ISLE is now accepting applications for the Fall 2010 Program:
Rolling admissions for the Fall 2010 program close 31 March 2010; applicants are encouraged to apply in andvance of this deadline to ensure a place on the program. Please see the application section of the ISLE web site for more information.
Security in Kandy
Christian Science Monitor article reports on how Kandy stays above the fray.
2009 Fall Program
Get reports and photos from the 2009 Fall Program here.
What Students Say:
"My time here has infinitely impacted my world views and my notions of myself within the world. The program was by far one of the most significant educational and mind broadening experiences of my life."- comment from a recent ISLE student. Read more recent ISLE student comments about the program.
Fulbright Advice
Many ISLE students apply for Fulbrights, with a desire to return to Sri Lanka. Get application advice from an ISLE alumnus.
ISLE's Silver Jubilee
The ISLE Program recently hosted a 25 Year Jubilee celebration in Sri Lanka. See our report here.
ISLE (Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Education) offers undergraduate students a unique opportunity to study in Sri Lanka. Since 1982, the ISLE Program has introduced over 400 American undergraduate students to Sri Lanka's history, archaeology, environment, society, religion, literature, language, politics, economics and art. Many ISLE students have subsequently returned to Sri Lanka for further studies on Fulbright grants or within the context of graduate study programs in the humanities and social sciences. ISLE is a consortium program, affiliated with Bates, Bowdoin, Carleton, Colby, Grinnell, Holy Cross, Macalester, Swarthmore, and Whittier Colleges. Applicants from those colleges have priority in applying, but ISLE also welcomes students from outside the consortium. To learn more, please see the ISLE Application page.
Sri Lanka (see general, regional, and Detailed Regional Maps of Sri Lanka) is a politically turbulent but socially congenial and astonishingly beautiful country located on a tropical island (the size of West Virginia) in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, just off the southern tip of India. Before 1972, it was known as Ceylon. Among its many other names historically, it has also been known as Ceilao (Portuguese), Serendib (Arab), Taprobane (Greek), Dhammadipa (Pali), and Simhaladvipa (Sanskrit). Its Sinhala Buddhist culture is the oldest continuing Buddhist civilization in the world, yet modern Sri Lanka is a very diverse and extraordinarily complex society. Economically, it is a developing nation. Politically, it is democratic.
Click here for a quick glimpse of the ISLE Program
ISLE is an atypical study abroad program. It is a demanding academic and intense cultural experience designed for highly motivated students with interests in various aspects of South Asian cultures and societies. Past students have found it challenging in many ways: intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically. Students who are ready to be challenged in these ways will find the ISLE program a deeply rewarding study abroad experience.
Yala Beach, South Coast, Sri Lanka
Check out the Fall 2009 issue of our Alumni Newsletter.
New! see videos of dance and drumming performances by ISLE Program participants from the ISLE Fall 2009 session. You can find links for more performances on the Session II page of the 2009 Fall ISLE Program pages.