Faculty Led UMass Lowell Courses Abroad

Transform your learning through travel and earn credit! Check out the links to faculty blogs, facebook pages, and application links below. New programs are added every year.

Announcement: Scholarships are often available for these programs. Please view the full list of scholarships on our Scholarships & Financial Aid website.

Travel and study entrepreneurship and innovation with UMass Lowell's Manning School of Business. Undergraduate and graduate students welcome.

Students will travel to Delhi, Agra and Hubli, India with Professor Ashwin Mehta and Professor Deb Finch to KLE Technological University to learn alongside KLE students and immerse themselves in entrepreneurial mindsets and cultural influences on decision-making.

This course s worth 3 credits and is designed to help students understand the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in today's global economy and to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among the students in the Manning School of Business. It will cover different forms of entrepreneurship such as small businesses, growth ventures, corporate entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. The course will focus on innovation types, turning innovation into reality and the process of entrepreneurship. Innovation and entrepreneurship theories and concepts will be discussed with real life examples and cases.

This is a winter 2017 course. Apply and learn more.

Learn More

• Manning School of Business Global Entrepreneurship Website with summer (in Lowell) and winter (in Hubli) program information.
• Video of 2014 program
• Video of 2015 program
• Read Blogs from past trips:
  • 2016 blog
  • 2015 blog
• Check out student testimonials from 2014.

This course will use the Cuban experience as a backdrop for experiential learning, along with discussions with professionals in that particular field of study, and writing assignments designed to allow students tot reflect upon their experience studying and living in Cuba.

Topics covered by Professor Julian Zabalbeascoa and guest lecturers from the University of Havana will provide students with a multi-disciplinary overview of Cuban contemporary culture.

This is a Winter 2017 course that runs from January 2-16, 3 credits. Satisfies the H6 requirement for Honors students. Apply and learn more.

Read about our 2016 group's experiences in their study abroad travel blog.

Complete 1-4 semesters of Spanish language plus one special topics Spanish elective for a total of up to 15 credits in 3-6 weeks during the summer in Cadiz, Spain. Professor Maria Matz will assist you throughout the program on-site. Reside in one of the oldest cities in western Europe by the sea. Apply and Learn more.

Learn More

• Follow the program on Facebook
• Check out the program brochure
• Read a news story about two student participants in 2013.
• Read about the experiences our 2015 group had in their blog.

Studio Workshop and an optional Directed Study are the two-course prospectus for the Spring 2017 academic portion with June travel program in London. Each course will be offered as a 3 credit class. We will study wayfinding, typography and travel collateral. Travel Program includes, housing and museum passes and local travel. The itinerary includes, Itinerary includes, National Gallery, V & A Museum, the Natural History Museum, Madame Tussauds, the British Museum and the Design Museum. Apply and learn more.

This course will survey the art, architecture, literature, music, theater and, of course, the fabulous cuisine of Cyprus and Greece both past and present. Students will visit the ancient centers of power Nicosia, Chania, Knossos, Santorini and Athens, . The class will explore Bronze Age mega-cities, Classical temples, monumental sculpture and hoards of ancient, golden treasure. Students will also have an opportunity to discover how these treasures were unearthed by actually participating in an active archeological excavation. In juxtaposition with these ancient sites, students will explore how modern artists respond to the great legacy of Cyprus and Greece’s past by visiting contemporary art galleries, attending performances of theater and music, and by participating in cooking classes and local food tastings. 3 credits.

Art History Special Topics: Modernism in France and French Cinema and Society are the two components of a two-course prospectus for Summer 2018 Study Abroad in Paris. Many of the lessons and discussions for both classes will be taught simultaneously or concurrently while visiting various sites in France. Because the two classes are designed to segue into and compliment each other, students will be required to register for both classes for a total of 6 credits.

These two courses offer a unique opportunity for students to study the art and cultural history of France while interacting with authentic artifacts and monuments and examining these in situ and in real time. In other words, we will not be looking at reproductions of great art and architecture, we will be discussing them while standing in front of, for example, the actual painting of the Mona Lisa or touring the inside of Notre Dame Cathedral.

Likewise French films will be discussed while students experience full immersion in contemporary French society.

6 credits. Read their blog. Watch the student presentation.

