Past Study Abroad Experiences

Havana, Cuba - Winter Session January 2026

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 the Cuba program

Germany and Austria - Spring Semester 2026 with travel May 24-31, 2026

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

This course on Germanic history will cover the cultural and social history of Germany and Austria from medieval times to the current day. Our trip in May will feature visits to medieval and Romantic-era castles, ancient natural wonders, and 20th century Nazi-era locations. We will be based in Munich, with day trips to several towns. In one week, students will have the opportunity to see the birthplace of Mozart, the birthplace of Nazism, an Alpine town and former Olympic site, a castle that influenced Disney, and a museum dedicated solely to Dachshunds. Was kann man sich mehr wünschen? (What more can you ask for?) No German language skills are required for this course.

Learn more about the Germany and Austria program

Madrid, Spain - Spring Semester 2026 with travel during spring break

Earn 3 credits and satisfy an honors requirement, an Arts & Humanities 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 3300 course with travel to Madrid in during spring break.

Learn more about the Madrid program

Greece (HR), Spring Semester with travel May 24-June 3, 2025

Earn 3 credits and satisfy an honors requirement and possible social science elective as Breadth of Knowledge (BOK) plus two of the four needed to earn the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement.

This voyage to Greece will explore how the past meets the present. Students will visit ancient Greece sites in Athens, visit a Greek school and travel to Delphi, Hydra and Aegina. Before leaving, students will choose a topic to “research” and complement this information through a photo journal that gives evidence of this topic. Topics chosen are student driven and can include Greek architecture, schooling, technology, mythology, topography, philosophy and philosophers, economy and the impact of Greek culture and ideas on the world. This photo journal will be due at the end of June. The final summative task will be the production of a Greek comedy or drama to be written and performed the last night of our stay in Greece. On the first day of our arrival, parts will be handed out and each day, students will have time to write the script.

Learn more about the Honors Ready Greece program

Galapagos, Ecuador (HR) - Spring Semester 2025 with travel May 31 - June 14, 2025

Earn 4 credits and satisfy an honors requirement and a Breadth of Knowledge (BoK) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and two of the four needed to earn the River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) in Global Engagement.

Phenotypic variation is pervasive in nature: species differ, individuals within species differ, and individuals even differ over time. Variation generates novel ways of interacting with the environment and is responsible for major evolutionary transitions in the history of life on earth. Variation also helps organisms adapt to their environment, can drive speciation, and has led to the incredible biodiversity we see today. Developmental pathways are the products of past evolution, yet they also influence potential for the evolution of new forms as filter through which new mutations must pass before becoming visible to natural selection. In this course, we will explore how biodiversity arises by applying concepts and mechanisms from development, evolution, and ecology, as these processes are inextricably linked. Travel to Ecuador is required.

Learn more about the Galapagos program

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.

Learn more about the Seville trip

Amsterdam - Spring Semester 2024 with travel during spring break

London - Spring Semester with travel May 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 email: Kevin_Petersen@uml.edu or email: Erin_Maitland@uml.edu.

Learn more about the London trip

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 the Belfast trip

France, Germany & Switzerland - Summer 2023

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.

This course on the history of the Alsace-Lorraine region of France, The Black Forest and Rhineland of Germany, and the city of Basel, Switzerland, features a nine-day cultural immersion trip to Strasbourg, France from May 26-June 3. Students will take day trips to Metz, Colmar, and Riquewihr in France, Heidelberg and Freiburg in Germany, and Basel in Switzerland. Specific sites include: Gallo-Roman artifacts (Metz), medieval fortifications and churches (Metz, Strasbourg, Basel, Colmar, Heidelberg) art museums with collections from ancient through modern (Strasbourg, Basel, Colmar), and the clock-making museum in the Black Forest.

Chile - Winter 2023

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.

As tall as the United States is wide, Chile is a remarkably diverse country, home to some of the world's most celebrated poets and writers, a vibrant art and street art scene, and a recent history that includes them restoring their democracy that had been, in 1973, overthrown with possible assistance by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This study abroad experience takes students across the beautiful Central Valley of Chile, from Santiago to the seaside cities of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar.