Summer Study Abroad Programs 2014 at the Jagiellonian University, Krakow

Each program consists of morning language classes (Monday through Friday),  afternoon courses, and sightseeing trips on weekends.  Students may add afternoon lecture classes to their schedule at no additional cost. A Jagiellonian University Polish Language Certificate is awarded to all students who pass their final language exams and meet attendance requirements.  Students who have intermediate or advanced language proficiency may take the Polish government's proficiency exam known as the State Certification of Polish as a Foreign Language.  The exam is recognized as the test of Polish language proficiency worldwide.

Program fees include: language classes and course materials, afternoon lectures, three meals per day, a double occupancy room in the student dormitory, sightseeing trips on weekends and evening activities such as film showings, Polish cooking and traditional Polish dance. 

Additional fees for: registration, airfare, single rooms, theater performances and concerts, visits to galleries and museums, and program options such as the course on Art history as well as any optional trips that may be offered during the program.

Language classes: Each session offers language classes at an intensive pace PLI, however, non-intensive classes PL, are available during Session A.  The maximum number of participants in each language class will not exceed 12 students.

Housing: Students will live at Dom Studenta Piast, ul. Piastowska 47, 30-067 Krakow,  5 tram stops from the Old Town.

The dormitory is arranged in suites which consist of two rooms and a small bathroom. A room is shared by two persons. Friends who are applying for the same session may request to room together - see the accommodation form.

Towels, sheets, pillowcases and pillows are provided.

Internet Access: Internet access is available in each dorm room.  Ethernet cables are available at the reception desk free of charge. Students may purchase an extension with the proper wall outlet plug at a local electronics store.  Wi-Fi access is available on the ground level of the dormitory, in the cafe and on the park benches just outside the dormitory entrance. 

Meals: Three meals a day are served at a nearby cafeteria. Arrangements for vegetarian diets are possible, however, strict macrobiotic meals are NOT available.

What is the difference between an intensive and a non-intensive class?  Intensive classes meet for longer periods of time per day than non-intensive classes.   All language classes meet Monday through Friday.

Do you offer classes for absolute beginners? Yes. With six different levels of language instruction, the program begins with Basic User for absolute beginners (A1 and A2); Intermediate User (B1 and B2) and Proficient User (C1 and C2) the highest level available for Polish language learners.  These language levels correspond to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.  Additional information may be found at www.certyfikatpolski.pl.

How do I chose a language level? You will be placed in an appropriate level based on an oral and written placement test which will be given on the first full day of your program.

Can I take these classes for credit? Yes, the majority of the classes offered in this program are available for credit.  If you wish to take classes for credit please speak with your academic adviser about the courses you are interested in.  With your academic adviser, determine whether they can be used towards  degree requirements or as electives.  Complete the  Kosciuszko Foundation's Credit Approval Form.  You'll need a copy of this year's course descriptions, found below, as well as the 2013 syllabus. You may also be required to complete credit transfer forms required by your home university. 

Credit transfers are handled  differently by each university.  Approval is often based on whether or not you have met your home university's degree requirements.  Familiarize yourself with your university's policies - speak to appropriate persons at your Study Abroad Office,  Records Office, language department, and/or International Students office. 

The 2013 syllabus  includes details concerning Jagiellonian University's teaching methods, the grading system, attendance policy and a list of lecture titles for each course.  If approved by your academic adviser, please return the completed Credit Approval From to the Kosciuszko Foundation.  See below for address information. 

Students who do not wish to take courses for credit may attend classes on an audit basis (non-credit). 

Is a course syllabus available? A course syllabus for 2014 will be available at the start of the program.  For details concerning Jagiellonian University's policy regarding grading, attendance, credits and list of lecture titles please refer to previous year's syllabus, link found above.

How many hours make up one credit? The course descriptions below list the official number of hours and credits available for each course. 15 hours is equivalent to one credit.   Please note that in Polish educational system,  1 academic hour = 45 minutes.

How do I put together a schedule of classes? A typical day includes language classes in the morning and two afternoon lecture classes.  Each day includes 3 time slots: morning, early afternoon and late afternoon. Generally speaking, you may include one class per time slot.  Session A students, however, may register for the Art class as well as the non-intensive language class since the time-frames do not overlap.  Alternately, you may take the intensive language class in the morning.  Session B language classes are intensive only and run from early July through mid-August.  Students in Session B may choose one afternoon course per time slot for July as well as one course per time slot for courses offered in August.  Students may leave one or both afternoon time slots open for study or free time.  Language classes and afternoon classes meet Monday through Friday. 

Please note that course dates fit within the larger framework of Session dates.  If a course is available during the Session you are attending and does not overlap another course in your schedule, you may add it to your schedule of classes. 

