In the Honors College, we believe that few things can so enrich and enlarge a student’s worldview and sense of themselves as study abroad. Our programs accomplish this by utilizing the host city as text, providing a framework with which to approach and understand these international experiences, and giving students necessary time for independent exploration. 
Explore more of yourself by exploring more of the world during our one-, two- and three-week faculty-led study abroad programs.  
The Honors College Study Abroad provides our honors students with the opportunity to study abroad, satisfy honors requirements, and earn college credit in our faculty-led one-, two- and three-week programs.

7- to 10-Day Cultural Immersion Programs

Azores - Winter Session January 2025

The Miradouro da Grota do Inferno: water filled volcanic craters, with green mountains and a sea behind them.

Earn 3 credits and satisfy your H7 or H3 honors requirement, River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED)

The Honors College’s Azores study abroad experience is designed especially for students at (or about to enter) the Honors Project stage of their honors pathway. Escape to Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel in the Azores for a transformative 10-day writing retreat and cultural immersion experience! Delve into seven writing workshops and dedicated Honors Project sessions while also taking time each day to experience São Miguel. Tap into the power of resetting in a new environment, while embracing slow travel and immersing yourself in the picturesque landscapes and rich culture of the Azores.

We’ll sample geothermal cookery, visit hot springs, view dormant volcanic craters and the beautiful blue and green Lagoa das Sete Cidades. Excursions with local experts on the arts, sustainability, and permaculture will enhance your understanding of this beautiful island. Get unstuck, connect with fellow honors project students, and break through creative barriers in this fusion of exploration, productivity, and reflection.

Learn more about Azores

Havana, Cuba - Winter Session January 2024

Honors students stand in Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba, in front of a large portrait of Che Guevara.

Earn 6 credits and satisfy two honors requirements, an Arts & Humanities requirement, a Social Science requirement, and three of the four needed to earn the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement.

Cuba is one of our closest neighbors – only 90 miles of water separate Cuba from the Florida Keys – and yet remains a mystery to us. The Honors College has one of the longest-running winter study abroad programs in Cuba. Because of the American trade embargo, Cuba has been cut off from the world’s largest economy for more than six decades, making Cuba one of the most distinct and unique countries in the world. There is no other place like Havana, Cuba! Our eight days in Cuba are jam-packed with activities, excursions, and lectures. As such, students can satisfy two honors requirements this winter in Cuba with our HONR 3200 seminars.

Learn more about Cuba

Amsterdam - Spring Semester 2024 with travel during spring break

Houseboats and houses along river in Amsterdam
Earn 3 credits and satisfy an honors requirement and an Arts & Humanities and two of the four needed to earn the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement. 
This course will cover the history of Dutch speaking peoples from the 16th through 21st centuries. Topics will include Dutch and Flemish revolts against Spain, overseas trade, colonial imperialism, the first stock market, the Tulip bulb mania, engineering of dijks and dams, Dutch & Flemish art and architecture, religion, witch trials, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, the world wars, and contemporary Dutch culture and environmentalism. Students will be encouraged to explore topics within their areas of interest or branch out into new fields. 

Seville, Spain - Spring Semester 2024 with travel during spring break

Bridge going over a river with the Plaza de España in Seville, Spain and a cloudy blue sky in the background.

Earn 3 credits and satisfy an honors requirement and an Arts & Humanities or Social Science requirement, and two of the four needed to earn the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement.

You couldn’t write a better story than the history of Spain. The rich and long history is filled with drama, war, love, and loss, and is very much alive today. This story is on display greatest in the city of Seville and the province of Andalucía where the Moors ruled for over 800 years. The Moorish footprint is everywhere in Seville: culturally, architecturally, and gastronomically. As is the Catholic reconquest of the province. The Honors College’s eight-day spring break program in sunny Seville, Spain, will explore this fascinating story, immersing students in the sun-soaked region’s culture and its surrounding areas.

Learn more about Seville

Madrid, Spain - Spring Semester 2025 with travel in May 12-21, 2025

Group of students in front of building in Madrid, Spain

Earn 3 credits and satisfy an honors requirement and an Arts & Humanities or Social Science requirement, and two of the four needed to earn the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement.

Located in the heart of Spain, Madrid is the nation’s vibrant capital where the country’s wondrous and varied cultures meet. This welcoming and stunning city is rich with many distinct neighborhoods that are worlds unto themselves. Madrid is enthusiastically alive. The city’s streets have stories to tell – it is a fascinating history – but those streets are just as interested in the stories you’ll be writing upon them. This is a spring semester HONR.3200 course with travel to Madrid in May for eight days, following commencement.

Learn more about Madrid

21 Day Cultural Immersion Program

San Sebastian, Spain – Summer Session I & II 2024

Professor talks to students on banks of Santa Clara Island in San Sebastian's bay.