This course uses the city of San Sebastian, Spain, as its primary text. Chosen as the 2016 European Capital of Culture, San Sebastian offers students the best of both worlds: a modern Europe-an city with an Old Quarter that preserves its rich legacy of history and culture. “Special Topics in Honors: Basque Cultural Immersion” will take learning outside the classroom, exposing students to structured situations and experiences through a Humanities lens.

T.S. Eliot wrote, “[T]he end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” This course’s aim then is to enlarge and enrich the students’ 3 weeks in San Sebastian. This will be accomplished through multiple approaches: field trips and excursions, on-site lectures, an examination of Spanish history, politics, culture, geography, cuisine, literature, cinema, sport, and art; writing assignments that encourage a comparative analysis between Spain’s history and America’s today; and lessons dedicated to learning the craft and art of Immersion Writing. 3 credits.

Apply and learn more.

Read the blog from their 2015 trip.

Enjoy a unique international experience in Lisbon, the largest city and capital of Portugal, a member of the European Union. Immerse yourself in this at once ancient and modern waterfront city characterized by a thrilling culture, delicious cuisine, and booming nightlife. Take advantage of the rich architectural history of Romanesque and Gothic churches, a medieval castle, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Revel in a diverse music scene, with the soulful melodies of Portuguese fado, varieties of Cape Verdean and Brazilian music, cutting-edge jazz, and classical music. Take strolls through the bairros of this beautiful, safe and historic city, or get around in a first-rate public transport system. There will be side-trips to picturesque towns, including Sintra, also a World Heritage Site. Spend four weeks (Option 1) or eight weeks (Option 2) exploring everything Lisbon has to offer, while earning 3 to 12 college credits. Apply and learn more.

Travel and study in London with Professor Diana Archibald. Students can elect to take one or two courses. Required course Special Topics in English: Literary London. Optional course choices: Reviewing the Arts; Directed Study in Literature; or Directed Study in Writing. Students in this program will gain hands-on career experience through working directly with the Dickens Museum director and staff to create a resource guide the museum will utilize for American visitors.  Check out the 2014 blog.

This summer abroad program will take place in the cosmopolitan city of Prague, an architectural treasure, located in the heart of Europe. We will be partnering with Charles University, the oldest Czech higher education institution, founded in 1348. You will have the opportunity to join Czech and possibly other European students for 3 weeks full of experiencing a small migration yourself, learning about migration but also about yourself and your peers, and exploring a beautiful country. All of this, under the guidance of Jana Sladkova, Ph.D., from the Psychology Department, a native of Prague.

The content will include current issues of migration to the United States and the Czech Republic, case studies of particular migrant groups (i.e., Vietnamese in the Czech Republic or Mexican in the United States), and integration of migrants into their new communities. You will receive 6 credits for participating in this program. It is open to undergraduate (juniors and seniors) and graduate students from different departments. Even though the course originates in the Psychology Department, it will explore migration from vantage points of various disciplines. 3-6 credits. Apply and learn more.

Travel and study with Professor George Chigas to Phnom Penh, Cambodia where you will participate in an exciting program with UMass Lowell partner institution, The American University of Phnom Penh. This program includes two courses; The Directed Studies course must be taken concurrently with Special Topics in Southeast Asian Studies. Both courses will deal with the role of Cambodian youth in the future of Cambodia. (Over 65% of Cambodia’s population is under 30 years-old.) The Directed Study course will involve working with a Cambodian youth organization in a service learning format. Students who enroll in the program must attend two meetings prior to departing for Cambodia to be oriented to the program and its activities. After returning to the US, students must submit the final project within one week for a final grade in the course. 6 transfer credits, 50.493 and 53.400. Apply and learn more. Read their blog.

This is an exciting opportunity for music majors!

This summer for the first time, there will be two sessions of the Sarteano Chamber Choral Conducting Workshop in Tuscany, Italy. Two (or more) UMass Lowell music majors will be selected to participate in the workshop. 

Participation costs will be covered through a scholarship granted by the Sarteano workshop. Sing with choral musicians from all over the globe! Join Simon Carrington, Bronislawa Falinska and UMass Lowell Choral Director, Brian O'Connell for their eleventh consecutive year leading this workshop.

