The International School at the University of Haifa

While we know that your reason for choosing the University of Haifa is the desire for a challenging academic experience, we also know that you want the opportunity while you are here to explore and understand Israel as much as possible. For this reason, we provide you with numerous social activities throughout your time at the University of Haifa.

Each semester or summer session begins with a tour around Haifa, enabling you to become familiar with the city. Then, throughout your time in Haifa, you will have the opportunity to participate in trips throughout Israel. You will explore all of Israel from the green and lush north to the dry and arid south. We offer three overnight trips per semester. Past excursions have included overnight camping trips to the Galilee, the Golan Heights, Jerusalem, and the Negev. We also offer academic tours (trips mandatory for a specific class) on Sundays when you do not have classes, so that students who are not in the class may join the tour as well. Students have found these day trips very enriching and give you excellent insight into Israeli society, culture and history. Past academic tours have included well-known places like the Old City of Akko, the ancient ruins at Caesarea, nearby Druze villages, and the archaeological dig at Beit Guvrin, but also include places that are off-the-beaten path like Yokneam, Atlit, and the Gilboa.

On top of the trips and tours, we offer social and cultural activities such as concerts by Israeli performers, lectures about Israeli society and holiday celebrations. We also have certain activities which occur on a weekly basis. Every Sunday night, we have Israeli movie night in the dorms lounge. Tuesday nights, we have Tarbut Yom Gimmel (Cultural Tuesday) and on Wednesday nights there is a Salsa Party open to students from the entire university. You are also free to take part in the various workshops, lectures, conferences and events which take place on campus.

You can take even further advantage of the opportunity to immerse yourselves in Israeli society in 2 different ways. Firstly there are several volunteer opportunities both on and off-campus and secondly on holidays and the Sabbath you may request to join a local family for a festive meal, which has been proven to be rewarding for both the student and the families involved.

The International School employs full-time Madrichim (or "Social Activities Coordinators") who build and implement the social activities program. The Madrichim live on campus, and it is their responsibility to assist you in immersing yourself in campus life as much as possible. All social activities planned by the International School are included in the tuition fee, so we encourage you to take advantage of them all. Activities planned by outside providers, but advertised for you through us may have a charge. Whichever activities you choose to get involved in you are guaranteed to have an amazing social, cultural and educational experience here at the International School in the University of Haifa.

The International School encourages all of its students to participate in a variety of volunteer options. While volunteering is not a requirement of students who study in the International School, we strongly encourage all students to participate. It allows the student to meet and develop close connections with Israelis and to understand more about many of the social problems affecting Israel. This endeavor also provides the student with an opportunity to leave their mark in Israel before returning to their home country. Transportation to volunteer placements within Haifa is the responsibility of the student.

Current volunteer opportunities include:

Teaching English to immigrant children and youth in the Haifa area: International students who wish to participate are paired up with an immigrant child, usually from Ethiopia or the former Soviet Union, and meet once a week in the child's home, in a community center or on campus.
Recording Holocaust survivors' life histories: European students are paired with Holocaust survivors who share their native language. The survivors tell the students their stories, and the students document these stories to later be translated into Hebrew and used for historical documentation.
Packaging food at local food bank: Students volunteer to package food at a local food bank to be distributed to those in need in the Haifa area.
Student initiatives: If an international student has a different interest or idea for a volunteer project, we are very happy to assist in helping the students make arrangements. Past projects have included starting and leading a cheer-leading squad at a local community center, volunteering for Magen David Adom (Israel's Red Cross), or tutoring university students in foreign languages.