Earn 3 credits and satisfy an honors requirement and an Arts & Humanities or Social Science requirement and two of the four needed to earn the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement.

The stunning and picturesque coastal city of San Sebastian is the crown jewel of Spain and the Basque Country. Miles from the French border, San Sebastian offers students the best of both worlds—it is a small and easy-to-navigate modern cosmopolitan city with a well-preserved old part, Belle Epoque architecture, and is rich with a distinct history and regional characteristics. The most popular study abroad program at UMass Lowell, we take multiple groups each summer to beautiful San Sebastian where they study Spanish and immerse themselves in the local culture for three weeks, travel to France, and satisfy an honors requirement with our HONR 3200 seminar. All levels welcome.

Learn more about San Sebastian

Eiffel Tower in Paris with flowering plants in the foreground

Paris – Summer Session with travel May 25 – June 8, 2024

Earn 3 credits and satisfy an honors requirement and an Arts & Humanities requirement and two of the four needed to earn the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement.  
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young [person], then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” So wrote Ernest Hemingway, one of countless American writers who have been drawn to live and create in Paris. What took writers like Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Baldwin, Gertrude Stein and Richard Wright to, perhaps, the world’s most iconic and romantic city? What did they find there? In which ways did the city inspire them? How did they portray it on the page? And what remains of those literary representations of France’s dazzling capitol? This course will attempt to answer these questions and more while we explore and interact with the City of Lights during two weeks this summer. 
Castle ruins on green cliffs above the coast of Northern Ireland

Belfast – Summer Session with travel June 17-30 2024

Earn 3 credits and satisfy an honors requirement and an Arts & Humanities requirement and two of the four needed to earn the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement.
Belfast is home to a dynamic literary scene and vibrant student life, courtesy of one the world’s leading research-intensive universities: Queen’s University Belfast. There, on QUB’s campus, we will study for two weeks while also traveling around the island’s two countries – Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland – and studying the rich history of the island, with a particular focus on the past century and the political violence known as The Troubles that so defined the city.  
Learn more about Belfast
Coastal Spanish city with buildings with orange tiled roofs

Semester in Spain – Spring 2025

This study abroad experience will satisfy four honors requirements, two Arts & Humanities requirements, and two Social Science requirements, while also earning students the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement. Students can also opt to take UMass Lowell online courses while in Spain for their specific degree pathways. 

Semester in Spain will utilize the vast and diverse country of Spain as our classroom. Students will spend five weeks studying with Julian Zabalbeascoa in San Sebastian, five weeks in Seville, and finish with five weeks in Madrid. Each city will host its own honors-specific seminar, while a fourth honors seminar will encompass the entire experience. While in each host city, we will explore the surrounding regions. Southern Spain feels like an entirely different country than the north, same for the eastern and western parts of Spain and its vibrant capital: Madrid. Over the course of the semester, we will experience much of what this wondrous country has to offer, and by the semester’s end students will have become experts on Spain, its thrilling history and culture.

Learn more about Spain

Students standing on cobblestone streets with London Tower Bridge in background.

London – Spring Semester 2024 with Travel May 15-25, 2024

Earn 3 credits and satisfy an honors requirement and an Arts & Humanities requirement and two of the four needed to earn the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement.
Tour major historical sites, including the Tower of London, Westminster Abby (recent funeral ceremonies for the Queen), the British Museum and Library, a two-day stay in Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare’s birthplace, family home and final resting place), and a variety of tours of the whole city! You’ll see LIVE theatre productions! There are activities scheduled most days, but students will also have a lot of time to explore their own interests and places, such as Ireland, Scotland or France. Academically, this is truly a class for people with little to no experience with Shakespeare. Irrespective of major, students have a blast! For more information, please contact Kevin_Petersen@uml.edu or Erin_Maitland@uml.edu.
Students and local people smile and wave along dirt road with mountain in background in Thailand

Thailand – Summer 2024

Earn 3 credits and satisfy an honors requirement (H4-H7), a Social Science Requirement, and two of the four requirements needed to earn the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement.
Our study abroad program to Northeastern Thailand is a fully experiential, participatory, and interdisciplinary learning experience. You will be living, learning, and working with communities that have been impacted by extractive industries, such as mining, and who are now leading environmental and social restoration efforts. Your learning occurs through exchanging with community leaders, living with your homestay families, engaging in day-to-day livelihood activities, exploring the local environment and culture, and connecting with your peers. You will also co-develop projects with the communities that support restoration and well-being, while building transferable skills. This program is perfect for students who are interested in social change, equity and justice, community engagement, cultural understanding, and who want a fully immersive study abroad experience! All majors are welcome, and no previous coursework is required!
Please complete the interest form if you are interested!

Scholarships

For featured scholarships that can be used for these programs, check out the River Hawk Scholarship Portal (use keyword search; Study Abroad). 
To learn more about study abroad in general, including non-honors study abroad programs, visit UML Study Abroad.