A new Institute of Technology summer program in Germany will give students the opportunity to study nanotechnology.

In June, five students will leave for the six-week program at the Technical University of Munich.

"It's one more opportunity for them to go without interrupting their traditional semester-based classes," said Adam Pagel, the I.T. international program coordinator aid.

Material sciences and engineering junior Caitlyn Thurber will participate in the program.

As an I.T. student, she said going abroad during the year could take her off course in her studies.

"I like that it's in the summer," she said. "I think it would've been difficult to study abroad for a semester and keep up with the engineering type of classes that I've had to take to stay on track, at this point."

Coordinators haven't finalized program fees, but Pagel said the German technical school is giving students a discount of roughly 2,000 euros.

"An arrangement that we're making with them (is) to take some of their students here," he said.

The program will probably cost between $4,000 and $5,000, including spending money, Pagel said.

"We came up with this idea of sharing students and offering discounts so that it's easier for students to go back and forth," Pagel said.

Professors from the German school have collaborated with University faculty on research projects, I.T. student services director Susan Kubitschek said, adding that the German university was interested in recruiting I.T. students from here.

"When they came to visit us, they sought us out," she said.

Many University students have some knowledge of the German language, but not enough to take technical courses in German.

"A lot of students like the idea of studying in Germany, but they don't necessarily have the fluency in German to take a technical course in German," Pagel said.

The program includes German language courses in addition to the nanotechnology courses in English.

"Six weeks in Germany sounds like a fun experience," Thurber said.

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