Established 1932 Location Brattleboro, VT, USA Founded 1932 | Executive Director Aaron Morehouse Website www.experiment.org Number of students 838 | |
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Type of business High school summer abroad programs | ||
The Experiment in International Living, or The Experiment, is a worldwide program offering homestays, language, arts, community service, ecological adventure, culinary, and regional and cultural exploration programs of international cross-cultural education for high school students. It is administered by World Learning, a non-profit, international development and education organization based in Brattleboro, Vermont, USA.
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History
The Experiment in International Living began in 1932. “Experimenters” were placed in the homes of host families to enhance the intercultural and/or language study aspects of each program.
Experiment assisted after World War II when they lead teaching voyages on a series of decommissioned warships with the members of the Student Council on Travel.
Since the introduction of homestays, organizations including the People to People Student Ambassador Program and SYA have adopted this cultural immersion technique to facilitate understanding.
Mission
The Experiment in International Living's mission remains "to foster peace through understanding, communication, and cooperation" and "to share experiences, languages, and customs with those from different traditions, with the goals of broadening horizons, gaining lifelong friends, and advancing peace."
Current programs
The Experiment in International Living has been offering immersive experiential learning programs abroad since 1932. Today, The Experiment offers summer programs for high school students in Europe; the Americas; Africa, south of the Sahara; North Africa and the Middle East; and Asia and the Pacific. Participants are challenged to explore the host country through hands-on experiences in local communities and through the lens of a specific theme.
Locations
Currently, the Experiment hosts more than 30 programs in more than 25 countries including Argentina, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of a foreign language is expected on certain trips, thus experience in Spanish for at least a year is required for trips to Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Spain. Similarly students are expected to study French for at least a year prior to the program in some programs in France.
Applications
As part of the application process, students must submit a letter (in either English, Spanish, or French, depending on the location of the program) to a prospective host family. The letter and a profile filled out by the applicant are used by the local homestay representative to match students with a family. Students apply online at www.experiment.org.
Financial aid
The Experiment is administered as part of a 501(c)3 charity and provides financial aid to applicants based on family need. In 2016, The Experiment awarded $2.4 Million to 76 percent of Experimenters.