What happens in the evening? The evenings are reserved for informal cultural and social gatherings.  A series of Polish customs and traditions entitled, "Sacrum/profanum" will be available as well as a number of informal events more geared to polishing your language skills. See Evening Events below for additional information. 

Are classes given in Polish or English? Language classes will be given in Polish. Most of the afternoon lectures are given in English, however, some exceptions exit.  Course descriptions indicate which courses are offered in Polish.

What sightseeing trips are included? All sessions include tours of Jagiellonian University's Museum at Collegium Mauis, Kakow's Old Town and Wawel Royal Castle.  Weekend trips will include a trip to the Pieniny Mountains with a raft ride on the Dunajec River, the Tatra Mountains and the resort town of Zakopane, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, and the Salt Mines of Wieliczka or Pieskowa Skala Castle.  Sightseeing is organized for each session separately.

Program dates and prices for 2014 are:

SCHEDULE OF AVAILABLE CLASSES:

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:

ART Polish Art: Past and Present (lectures in English)
The development of Polish art since the 10th century. Special emphasis will be placed on the importance of Poland within Europe, including the formative effects of geopolitics on the development of Polish artistic movements,  Polish church art, folk art, poster art and architecture. This in-depth art history course will be conducted at the University and in museums. The course includes a program of field trips.  Limited admission.
July 7-25; 45 hours, 3 credits, 11:00 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.
Note: There is an additional fee of $140 for this course to cover various admission fees and other expenses.  This course is offered during Session A.

CULT Polish Culture: Lessons in Polish Literature (lectures in English)
A presentation of some of the most interesting problems in the thousand year history of Polish culture with emphasis on themes related to national existence. Literary masterpieces of the past and present including poetry of Nobel Prize winners, Czeslaw Milosz (1980) and Wislawa Szymborska (1996); Polish Romanticism; culture in a political context; writers in exile; literature and totalitarianism and other "great questions" of Polish culture will be discussed.
July 7 - 23; 30 hours, 2 credits, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

GRAM - Polish Grammar (lectures in English)
A series of lectures on the structure of the Polish language, its morphology and syntax. Everything about Polish grammar that you always wanted to know but never had the occasion to ask.
July 28 - August 13; 30 hours, 2 credits, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

HIST History of Poland (lectures in English)
A survey of Polish history from the Piast dynasty through Jagiellonian rule, the elected kings, 123 years of partitioned Poland, the 1920's and 1930's, World War II, the creation and functioning of the People's Republic and the collapse of the communist system.
July 7 - 23; 30 hours, 2 credits, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
August 5 - 13; 15 hours; 1 credit, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

HIST-PL Historia Polski (lectures in Polish)
Zarys historii Polski od dynastii Piastow, poprzez epoke Jagiellonow, krolow elekcyjnych, rozbiory, II wojne swiatowa, powstanie i funkcjonowanie Polskiej Rzeczypospolitej Ludowej - po upadek systemu komunistycznego.
July 7 - 23; 30 hours, 2 credits, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

JEWS The Jews in Poland (lectures in English)
An introduction to the long and glorious history of Jewish communities in Poland; the Holocaust (1939-1945), Post-Holocaust history of Jews and Jewish culture in Poland with emphasis on Jewish-non-Jewish relations, anti-Semitism, and the recent revival of Jewish life in Poland.
July 15 - 23; 15 hours, 1 credit; 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

KULT Polska Kultura Wspolczesna (lectures in Polish)
Prezentacja najwazniejszych zjawisk i przemian w polskiej kulturze (literatura, film, teatr, muzyka, malarstwo, rzezba, media...) od upadku komunizmu (1989) po czas obecny.  W ramach wykladow fragmenty filmow, przedstawien teatralnych, utworow muzycznych.
July 15 - 23; 15 hours, 1 credit, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

LIT-PL Literatura polska XX wieku (lectures in Polish)
Najwazniejsze zjawiska w polskiej literaturze wspolczesnej.  Dwudziestolecie miedzywojenne; dziela Witkacego, Schulza, Gombrowicza. Poezja Milosza i Szymborskiej (Nagrody Nobla w dziedzinie literatury). Literatura wobec Holocaustu. Kultura na obczyznie, wspolczesna poezja. 
July 7-14; 15 hours, 1 credit, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

TEATR-PL Literatura i teatr polski XX wieku - wybrane tamaty (lectures in Polish)
Najwazniejsze i najbardziej interesujace postaci wspolczesnej polskiej literatury i teatru; pisarze wobec II wojny swiatowej; laureaci literackiej Nagrody Nobla; najmlodsza generacja tworcow (po roku 1989); najwazniejsze zjawiska w polskim teatrze; wybitni dramatopisarze i rezyserzy - Wajda, Kantor, Grotowski.     
July 8 - August 4; 15 hours; 1 credit; 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

PL - Polish Language (Non-intensive)
A non-intensive (approx. 2 hrs per day) Polish language course designed to introduce students to the Polish language or to improve their knowledge of Polish.  Offered during Session A only.
July x - x; 45 hours, 3 credits; x:xx - z:zz a.m.

