifs, symbols and markings of a foreign country.
Students collect data by means of drawing, painting, photography, collecting artifacts, and oral and written documentation. As part of an international educational initiative in Ghana, design students study at the College of Art at the University of Science and Technology located in the center of Kumasi, Ghana's most industrious city. An NC State companion program, the Ghana Summer Study Abroad in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences, sends students from other disciplines to study the culture, language and history of the Ghanaian society at the University of Ghana at Legon near Accra.
The NC State-Ghana initiative was formalized in 1994, and is meant to promote global understanding among students and faculty from diverse backgrounds and circumstances. Since the educational alliance began, professors from Ghana have served as visiting professors at NC State; an NC State professor went to Ghana as a Fulbright Scholar; and students at the College of Veterinary Medicine completed their epidemiology rotation in Ghana. NC State students also have the opportunity to study in Ghana for a semester or an entire school year.
Textile artisans in Ghana Students in the design studio program visit artistic and cultural sites: villages that specialize in printing, wood carving and crafts; the National Museum; workshops with tie-dye and batik artists; and galleries and artists' markets in the city of Accra. Ghanaian artists are esteemed for their crafting of ancient terra cotta work, bronze, Kente cloth, tie-dying and batik, leather and straw products, traditional gold jewelry, Krobo beads and wood carvings of Ahwai-Ashanti.
The group also tours sites used to hold Africans captive during the Atlantic slave trade, including the Elmina Castle. One reason for selecting Ghana as a study site is its historical importance to Americans. Ghana and the west coast of African, known as the Gold Coast, was the principal source of slaves for the New World.