Ivan Allen College at Georgia Tech-Lorraine: It's Not Just for Engineers

Posted March 15, 2017

Georgia Tech-Lorraine, often referred to as “GTL,” is Georgia Tech’s campus in historic Metz, France. This pioneering European campus has been the go-to study abroad program for engineering students for over 25 years. We’ll let you in on a little secret…Georgia Tech-Lorraine is not just for engineers!

While Georgia Tech-Lorraine has long offered a number of interesting electives, the program is expanding its offerings from Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts so that more non-engineering students have the opportunity to spend a semester or more at Georgia Tech-Lorraine while staying on track toward their degree. Since Georgia Tech-Lorraine is a year-round campus, students can study there in Fall, Spring, or Summer.

Vicki Birchfield, professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, is in residence at Georgia Tech-Lorraine for the next several years. She teaches three different INTA courses at GTL, including INTA 2221, co-taught with Sonia Serafin, a full-time faculty member at GTL and a beloved French language instructor. John Krige, professor in the School of History and Sociology, will be in residence in Fall 2017 and Spring 2018; he frequently teaches during the summer semester. Krige’s latest course offering is HTS 3080 History of Rocketry. Tim Stoneman is another core faculty member who teaches HSOC courses at Georgia Tech-Lorraine full-time. Global Economics and all levels of French round out the curriculum. With small class sizes, students will get to know these popular instructors. Georgia Tech-Lorraine students come away with an understanding of Europe and its place in the world that takes them beyond their own national and cultural context.

A number of Georgia Tech-Lorraine’s Ivan Allen College courses are travel and site-based. Courses such as INTA 2221 and HTS 2100 take learning outside the classroom and expose students to people and places beyond the Lorraine campus. Students from Tim Stoneman’s HTS 2100 course recently travelled to BMW headquarters in Munich for a “BMW Exploration Day,” which included professional seminars, a VIP plant tour, and a talk on internship and employment opportunities. Several students described the experience as the highlight of their time in Europe. It’s experiences like this that set Georgia Tech-Lorraine apart from other programs.

When talking about site-based course INTA 2221, one student remarked,  "All of the field trips for this class were very interesting and helpful at facilitating hands-on learning of the course material. It really made me interested in the current events of the European Union and I will continue to follow European politics from the U.S.”

Expand your horizons and your global competencies. Discover Ivan Allen College at Georgia Tech-Lorraine now!