The study abroad program will be led by social relations and policy professor Julia Grant, a professor in” James Madison College”:http://jmc.msu.edu/, who said this is the first of its kind at MSU to focus on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Although the study abroad deals with issues and people in the LBGT community, all students are welcome to apply.

Grant said the politics and views regarding issues of gender in Amsterdam are very unique and provide an interesting location for study.

“We’re dealing with a country that is very socially tolerant of gender and sexual diversity, but is experiencing challenges to that tolerance with Muslim immigration,” she said. “Students will get a really different perspective on sexual politics and have the opportunity to learn how sexual politics, multiculturalism, religion and ethnicity intersect.”

Students on the study abroad will visit a sex reassignment clinic and travel to Brussels to learn about the plight of LBGT refugees, Grant said.

The program is currently expected to take 15-20 students and will take place from July 6 through Aug. 6, costing $2,900.

Co-sponsoring the study abroad with the James Madison College is the Center for Gender in Global Context, and co-director Lisa Fine said this is one of a number of programs they’re hoping to run in the coming years.

Fine said developing programs related to LBGT studies has been very difficult.

“(The Center for Gender in Global Context is committed) to developing all sorts of curriculum around these issues,” she said. “We’re proud to be able to help facilitate this particular opportunity for students.”

When trying to decide which university to attend, James Madison College freshman Ryan Lakin said the study abroad opportunities at MSU put them over the top.

Lakin has always had an interest in Amsterdam, so when she learned about a new, unique study abroad being offered at MSU she jumped at the chance to learn more.

“I chose MSU because there were so many unique opportunities for study abroad,” Lakin said. “This is like the fulfillment of what I was coming to college hoping to find.”

Lakin said gender studies have always been a passion of hers and is something she hopes to incorporate into her degree.

Although she hasn’t learned whether she’s been accepted into the program just yet, Lakin said she will definitely go if she gets the chance.

“I’ve always been really interested in that area of Europe, and I think it fit me the most academically,” she said. “I’m really interested in women’s studies and the James Madison program, and I thought it was one of the best experiences to go to Europe and get out of your comfort zone.”