Study Abroad

Thinking about studying abroad? Well, now's your chance to find out why Michigan State is a national leader in study abroad!

Pictured left to right: Eddie Daniels (fellow political prisoner with Nelson Mandela), Abby Werner, Maple Le, Professor John Beck, Dan Machiorlatti, Michelle Winner, Megan Anderson, Jonathan Tsegaye, and Kandace Hansen. Summer 2011

South Africa

Labor Relations/Human Resources in South Africa
Next trip: Summer 2013
Previous trips: 2006-2009, 2011-2012
Faculty contact: John Beck

Participants join African students in the Labor Relations Masters program at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, to look at industrial relations and organizational change in the South African context. Students learn about labor relations and human resource management through a variety of lectures, plant visits, interactions with labor and management leaders, and other hands-on experiences.

Learn more about the Study Abroad program »

China

An opportunity of a lifetime. Photo credit: Oksana Odnovol, Summer 2010.

Human Resource Practices and Employment Relations in China
Next trip: TBD
Previous trip: Summer 2012
Faculty contact: Peter B. Berg

Student Stories from Study Abroad: Kristie McAlpine »

The goals of this course are to provide students with a deep understanding of the institutional networks that make up the employment relations system and human resource practices in China. The course covers the following topics: comparative employment relations theory, the role of employers, labor unions, and the state in determining employment relations and human resource practices at the firm level. The course provides students with direct contact to the key actors in Chinese employment relations through visits to US employers, e.g. Microsoft, Intel, Eaton, and General Mills. In addition, students meet with labor union leaders and managers at Chinese domestic companies. The instruction for the course is delivered during a two-week trip to Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing. Students also receive lectures at Renmin University in Beijing and Nanjing University in Nanjing, and they have opportunities to network with Chinese graduate students.

Germany

German Employment Relations
Next trip: TBD
Previous trips: 2005 and 2007
Faculty contact: Peter B. Berg

This program provides graduate students with a deep understanding of the institutional networks that make up employment relations and human resource practices in Germany. Students have the opportunity to in interact with key actors in German employment relations systems through visits to employers, labor unions, and the German labor ministry, as well as opportunities to network with German graduate students.