Centre Term Study Abroad

This course will provide students with an introduction to tropical ecology and they will gain practical expertise with developing field research projects. Our course will focus on the two major Caribbean ecosystems, marine and tropical forest environments. We will explore links between terrestrial and marine ecosystems by canoeing a portion of a freshwater river. Along with covering important ecological processes and learning about local biodiversity, students will connect these concepts to Belize’s rich Mayan past and modern conservation challenges. This course will involve strenuous hiking and frequent snorkeling. Moderate physical fitness and the ability to swim will therefore be required to participate in this course. This course is open to any student who has taken BIO110 or receives permission from the instructor.

Faculty: Dr. Mark Galatowitsch

Cost: $4500, Deposit of $500 due March 29, 2023

If you are interested in applying for this course, please be in direct contact with the faculty director named above by February 16th, 2023.

Students in this course will be some of the few who get access to Bhutan, the last great Himalayan kingdom. They will understand how modern-day Bhutanese culture has been shaped by its rugged and amazingly diverse landscape, early influence of Tibetan Buddhism, and a robust tradition of resistance to outside rule. As part of the course, students will investigate what it means for a country to measure progress through Gross National Happiness rather than Gross National Product and examine the tensions between tradition and progress and their impact on culture and environment. In order to explore these topics, students will visit traditional cultural and religious sites such as the Taksthang Monastery, site of the birthplace of Buddhism in Bhutan, as well as historical fortresses such as Punakha Dzong that have served as governmental centers. Students will also compare the capital city of Thimpu (population ~100,000) to rural areas and nature preserves such as the Phobjikha Valley, the winter migration site of the famous Black Necked Crane.

Faculty: Dr. Jennifer Goetz, Dr. Chelsea Cutright

Cost: $5500, Deposit of $500 due March 29, 2023. Includes flights, all transportation and lodging, all entry fees, and two meals per day.

If you are interested in applying for this course, please be in direct contact with the faculty director(s) by February 16^th, 2023.

This study abroad explores the histories and contested legacies of three global revolutions in eastern African history. It begins in the precolonial kingdom of Buganda (Uganda), whose ancient monarchy underwent a late nineteenth-century revolution that changed the course of global history—from the career of Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt to the end of Indian Ocean slavery. We then turn to the Hutu Revolution and the Rwandan genocide, which resulted in the death of one million central Africans in 100 days. Finally, we will relocate to Zanzibar, where a movement in 1964 sought to upend the influence of hundreds of years of racialized violence and forced labor. In addition to studying eastern African histories closely, this abroad will enable you to study local languages, experience cultural immersion, and conduct original research.

Faculty: Dr. Jon Earle

Cost: $4100, Deposit of $500 due March 29, 2023. Includes flights, ground transportation, 2 meals per day, accommodations, and activities

If you are interested in applying for this course, please be in direct contact with the faculty director named above by February 16^th, 2023.

This course will provide the students with a survey of the modern Middle East by looking specifically at the ways in which religion and politics have been inextricably linked through the last two millennium. And in turn, the course will explore the deep historical and cultural connections between global religions (especially Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and modern geographies (especially Europe and Asia). This course aims to help students better understand the historical and cultural influences that Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities have had on each other. In so doing, the course will give the students a better sense of the ways in which religion and politics have been entwined within Christian and Muslim traditions in the Middle East. The course will facilitate an appreciation of the degree to which Christian and Muslim historical claims continue to animate public society in the Middle East today.

Faculty: Dr. Matthew Pierce, Dr. Sami Sweis

Cost: $4250, Deposit of $500 due march 29, 2023.

If you are interested in applying for this course, please be in direct contact with the faculty directors named above by February 16^th, 2023. 

For centuries, Italy has played an integral role in major wars from Greek and Roman battles to city-state rivalries to twentieth-century world wars. Students will travel through the Italian landscape, visiting remarkable sites along the coasts as well as key interior cities, to discover how war played a dramatic role in Italian history and culture. Over three periods–the Greek and Roman era, Renaissance era, and Fascist era–people debated, sometimes violently, questions about power, status, citizenship, and statehood. The course will include visits to Sicily, Naples, Salerno, Rome, and Florence to explore how war shaped a people and a place. Our classroom will be the piazzas, churches, cafes, train stations, museums, and the streets of Italy. Key sites include southern Sicily and Salerno, site of Allied landings in World War II, as well as Pompeii, the Colosseum, and the Vatican.

Download the flyer here.

Faculty: Dr. Danielle LaLonde, Dr. Amy Frederick, Dr. Sara Egge

Cost: 4200, Deposit of $500 due March 29, 2023. Includes flight, transportation, visits, 2 meals per day, accommodations, classes, and activities.

