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FSP

Linguistics FSP Auckland & Polynesia

Auckland, New ZealandRarotonga, Cook Islands

Winter 2025

The application period for this program has passed.

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Program At a Glance

Terms Offered

Winter

Language

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Tandem professor and globe icon
English

Classes In

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Students looking at a chalkboard icon
English

Lodging

Dormitory

Department

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college building icon
Linguistics

ABOUT THIS PROGRAM

During winter term, the Dartmouth Dept. of Linguistics offers a foreign study program in Auckland, New Zealand (Aotearoa) and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. The portion in Auckland is in conjunction with the Dartmouth Dept. of Anthropology FSP and includes classes in the Dept. of Māori Studies at the University of Auckland. Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand, with a culturally diverse population of 1.5 million people. The University of Auckland is an internationally recognized center for the study of Pacific archaeology, cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, and linguistics, and is a leading institution in the comparative study of Indigeneity.

For seven weeks in Auckland, students take classes on Māori language and culture and a course preparing students for linguistics field research taught by the Dartmouth Linguistics FSP faculty director. The time in Auckland includes field trips to Māori communities and significant historical sites on the North Island of New Zealand.

Students spend the final 3 weeks participating in a linguistics field research project led by the Linguistics FSP faculty director in Rarotonga studying Cook Islands Māori. The portion of the FSP in Rarotonga is hosted by the University of the South Pacific, Cook Islands campus. Students share a house together in Rarotonga.

 

THE STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENCE

  • Entrance to Piritahi Mara Waiheke

    Entrance to Piritahi Marae Waiheke. Photo by Rolando Coto-Solano, 23W Faculty Director.

  • Linguistics students in Rarotonga

    Linguistics Students in Rarotonga. Photo by Rolando Coto-Solano, 23W Faculty Director.

  • language documentation on film in Rarotonga

    Language documentation on film in Rarotonga. Photo by Rolando Coto-Solano, 23W Faculty Director.

  • Muriwai field trip

    Muriwai field trip. Photo by Rolando Coto-Solano, 23W Faculty Director.

  • Aerial view of Rarotonga

    Rarotonga. Photo by Rolando Coto-Solano, 23W Faculty Director.

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

STUDENT LIFE

Students begin the program living in University of Auckland campus housing; a short walk from the city- and campus centers. For the final 3 weeks, students share a house together in Rarotonga. Highlights of the program in Auckland typically include excursions to places relevant to Māori history and culture. In past terms this has included a visit to a Māori meetinghouse in a Māori community on Waiheke Island.

For more information, see the department website.

 

Student Voices

Our excursions to Waikaremoana and Waiheke were transformative and inspirational. It is wonderful to be welcomed into a community and get to learn about their worlds. I was humbled that they would introduce us to such strong leaders and to their elders. -Winter 2020

Student Voices

I am going to take my new perspectives and lessons on Native issues and rights with me for the rest of my life; they will color my experience wherever I go. -Winter 2020

Student Voices

"In Maori culture, the importance of the family in every person's life is second to none. I hope to implement the types of values they have imparted on me through sharing their ways of living into my everyday life." - Winter 2019

Student Voices

"This program allowed me to study language documentation and then to apply those skills directly in the field, which is not something that traditional classroom activities generally allow. In addition, it gave me a chance to talk with Maori activists on environmental issues I'm passionate about and to more properly include the perspective of marginalized indigenous communities in my political ecology studies." - Winter 2018

Student Voices

"I learned a lot about my identity and what is truly important to me." - Winter 2018

Tuition and Fees

The fees charged by the College for a Dartmouth-sponsored off-campus term of study include regular tuition charges for a term at Dartmouth, service fees, as well as the specific costs established for each off-campus study locale. In many programs, the room and board costs tend to be higher than for a term in Hanover. You can view a budget sheet for each program by clicking on the appropriate term under "Financing Your Program". The cost of transportation to and from the site is the responsibility of the student.

 

Financial Aid

In order that all qualified Dartmouth undergraduate students may have the opportunity to take part in off-campus programs, the College endeavors to adjust its normal financial aid awards for students already receiving aid. Tuition and expected family contribution for Dartmouth's off-campus programs are the same as for an on-campus term.

All costs, including airfare and spending money, are considered when determining the cost of an off-campus program. Any costs more than a typical term in Hanover are met with additional Dartmouth Scholarship Funds.  If you have a work expectation for the term, this will be replaced by scholarship funding for programs that span the entire term. 

Students are responsible for purchasing their own plane tickets and, in many cases, meals. Often this means that part of the expected family contribution is used towards these costs rather than for tuition. For help sorting out who pays what and how, contacting the Financial Aid office is often advisable.  

Financing your program | Financial Aid | Scholarships | Budgeting & Costs

 

Program Resources

Department Contact

Alumni Contact

TBD