SiD's fall cohort at a visit to Hope Village Revitalization

For the first time in Semester in Detroit’s history, fall classes include undergraduate students from Grand Valley State University and all three U-M campuses (Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint). Thanks to diligent efforts over the past year by colleagues in U-M Dearborn’s Office of Global Education and U-M Flint’s Center for Global Engagement, as well as critical support from faculty on both campuses, there is now a long-term plan to bring together undergraduates from all three U-M campuses into the SiD experience. Students from Grand Valley State University have been able to participate since fall 2016 thanks to a strong partnership with the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies. SiD is accepting applications now for both our spring and fall 2022 programs. 

Classes offered in Semester in Detroit’s Fall Program - which have resumed in-person this semester at the U-M Detroit Center - are the only U-M courses to include students from all three U-M campuses. This combination of U-M students creates unique opportunities for teaching and learning across campus demographics and student life experiences while centering engagement with Detroit communities. 

Sarah Pattison, Associate Director of UM-Flint’s Center for Global Engagement, spoke of the value of this new partnership: “The Semester in Detroit program has given UM-Flint students the opportunity to engage deeply with the Detroit community and with students from other campuses. Through this entire semester of high-impact coursework and internships, our students have been motivated to take their education beyond the classroom and they have made meaningful connections that will propel them into impactful careers and lives in their communities.”

Scott Riggs, Director of U-M Dearborn’s Office of Global Education, remarked: "The Semester in Detroit (SiD) program has been a cutting edge partner bringing valued and diverse student perspectives from all three campuses together in meaningful dialogue. The depth of engagement with Detroit that SiD provides our students is a great asset to our campus and community."

In addition to their SiD classes, students in the current cohort are interning with long-standing community partners including: The Detroit Justice Center, Ecoworks, Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation, Hope Village Revitalization and Keep Growing Detroit. We are excited to partner for the first time this semester with Soulardarity - a community-based organization that has been organizing for energy democracy in Highland Park since 2012.  

Looking ahead toward the Fall 2022 Program, Semester in Detroit is building on this momentum to bring more students (and faculty!) from all four campuses into our unique and immersive learning community. We invite students, staff and faculty to reach out to our team anytime to learn more about how to further build this collaboration.