Fall students have the option to extend their stay for a second semester, indeed are encouraged to consider it. The idea of the second-semester program is that exceptional students, having gone through the structured first-semester program, are now given the opportunity to pursue a course of individualized study specific to their interests, work one-on-one with their favorite professors, do an internship, and live independently. The second semester is intended for highly motivated and self-directed students who are comfortable operating with minimal supervision and living outside the context of a host family, and second-semester students also often become informal peer-mentors to new spring students.

Instead of taking five courses as in the fall, students take four courses at four credits each. A recommended program of study would include:

• Advanced Tamil
• Internship with a local NGO directed and supervised by a SITA faculty member
• Directed Field Research with the Resident Director
• Either an elective that the student did not take in the fall, or a tutorial of the student’s choosing

SITA assists students in finding an apartment and making housekeeping arrangements, and provides students a living stipend to cover these expenses. The cost of the second semester is equal to the cost of the first , with all tuition, course materials, living expenses, program-related travel, in-country medical insurance, and visa extension costs included.

Though second-semester students are afforded much greater independence in and around Madurai, they are still expected to abide by all SITA policies and must obtain permission from the Resident Director to travel outside Madurai.