7- to 10-Day Cultural Immersion Programs
Azores - Winter Session January 2025

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.
Havana, Cuba - Winter Session January 2024

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.
Amsterdam - Spring Semester 2024 with travel during spring break

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

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

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.
21 Day Cultural Immersion Program
San Sebastian, Spain – Summer Session I & II 2024

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.

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

Belfast – Summer Session with travel June 17-30 2024

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.

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