Any student in good standing at an accredited U.S. institution is eligible to apply. Though students from SITA member schools are given priority in admission, all qualified candidates are usually able to be accommodated in either the fall or spring semester.

The program is designed for non-specialists, so there are no prerequisite courses and all majors are welcome. The most important qualification is a well-articulated interest in issues and questions surrounding South Asian culture, cultural difference, and discourses of development. A maximum of 18 students will be selected to participate each semester.

SITA students experience intensive, in-depth contact with South India’s people and cultures, and applicants should be flexible, self-motivated, responsible, and socially concerned. The evaluation and selection process considers each applicant’s potential to adjust to, and reap academic benefits from, intensive exposure to a radically different socio-cultural and material environment.