Hellenic International Studies in the Arts

THE GREEK ISLAND SELF-DISCOVERY ALTERNATIVE

Many students who have finished high school wish to postpone college for a semester or a full year for a variety of reasons. Some desire a bit of travel; others wish to experience an immersion in a foreign culture; while many are looking for a chance to pursue studies in an atmosphere of greater choice or concentration in a single area such as Painting, Photography, or Creative Writing.

HISA endorses the Gap Year concept and actively encourages high school graduates to join our university participants in our full semester program.

At HISA, Gap Year is not merely a phrase describing certain of our students, but an integral and important conceptual module of our founding vision. Gap Year participants receive the same kind of individualized attention to their particular needs that they would at any quality interim program that is offered to Gap Year students only, but with the added benefit of interacting with college students while receiving college credit for their work on Paros.

While many U.S. colleges and universities prefer that students already be enrolled with them before going abroad and receiving credit, HISA's reputation is such that in most instances credit has readily been transferred to the prospective institution back home.

But in the end, there is more to the study abroad experience than receiving credit. All HISA students are encouraged, if they so wish, to design their own individualized curriculum, which is a feature especially attractive to Gap Year individuals. We work closely with such recruiters as The Center for Interim Programs and Athena Study Abroad to locate Gap Year students who are looking for alternatives, respect for their creative interests, and most importantly a place where they can experiment and grow as individuals in a non-judgmental and supportive atmosphere.