This intensive conducting workshop is geared for music educators and choral conductors with strong vocal ability that are interested in rehearsing and performing chamber choral music. You will be part of a 26-30-member ensemble that will prepare and perform a cappella choral music from the 16th to the 21st century. As a music educator or conductor seeking the experience of working and learning in a small group, you will have the opportunity to establish and develop relationships and to make music with other like-minded musicians. Creating a cohesive and musical ensemble in such a short time period is essential to the workshop, and we will focus on techniques to help facilitate this over the course of the workshop.

Workshop sessions will be held in the Società Filarmonica. The first session (Musica Sacra) will culminate in a performance in the historic Chiesa di San Francisco, while the second session (mixed repertoire) will close with a performance in the beautiful Teatro di Sarteano. Apply and learn more.

Travel and study in London with professor Walter Toomey where you will immerse yourself in Comparative Law. Through site visits such as the houses of Parliament, Inns of Court, The Royal courts of Justice, the Commonwealth Lawyer's Association as well as guest lecturers, students will gain a better perspective on their own legal system as well as the United Kingdom legal system. By comparing and contrasting the various facets of each system and the justifications and impact of each, students will sharpen their critical thinking and their ability to articulate practical distinctions, positive or negative, between starkly contrasting models. Students will also gain cultural perspective, improve their ability to cope and thrive in unfamiliar and challenging environments, practice diplomacy by politely and thoughtfully engaging people with different ideas in meaningful discussion and debate, and learn to use their experiences to critique and evolve their own preconceptions and ideas. 3 credits. Apply and learn more.

Travel and study with Political Science professor Gary Uzonyi to The Hague, Netherlands. Located less than an hour south of Amsterdam, the Netherlands’ 780 year old seaside seat of government has played a prominent role in shaping the purpose, design, and importance of human rights law since the end of the Cold War. In this class, we will examine why states repress their people, form human rights law, and comply with international human rights standards. While in The Hague, the class will visit the world’s most famous human rights courts, including the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Court of Justice, and the Peace Palace. Students will have a chance to interact with human rights lawyers and practitioners, learning from those individuals who have played a critical role in punishing infamous war criminals and shaping modern international relations. 3 credits.  Also open to Graduate students for 3 credits. Apply and Learn More.

This is an opportunity of a lifetime for students in the STEM teacher preparation program UTeach to experience what it is like to teach math or science in a British secondary school. This is purely an experiential learning trip with no credits attached. Students will spend the two weeks  at the local secondary schools learning about the British education system and gaining experience teaching either math or science in a classroom. In the afternoons there will be a series of lectures at the University of Reading. The evenings are free for the students to explore this town known for numerous music, art and cultural festivals with a thriving theatre scene. The weekends will involve seeing much more of England with trips to historic Oxford, Bath and Stonehenge, followed by an overnight stay in London just before heading back home. Apply and learn more.

This 3-6 credit abroad program will take advantage of this unique opportunity to engage with British literature, Shakespeare’s work and his continued influence. We will explore London, its cultural sites and theater to help us understand medieval through the modernist periods literary history and how Shakespeare grew from a poet, to a commodity, to a legacy to this day.

We will also spend time in Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of the internationally renown Royal Shakespeare Company, to see performances and tour Shakespeare’s city and its attractions. Aside from theaters and historical sites, we visit British cultural institutions, see original publications of Shakespeare’s work, speak with theatrical and scholarly professionals. In addition to the plays, we will visit a number of museums, historical sites, and London neighborhoods to broaden our understanding of English literary history and Shakespeare’s enduring importance as he is repacked and repurposed from everything to films to coffee mugs to comic books.

The Shakespeare course can be enrolled as either a 2000-level or 4000-level course and British Literary Traditions fulfills a core requirement. Students may take one or two of the course offerings. The other course possibility, Special Topics, is for students who have already taken Shakespeare or who hope to satisfy a specific requirement and who want to use their experience to study at a higher level. Apply and learn more.

UMass Lowell’s Center for Terrorism and Security Studies (CTSS) is seeking highly motivated students to become involved in a immersive 2-week study abroad program hosted in Portugal, Summer 2017. This program offers two distinct courses, the first course is aimed at giving students a broad insight into criminal justice issues in Portugal and across Europe (including drugs, policing, prisons). The second course is a CTSS internship that will start in Portugal and continue into the Fall 2017 semester. This program offers 9 credits in total (3-6 credits for the Summer programs with an additional 3 credits earned during the Fall 2017 semester).  Apply and learn more.