St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College, a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, seeks to provide an education committed to the liberal arts, rooted in the Christian Gospel, and reflective of diverse and global perspectives. St. Olaf focuses on critical inquiry and expression, offering a distinctive environment that integrates teaching, scholarship and creative action. As partners in learning, St. Olaf and HECUA collaborate on challenging students to be responsible and knowledgeable citizens of the world, and creating higher education institutions that foster community building and social justice.

Special services HECUA provides to the campus:
• St Olaf College and HECUA developed a three-year project to help faculty and students gain first-hand experiences with diversity and urban issues, funded through the Hewlett Foundation’s Pluralism and Unity program. HECUA provided a five-day workshop in the Twin Cities for St Olaf faculty and administrators to explore experiential approaches to teaching issues of social justice while introducing community partners for future collaboration with the college.
• HECUA has assisted St Olaf in conducting an annual urban immersion experience in the Twin Cities for students. During January, St Olaf students spent two weeks living and learning in the Twin Cities studying issues of diversity in urban areas. The Hewlett Foundation has provided funding.
• Solveig Zempel has been a frequent visitor to HECUA’s Norway program site and was instrumental in the review and revision of the Scandinavian Urban Studies Term (SUST) curriculum in the early 1990s.
• Curriculum Integration has been a major effort at HECUA. HECUA has worked with the International and Off-Campus Studies Committee (IOSC) and the International and Off-Campus Studies Office to establish credit relationships for all HECUA programs. HECUA programs carry General Education credits, and several programs have been granted major/minor credit.

Application Process

HECUA follows St. Olaf’s yearly deadline. St. Olaf supplies applications for HECUA programs (typically blue packets) with both the HECUA application and any other forms required for on-campus approval. You can pick up applications in the IOS office in Tomson Hall. All pieces of the application (including the academic reference form) are submitted to St. Olaf’s International and Off-Campus Studies office. After approval, the IOS office sends the application to HECUA. Apply directly to HECUA for summer programs.

International & Off-Campus Studies Office
Tomson Hall
(507) 786-3069
[email protected]

* The IOS office has a two step process for semester long study abroad. The first deadline is for a "letter of intent", and the second is the final application deadline. Please consult the IOS website for more information.

** The IOS office has a "priority" deadline and then a final deadline for January term programs. Please consult the IOS website for more information.

Individual Campus Program Advisers (signature required on application for specific program):

Ecuador: Chris Chiappari, Soc/Anthro Department
[email protected] Phone: x3815

Northern Ireland: Colin Wells, English Department
[email protected] Phone: x3441

SUST: Kari Lie, Norwegian Department
[email protected]

Bangladesh: Tom Williamson, Soc/Anthro Department
[email protected] Phone: x3875

City Arts: Jan Hill, English Department
[email protected] Phone: x3440

Writing for Social Change: Jan Hill, English Department
[email protected] Phone: x3440

Environmental Sustainability: Diane Angell, Biology Department
[email protected] Phone: x3101

MUST: Steve Soderlind, Economics Department
[email protected] Phone: X3153

Need more assistance?

To begin the application process and for more information about available programs, requirements, and fees, a HECUA campus representative is always available:

Lauren White
651-287-3311 - office
651-216-1369 - cell
[email protected]

The following students have also agreed to respond to questions about their specific HECUA experience: