2024-2025 Travel Courses

Students pose outside a monument of two alrge eagles

Border experience

This course is about putting a human face on the politics of the US border. We will explore the US-Mexico border through readings and a ten-day trip to Del Rio, Texas, Acuña, Mexico, and environs. We will ask: What does the border mean to those who live there, those who don’t, and to us? What does the experience of crossing borders entail? How do we better love our neighbors who are migrants and foreigners?

Academic Credit
  • 3.0 Credit Hours: PS 353 Seminar: The Border
  • Eligible to count toward Cross-Cultural Engagement Requirement (CCE 150EX)

Business As Mission in Puerto Rico

 The field experience on site will focus on two business as mission entities – one as an established bakery/convenience store that was created as a community hub to connect with people in the area and become aware of needs and the other a start-up company to accomplish a dual purpose: repair and rebuild affordable housing in the area destroyed or damaged by hurricane Maria and to establish an income stream for Lync8 ministries.

Academic Credit
  • 3.0 Credit Hours: BU 393 – Seminar Business as Mission in Puerto Rico
  • Eligible to count toward Cross-Cultural Engagement Requirement (CCE 150EX)

underwater Cinematography

In this course, we will examine the world of underwater cinematography, and filmmaking, the equipment, underwater skills, lighting techniques, storytelling aspects and camera control necessary to capture quality underwater imagery. The class will be taught in Cozumel, Mexico with the help of Ocean Nomads Underwater Photography School and begins with scuba diving lessons.

Academic Credit
  • 3.0 Credit Hours: MC 360 Underwater Cinematography
  • Eligible to count toward Cross-Cultural Engagement Requirement (CCE 150EX)

Business in Australia

This course examines the unique issues faced by business ventures engaging in international activities. In particular, we will explore the influences of economic, political, legal, and cultural environments on international business operations and management. Our study will focus on a particular organization in Melbourne, Australia.

Academic Credit
  • 3.0 Credit Hours: BU 393 International Business Immersion
  • Eligible to count toward Cross-Cultural Engagement Requirement (CCE 150EX)

Holocaust Studies Tour: A Social Science Perspective

As an integrative enrichment experience, this course will examine the relationship between the ideas, imagery, and personalities found within the social and life sciences with the concept of inherent human dignity. Focus will be placed on the historical conflict found in the eugenics movement and culminating in the atrocities committed in Europe during WWII during the Holocaust. Additionally, more contemporary issues will also be discussed.

Academic Credit
  • 3.0 Credit Hours: PSY 393 Holocaust Studies Tour: A Social Science Perspective
  • Eligible to count toward Cross-Cultural Engagement Requirement (CCE 150EX)

Cross-Cultural Experience In JaPan

Partnering with Global Next, we will visit sites of historical, cultural, and political significance in Hiroshima, Japan and interview locals along the way. Places we will visit include the Peace Park and Museum, the Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima Castle, Shukkei-in Garden, Okinawa Island, and more.

Academic Credit
  • Eligible to count toward Cross-Cultural Engagement Requirement (CCE 150EX)

Film Production in London

Immediately upon arrival in London, we will transfer out towards Pinewood Studios—famous for being the filming location for Disney and Marvel Studios—where we will take a Props course through Creative Media Skills. After completing the coursework, we will have 3 days in central London to see live shows, tour the Harry Potter film sets, and pick our favorite tourism sites to visit.

Academic Credit
  • 3.0 Credit Hours: MC 393 Seminar London Film Production
  • 3.0 Credit Hours: DSG 696 Travel Media Workshop
  • Eligible to count toward Cross-Cultural Engagement Requirement (CCE 150EX)

Biogeography of the Galápagos Islands

This course will introduce you to the ecology, physiology, and behavior of organisms in the unique environments of the Galápagos Islands. Students also discuss the history of the Galápagos, how the islands have changed the world, and how humans have impacted the islands. Stops include San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, and Isabela islands, and activities include hiking, snorkeling, kayaking, biking, and visiting museums.

Academic Credit
  • 3.0 Credit Hours: BIO 393 R Biogeography of the Galápagos Islands

Business In Jamaica

Every student participant will be placed in a local business in Kingston, Jamaica, where they will complete two full 40-hour work weeks in a department of their choice (accounting, business management, administration, etc.). Participants should come ready to shadow, ask questions, and willing to do any small projects as assigned by their supervisors. Weekends will be reserved for tourism with a visits to local beaches as a relaxing way to recover from the work week.

Academic Credit
  • 3.0 Credit Hours: BU 393 Jamaica Business Travel Internship
  • Eligible for Cross-Cultural Engagement Requirement (CCE 150EX)

Communications and Biology in the Sierra Nevada

This experiential learning course will focus on the environmental conservation history of Yosemite National Park, the culture and history of local Native American tribes, and the ecology of the Yosemite and Sierra Nevada Ecosystem. We’ll examine the writings of John Muir, learn the history of Muir’s development of the first environmental NGO, and the eventual establishment of the National Park Service. We’ll also study plants, animals, ecology, and geology of the region that made it worth preserving and engage with the Miwok and Kutzadika’a tribes as cross cultural experience, exploring their history, food, art, approach to the outdoors, and governance.

Academic Credit
  • 3.0 Credit Hours: COM/BIO 393 John Muir and the Ecology of Yosemite
  • Eligible for Cross-Cultural Engagement Requirement (CCE 150EX)

Civil Rights Tour of the South

Throughout the Spring 2025 semester, our course will study the background of non-violent methods of protest during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Then, over Spring break, we will visit major sites throughout several states in the south including Memphis, Tennessee; Selma, Birmingham, and Montgomery, Alabama; and Atlanta, Georgia. Our program will also connect with local churches to get modern perspectives on the movement.

Academic Credit
  • 3.0 Credit Hours: SOC 393 Seminar Non-Violence in the Civil Rights Movement
  • Eligible for Cross-Cultural Engagement Requirement (CCE 150EX)

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