PLI - Polish Language Intensive
An intensive Polish language course designed to build a firm linguistic foundation.  Offered during Sessions A, B, C and D; 4-5 hours a day.
75 hours, 5 credits - Sessions A, C and D
120 hours, 8 credits - Session B

POL-PL Dlaczego ten jezyk jest taki skomplikowany? (lectures in Polish)
Kurs teoretyczny dla osob zainteresowanych jezykiem polskim. Wyklady dotycza cech charakterystycznych struktury jezykowej, skladni, odmian stylistycznych polszczyzny i tendencji rozwojowych slownictwa wspolczesnego jezyka polskiego.
July 7 - 14; 15 hours, 1 credit, 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

RLS Polish in Real-Life Situations (Polish language practice in the city.)
Practical exercises which enable the participants to hone their Polish language skills in real-life situations, exploiting the grammar and vocabulary learned during lectures in actual conversation with Poles, outside  of the confines of study halls.  Courses are offered at all levels of proficiency and take advantage of multimedia aids as well as Internet-based sources. Activities are task-and-project-based.  Please see http://www.plschool.uj.edu.pl/projekty-studenckie for results of past activities.
July 7 - 23; 15 hours, 1 credit, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
July 7 - August 13; 30 hours; 2 credits, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
July 28 - August 13; 15 hours; 1 credit, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

SCE-PL Kurs przygotowawczy do egzaminu certyfikatowego. (review in Polish)
Kurs dla studentow zainteresowanych zdawaniem panstwowego egzaminu certyfikatowego z jezyka polskiego jako obcego. Uczestnicy zapoznanja sie z technikami zdawania poszczegolnych czesci egzaminu (gramatyka, pisanie, czytanie, mowienie i rozumienie ze sluchu) i beda mogli rozwiazac probny test egzaminacyjny.  Zajecia prowadzone sa przez wykwalifikowanych instruktorow, bioracych udzial w pracach Panstwowej Komisji Poswiadczania Znajomosci Jezyka Polskiego Jako Obcego. 
In July - dates and times TBA in Poland; 14 hours, no credit  5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

SOC Contemporary Poland and her Society in the 21st Century (lectures in English)
Since 1989, Poland has officially been a free market democracy with a civic society. Yet, while economic and political changes are relatively easy to engineer, the social ones are much harder and take much longer. This course will present contemporary Polish society, noting remnants from the past, examining evidence of deeper transformations already accomplished and predicting negative and positive trends developing into the future.
July 28 - August 4; 15 hours; 1 credit; 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

TRANS Communism and Post-Communist Transformation in East-Central Europe (lectures in English)
The historical, political, economic and social dimensions of the changes that have taken place in Poland and other European countries since the 1980s. The communist system and its collapse, the economy in transition and social changes in post-communist countries. The focal point of discussions will center on Poland. Other countries, most notably Russia and the Czech Republic will be used for comparative purposes.
July 7 - 14; 15 hours; 1 credit; 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

EVENING EVENTS:
Below is a listing of events that will be available in the evening.  Most are social or cultural events, however, some language events are also included. No need to register for these events - just show up and have fun!

• Sacrum/profanum - These events provide an opportunity for students to experience important Polish cultural traditions first hand.  The events themselves are quite unconventional and include making pierogi for the Christmas Eve feast, decorating a Christmas tree, wax fortune telling, singing, dancing, and a bonfire sausage roast.  Among others, the program covers traditions associated with Christmas, Easter, St. John's Eve, wedding ceremonies and Labor Day celebrations. July 8 - August 12 (Thursdays), 8:00 pm; no credit;
• Dance workshops
• Cooking workshops
• Film presentations (with English subtitles)
• Theater performances and concerts (tickets not included)
• Visits to galleries and museums (tickets not included)
• Evening conversations and phonetics workshops (once a week)
• Individual language consultations (daily)

If you have any questions please contact the Summer Sessions Office:             

Addy Tymczyszyn
Tel. (212) 734-2130 ext. 210
E-mail: Addy@theKF.org

Final Day to Apply for This Program: May 15th
Final Day to Submit Additional Forms: May 28th

Additional forms include the following: Credit Approval Form, Health Form, Health Care Proxy, your Passport Number and a signed copy of Kosciuszko Foundation's Rules and Regulations.