Students learn about Mexican woodcarving from artist Jacobo Angeles.

Education Abroad also will add a winter interterm program in the African nation of Mali. A service-learning interterm program was launched in Oaxaca, Mexico, last December.

“SMU is committed to providing educational experiences that allow students to acquire knowledge and understanding of diverse cultures,” says Michael Clarke, executive director of the SMU International Center.

The seven new programs follow the recommendations of SMU’s International Education Task Force, which last year developed a comprehensive plan for advancing global perspectives among students.

The new programs reflect SMU’s goals not only to increase opportunities abroad and the number of students who participate, but also to diversify the experience, says John Mears, International Education Task Force chair and associate professor of history. “Every region in our interconnected and interdependent world is significant, as is every field of study, from engineering and science to business and the arts.”