By Lindsey Bever/editor-in-chief
   The Salzburg Student International Study Program will offer selected TCC students the opportunity to study international issues and global citizenship in Austria beginning May 15.
   Ten selected students enrolling in U.S. Constitutional Government (GOVT 2305) and Ethics (PHIL 2306) will be instructed by Dr. Hamed Madani, SE government professor, and John Castro, SE assistant professor of philosophy and religion. The six-week summer courses will feature a week-long seminar in Salzburg, Austria. The class requirements include rigorous reading, discussion, a writing project and exams.
   The courses will meet Monday-Thursday, May 15-30, on South Campus and will continue during the week in Austria, June 1-8. The courses will conclude on South Campus.
   Dr. Tahita Fulkerson, district dean of instruction, said TCC will hold the two classes on South Campus because it is a more central location and more accessible to students on all four campuses.
   Fulkerson said Madani and Castro could be considered Salzburg alumni. Although these faculty members have attended the Salzburg seminar the past two summers, this is the first opportunity offered to students.
   “ They [instructors] have been the students themselves,” she said. “I have gone both summers, and it is a wonderful experience. We were all there learning.”
   Fulkerson hopes the experience will have as much of an impact on the students as it has on the faculty.
“ Our goal is for our students to understand what it is to be a global citizen. The world is getting smaller because of technology. It’s all the more important for us to understand different perspectives,” she said.
   Americans cannot always relate to the global perspective. However, Fulkerson said while in Salzburg, they discovered virtually all Salzburg natives spoke English beautifully.
   “ It’s a broadening experience anytime you can understand perspectives of others,” she said.
   TCC students applying for the Salzburg Student International Study Program must have completed at least 18 hours with a 3.0 grade point average.
   A required essay and letter of reference written by a faculty member must be submitted to Fulkerson by Friday, March 3.
   Accepted students will be contacted for a faculty interview by March 24. A deposit of $100 is due upon acceptance, no later than April 7, and the final payment of $400 is due by May 15.
   Students can register for the two six-week summer courses as of April 10.
   Tuition, airfare, room and board will be covered almost completely by TCC.
Students also must provide proof of health insurance and must have a valid passport. And students who are not U.S. citizens may acquire a temporary visa.
   “ This travel opportunity will take them [students] to the heart of Europe, where they can hear speakers who are specialists in global issues,” Fulkerson said.
   For more information on the Salzburg Student International Study Program, call 817-515-3386 or visit www.tccd.edu/TravelStudy.