Intercultural communication is essential for professionals seeking domestic and international careers. This program is only available in person.

Throughout all of our programs, we emphasize intercultural competence—facilitating students’ cultivation of dispositions that contribute to effective communication between individuals and groups of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

The Intercultural Competence (ICC) specialization helps develop essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes to expertly lead and train multicultural teams, sensitively interact with diverse stakeholders, and create effective ICC assessments and training materials.

Overview

The ICC specialization is designed for students currently enrolled in any of the Institute’s degree programs who seek to develop ICC knowledge, skills, and attitudes in both themselves and others.

  • Develop an awareness of theories of culture and intercultural interaction.

  • Become aware of the ways in which power, identity, language, and group dynamics impact communication.

  • Develop participant observation skills that enable critical reflection.

  • Engage in ongoing self-reflection.

  • Question assumptions that guide diverse interpretations of and approaches to interaction.

Curriculum

The 16-credit ICC specialization curriculum integrates experiential, practical, and theory-based courses that vary in length (full-semester, half-semester, workshops) and delivery (classroom, online). A cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required.

Core (10 credits)

Provides a strong basis in relevant ICC theory, research, and practice. Required courses:

  • Introduction to Intercultural Competence (2 credits)

  • Intercultural Group Dynamics/Organizations (2 credits)

  • Power and Identities in Intercultural Contexts (2 credits)

  • Communication in Multicultural Settings (2 credits)

Additional Core and Electives (6 credits)

Students also select ONE of the following TWO core courses, and the remaining six units can be selected from ICC electives available every semester.

  • Intercultural Training in Organizations (Prerequisite: Introduction to Intercultural Competence) (2 credits)

  • ICC Assessment (Prerequisite: Introduction to Intercultural Competence) (2 credits)

Faculty

ICC courses are taught by professionals, educators, and researchers who are engaged in ongoing work in intercultural competence. Meet our faculty.

Questions

Contact Professor Netta Avineri (Intercultural Competence Committee Chair) at navineri@middlebury.edu for more information.