AU Abroad Director Sara Dumont is considering adding a Brazil-based program in the fall of 2008 after a group of students showed interest and contacted her about creating the program.
Students established the Brazilian Club last semester, said Duval Guimaraes, club president for the 2006-2007 school year and a senior in the School of International Service. Guimaraes, who grew up in Brazil and transferred to AU in the fall of 2006, said he helped create the club because he felt there was a lack of Brazilian influence at AU.
The Brazilian Club's main goals are to promote an AU Abroad program in Brazil and to unite students studying Portuguese at the university, he said.
Guimaraes said he and other members of the club met with Dumont to discuss establishing an AU Abroad program in Brazil.
"Dr. Dumont was surprised with the level of interest and is now seriously committed and personally excited about getting an AU Abroad program to Brazil started," he said. "Also, she understands that AU Abroad and a Portuguese language program go hand in hand and is also going to help make sure that Portuguese continues to be offered at AU from now on."
A student who wanted to study abroad in Brazil would need to take more than one Portuguese course before going to the country, Dumont said in an e-mail.
"Brazilian universities teach only in Portuguese, so it is essential that students have at least two years of language study before they go there to study abroad," she said. "But given that we teach two years of Portuguese at AU, our students will be eligible to study in Brazil."
AU currently offers elementary- and intermediate-level Portuguese courses, according to a schedule of classes on the university's Web site.
While there has never been an AU Abroad program based in Brazil, a program based in areas of South America from the Andes Mountains to rainforest areas includes trips into some areas of Brazil, Dumont said. She is currently looking into establishing a program completely based in that country, she said.
"I have been gathering advice from AU faculty who have experience in Brazil and with Brazilian universities and hope to call together a meeting of a faculty 'task force' to discuss our Brazilian initiative and decide where we should focus our energies," she said in the e-mail.
Amanda Sewell, a sophomore in SIS who took Portuguese classes during the 2006-2007 school year and is a member of the club, said she strongly supports the establishment of an AU Abroad program to Brazil.
"American University prides itself on being a school that deals with, and does exchanges with, many students and schools internationally," she said. "A study abroad program in Brazil and offering classes to learn the Portuguese language are simply two things which are necessary to keeping this reputation."
Guimaraes said he felt an AU Abroad program to Brazil would offer students the opportunity to explore a Latin American country where Spanish is not the predominant language.
"Brazil cannot be ignored, especially within a Latin American field of studies," he said. Dumont said she would be attending an international education conference the week of May 28 and would be gathering additional information from Brazilian colleagues.
"If all goes well, I hope to make a site visit to Brazil at some point this coming academic year to help us finalize some decisions and arrangements," she said in the e-mail.
Until AU Abroad establishes a program, students can still study in the country by obtaining a permit to study abroad. Interested students should contact the AU Abroad office for additional information, Dumont said.