Application: https://centre.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0PVcOzYLoKbWnGe

If you are interested in applying for this course, please be in direct contact with the faculty directors named above by February 16^th, 2023.

A study of the English monarchy from its medieval origins to the present, and a consideration of its future in a post-colonial world. Visits to Stonehenge, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Canterbury Cathedral, Windsor Palace, and the Houses of Parliament, as well as the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, with small group excursions to local neighborhoods to find out what the residents think.

Faculty: Dr. Mark Rasmussen, Dr. John Kinkade

Cost: $4000, Deposit of $500 due by march 29, 2023. Includes flight, full access to all events, and 2 meals per day.

If you are interested in applying for this course, please be in direct contact with the faculty directors named above.

This course offers a journey through the most important moments in Spanish history: the Roman conquest, the Germanic invasions, the Muslim presence in the Peninsula, and the Reconquista, among others. In our course we will visit the cities of Toledo, Cordoba, Granada, Sevilla, and Madrid, recognized as the major sites with an intricate and unique heritage. We will begin the course in the city of Toledo. This strategic location presents archeological sites both from the Roman and Muslim periods. In Toledo, we will discuss and explore significantly related sites and topics related to pre-Muslim history in the peninsula – the fall of the Roman empire, Visigoth Spain, and the Muslim conquest—. After visiting the city, we will travel to Cordoba, the capital of the independent emirate of Al-Andalus and home to several architectonic gems such as La Mezquita. We will proceed to Sevilla and end our course in Granada, where we will visit El Albaicín, and La Alhambra considered the jewel of the Nasrid Kingdom. Before we embark on a return journey to the United States, we wilvisit Madrid and the Paseo del Arte. Students will have the chance of exploring art masterpieces from the Spanish, Italian and Flemish schools, including Velázquez’s Las Meninas and Goya.

Faculty: Dr. Alicia Juncos

Costs: $4200, Deposit of $500 due by March 29, 2023. Includes 2 meals per day, accommodations, and flights.

If you are interested in applying for this course, please be in direct contact with the faculty directors named above.

In this performance-based course, students will investigate and perform the various dimensions of sound and space through a choral lense. We will visit and perform in sites of architectural renown (and value) in Madrid, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Besalu and Barcelona. These sites include the Prado museum, Guggenheim and the Sagrada Familia. We will look at ways in which composers have innovated alongside performing spaces and create form and space within their compositions through texture, harmony, dynamics, and form. This is a performance-based course. Students will learn, memorize and perform choral music reflecting the dimensions of sounds and space of our venues and of the creative processes of the composers. They will investigate and explore the contexts of renowned composers, visual artists and architects and draw connections between these forms and the music performed.

Faculty: Dr. Johann Van Niekerk

Cost: $4400, Deposit of $500 due by March 29, 2023

If you are interested in applying for this course, please be in direct contact with the faculty director named above.

This interdisciplinary course examines the human-environment-disease interactions in both Senegal and The Gambia. We will explore the two countries’ public health facilities and development models. This course will introduce students to global health issues, exploring emerging and re-emerging diseases in Senegambia, along with other international environmental health topics such as air quality, water quality, food security, and climate change. The course focuses on diseases such as Cholera, Tuberculosis, Dengue fever, and Malaria among others that have decimated many lives in the West African region, and emphasizes the potential interventions related to public health.

Faculty: Dr. Jean Faye

Cost: $4200, Deposit of $500 due by March 29, 2023. Includes 2 meals per day, flights, transportation, accommodation, and activities.

If you are interested in applying for this course, please be in direct contact with the faculty director named above.

The goal of this course is to provide students both the experiential and theoretical resources to answer the question, "What is nature?" Answering this question is fundamental to creating students whose future must include stewardship of the planet. Trips include backpacking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Death Valley camping trip and Multi-day trip to the California Coast.

Faculty: Dr. David Williams (Dr. Brett Werner will help assist) 

Cost: $3500, Deposit of $500 due by March 29, 2023. Includes flight, transportation, visits 2 meals per day, accommodation and activities.

If you are interested in applying for this course, please be in direct contact with the faculty director named above.

Students with advanced proficiency in the Spanish language are eligible to live and work in Merida for 3-4 weeks in January. It is a great opportunity to professionalize one's Spanish language abilities, to prepare for a career, and to embed yourself in the local community.

Cost: $1000 (does not include airfare). Includes homestay with 2 meals a day for 5 days a week.
If you are interested in this course please contact Dr. Genny Ballard and/or Karen Ryan

Applications are due by February 16^th, 2023.