Very few colleges offer a program like Friends World -- experiential education by total immersion into other cultures. The Program stands alone in two important ways. The first is its faith in students. Friends World (FW) believes that intelligent young men and women have the ability and the right to be deeply involved in determining their own educational plans. The second is the FW belief that all nations of the world need citizens who are educated to see beyond their own borders and who recognize that as individuals they share the responsibility for the future of the planet.

Friends World Program’s (FWP) offers experiential and service-based education through total immersion into other cultures for 3 1/2 years. The Senior Capstone Semester takes place in New York City where you synthesize and integrate your learning that has taken place in Costa Rica, China, India, Japan, Australia, Thailand, Taiwan and/or Turkey. You study in two or more countries outside of your home culture as you earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Long Island University.

FWP provides a balanced liberal arts education that includes fluency in at least one foreign language through classroom learning, complemented with field experiences, directed independent studies, and internships. In consultation with faculty advisors, you design individualized programs of study in the humanities and social sciences according to your personal interests and goals. Examples of former concentrations include: Peace Studies; Conflict Resolution; Global Youth Culture; Arabic Culture; Music and Media; Dance and Social Change; Environmental Anthropology; Sustainable Agriculture; Community Development; Traditional Healing; Globalization and Society; Indigenous Peoples and Women's Studies. Individualized study is carried throughout the program and at overseas centers.

The Foundation Year prepares freshmen with the fundamentals of experiential education and study abroad. Teaching and learning take place in seminars, lectures, group discussions, workshops, role plays, projects, and directed independent study. The Second and Third Years provide an opportunity to build upon first-year learning, to apply more sophisticated knowledge and skills, to create and execute independent study projects at FWP Centers in China, India, Japan and Australia, and to participate in the traveling semester-length Comparative Religion & Culture program. In the Fourth Year, you spend the fall semester conducting an independent study in a country previously visited, before culminating your FWP education with the Senior Capstone Semester in New York City.

FWP students' education is enriched through work with highly-respected organizations and many leading international professionals and global specialists. Many students eventually enroll in graduate programs or work in a field first explored as a FWP student.
Founded in 1965 by the Quakers, Friends World became a program of Long Island University in 1991. Although non-sectarian, FWP is still respectful of its Quaker roots and encourages students to become involved in service both to the institutional and local communities.
Friends World Program admits freshmen and transfer students. You may attend FWP as Study Abroad students from other educational institutions, enrolling for a semester or a year, with credits transferring back to your home schools..