University of Delaware Institute for Global Studies
Fall 2024: EXCHANGE Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality

Program Dates August 12, 2024 - December 20, 2024 (dates are tentative)
This program has been cancelled.

Program Overview This program is highly competitive and will accept only a limited number of applicants. Interview appointments and acceptance decisions are at the discretion of the faculty director.
Please review the CGPS COVID-19 Updates page before applying to a study abroad program for information about COVID-19 related travel requirements and policies for UD study abroad.

All applicants must have a valid passport by the program’s application deadline. Your passport’s expiration date must be more than six months after the program ends. If you do not have a current passport, apply through the U.S. State Department. It takes an average of 8-11 weeks (2-3 months) to process a passport.

Traveling and studying abroad during a global pandemic poses new challenges and requires accepting a higher level of uncertainty than in the past. Students who choose to study abroad at this time must be prepared to adapt to the evolving situation and must take responsibility to act in accordance with the rules, regulations, and recommendations of UD, their program leadership, and legal authorities of their home and host country. Due to the rapidly changing and unpredictable global and local response to COVID-19, these rules, regulations and recommendations are subject to change at any time.

The University will continue to monitor the ongoing situation with COVID-19 (coronavirus) as we approach the departure date for this program. Please reach out to your program coordinator or faculty director with questions and continue to monitor the UD coronavirus webpage for updates. If UD decides to cancel a study abroad program, we will communicate directly with affected students.

The Department of Hospitality Business Management, in partnership with the Swiss School of Tourism and Hospitality (SSTH) offers HOSP students the opportunity to study abroad in Chur, Switzerland, while taking courses that count towards their major during the fall semester of their sophomore year. Students who successfully complete the program will receive a Swiss Diploma during the graduation commencement.


General Info / Student Life

The School: SSTH was founded in 1966 and enrolls approximately 600 students representing over 50 countries. SSTH is located in the town of Passugg, approximately 10 minutes outside of Chur, Switzerland's oldest city which dates back 5,000 years. The school building itself is a refurbished spa hotel with modern classrooms and wi-fi access throughout. Facilities include kitchen and dining facilities in which students work and learn, a student game room, disco, solarium, and lounge, as well as a library. Students are also permitted to use the facilities of the local sports center at no extra charge: indoor and outdoor swimming pool, fitness area, artificial ice rink, and sauna. Over half of the student body is Swiss, while the rest come from dozens of other countries, many from Europe and Asia.

Language: SSTH has two divisions – English and German. UD students are enrolled in English Division. UD students are also required to take one introductory German language course while at SSTH.

Calendar: Fall semester runs early August through early December.

Visas and Passports: Both are required for U.S. citizens. Students entering Switzerland to study for a period shorter than 6 months no longer need to apply for a visa at the Swiss Embassy. SSTH will apply for the permit in Switzerland. Once the permission is granted, the student will be informed that the visa is ready to be stamped in their passport. Students then need to go to the embassy to pick up their personal visa. One important point to note is that the permit obtained this way cannot be extended. If a student with a passport from a country other than the USA or Canada applies for the exchange, the student needs an official International English Language Testing (IELTS) language certificate or needs to take the language test at a Swiss Embassy. This has to be done in advance. No other documents will be accepted from the immigration office.

Transportation: Chur is located approximately 75 miles from Zurich and is easily accessible via Switzerland's modern and convenient rail system. Public transportation is also available between Passugg and Chur .

Housing and Meals: Students are housed in furnished single dorm rooms on the school grounds; bathroom facilities are shared. The on-site dining facility provides all meals for students, including a full 3-course lunch during the week. All students are required to stay in program sponsored housing, independent housing arrangements are not allowed by UD or the program partners.

ACCESSIBILITY: Participants with disabilities should know that accessibility and accommodation in some program locations may differ from the United States. Transit systems and legacy building construction practices may not meet U.S. accessibility standards, and alternative access to public transportation, buildings, or public sites cannot be guaranteed. But UD students with disabilities are welcome and encouraged to study abroad. Review these questions with the Office of Disability Support Services to determine whether this program can meet your accommodation needs

Courses: All students must enroll in the 0-credit course UNIV 550 (placeholder for this travel study experience) and UNIV 372 (Discovery Learning marker). Students enroll in the following courses with the following UD equivalents:

BEVe – Beverages HOSP 418
CUTe – Cuisine Theory HOSP 201, NTDT200
CUPe – Cuisine Practice HOSP 211, HOSP 325
FBTe – F& B Service Theory HOSP 321
FBPe – F&B Service Practice HOSP 266
GER – German I GRMN 105

In order to obtain transfer credit at UD, students must earn a minimum grade of 5.0 (on 1-6 point Swiss grading scale) in the subjects transferred to UD as HOSP or NTDT courses, and a 4.5 in the German course. Courses are taught in English except for the German course.

Before committing to the program students are encouraged to meet with their assistant dean or academic advisor to ensure that credits earned on the program will facilitate their progress towards graduation. It is the student's responsibility to secure the necessary UD transfer credit permissions prior to departure according to UD's standard transfer credit procedure, and to have an official transcript from the host institution sent to UD upon the conclusion of the exchange semester.

Program Costs:

How much does it cost?.

	Delaware Resident	Non-Delaware Resident
Final Tuition based on current year	$7,300.00	$19,595.00
Total to be charged to UD account (estimated)	$7,300.00	$19,595.00

The rates above may not apply to you if you are a UD graduate student during the time you are studying abroad. Please refer to http://www1.udel.edu/finaid/rates.html for the appropriate rates.


When and how do I pay?
If you are offered acceptance to the program, you will have 3 days to withdraw without financial penalty. After the 3 days have passed, you will be officially accepted to the program, and IGS will post the Tuition/Fees to your UD student account.

• An initial payment of $0.00 will be due in early April.
• The balance of the Tuition/Fees will be due in early August.
• Payments are submitted through My Finances in UDSIS.
• All charges, once posted to your account, are considered non-refundable.

Contact Information:


Deadlines:
Submit Program Application by 5pm on February 19, 2024
Recommendation also due by 5pm on February 19, 2024



Interest Meetings:


Program information is subject to change at any time. Please check this web site periodically for updates.