These global experiences are credit-bearing and are associated with a course in the existing IWU catalog. Travel costs listed do not include the cost of tuition. The trip leaders are the best contacts for details.
*Please note some programs are offered every other year. Click on each location below to see when the trip will be offered next.
Course(s): ART-392
The natural richness of Germany presets it as the obvious location for this course due to the vastness of design history, architecture, and culture. Central locations for artistic movement tied to political upheaval, Germany gives students the opportunity to see firsthand the birthplace of visual communication, significant architecture and design, and the founding of the professions. Stops include Mainz, Schlossberg, Berlin, and more.
Course(s): ART-392
Students will engage with Italian artwork, architecture, and sites from 400BC to modern era, from ancient Etruscan civilization to the Venice Biennale. Gaining knowledge of the stylistic differences and being able to identify the major differences will help students appreciate why and how art changes over time. It is an invaluable aid in working with restoration since one must know the different stylistic techniques that are integrated in each era of art to repaint/retouch it appropriately.
Course(s): HNR-310
This travel course will explore the history and practice of Christianity on the island of Ireland, from the 5th century through the modern day, by visiting significant historical sites, emulating the Celtic practice of connecting with God through nature, and learning from the saints and scholars of the past. Read the words of St. Patrick while following in his footsteps, hike the wild country that was home to Irish monastics for centuries, and learn the hard-won lessons of peace-building from those who lived through The Troubles, all while earning required JWHC credit.
*Cost does not include tuition.
*Students can audit the class or take it for 3 academic credits, but preference is given to students who take this for credits. For scholarship opportunities, please contact the faculty leader.
Course Options: MUS-182, MUS-186
IWU Spain Summer Classical Music Program offers master classes, instrumental lessons by outstanding faculty as well as chamber music and orchestra experience. Western music is much influenced by Spanish musical heritage especially in rhythm such as Flamenco, Jota rhythm and Andalusian music. Segovia, Spain is a historical Roman city which offers MUSEG series throughout the summer where world leading musicians provide concerts every night in the magical historic venues. It is an ideal location to immerse and engage in the integrated study of music and culture from ancient times to present.
The program provides an opportunity for students to earn up to two credits in chamber music and/or piano ensemble and to fulfill general education intercultural experience requirement.
Location: I. E. University Campus in Segovia, Spain
Prerequisite(s): INT-120 or INT-220
Course(s): INT-124
The purpose of this course is to cultivate profound cross-cultural awareness and competence among students, particularly in the context of interfaith engagement and global citizenship. It is designed for those embarking on an immersive journey in a diverse cultural landscape, aiming to equip them with the skills and insights needed for transformative, culturally sensitive, and globally impactful interactions.
Through experiential learning, this course fosters a deeper understanding of one's own faith, encourages respectful engagement with diverse perspectives, and inspires a commitment to justice, reconciliation, and active global citizenship.
Northern Ireland, UK
$4,300-$4,800 (est.)
Summer 2025
Modern Language, Literature and Communications
Course(s): COM-336, WRI-370
This class will provide students opportunities in learning more about the business and craft of travel writing, incorporating mobile journalism techniques in Northern Ireland, and telling the stories of people who lived through and continue to deal with issues from The Troubles, Northern Ireland’s traumatic ethno-nationalist conflict. Through cultural immersion and experiences, students will tell the stories of others using cosmopolitan communication theory and emerging digital storytelling platforms, including web, audio, video and social media.
*Cost does not include tuition.
*Students can audit the class or take it for 3, 6 academic credits, but preference is given to students who take this for credits. For scholarship opportunities, please contact the faculty leader.
Rome, Florence, and Venice, Italy
$4,200 - $4,500 (est.)
May 2025
Division of Art+Design
Course(s): ART-392
This course is intended to help art majors synthesize, integrate and apply their understanding of current trends and critical issues within the field of art. It provides an in-depth exploration of various topics of current interest and relevance to art and artists, and will deepen the understanding and application of issues presented in the art major core curriculum.
Note from the instructor:
Viewing reproductions of the world’s greatest artifacts pales in comparison to witnessing the powerful color, scale, and dimensionality of them firsthand. Students enrolled in this course will travel abroad to learn from the cultural context, environment, cityscape, landscape, and these world-renowned masterpieces, using them all as a catalyst for creations of their own. Through direct sketching, discussion on location, and analysis, students will learn to extract aesthetic qualities of these superlative artifacts to launch artistic inspiration for a genesis of new creations of their own. Upon returning to campus students will produce, refine, and display their new works.
*Cost does not include tuition or travel to Indy airport
*Students can audit the class or take it for 3 academic credits, but preference is given to students who take this for credits. For scholarship opportunities, please contact the faculty leader.
Italy
$4,221
TBD
John Wesley Honors College
*This trip is physically rigorous and involves walking 10-12 miles per day.
Course(s): HNR-310
In Italy, see the kind of human flourishing of which the Christian Church is capable. With its rich history, gorgeous architecture, innumerable artistic and literary masterpieces, and musical luminaries, Italy embodies what culture, when formed by the Christian tradition, can be. From the “low art ” of the catacombs to the high art of Dante and the Renaissance, the course will explore some of the most important works of the Christian Imagination.
We will visit Rome and Florence to better understand the founding of Christianity and the subsequent outpouring of artistic responses to it, as well as the ways in which Christian culture arose out of and responded to ancient Roman culture.
Highlights will include the Roman Forum, Coliseum, Pantheon, St. Peter ’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, early catacombs, the Vatican Museums, the Duomo, and some of the greatest art in the world, including works by da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Giotto, and more.
*Cost does not include tuition. Students can take the trip for 0-3 academic credits.
Course(s): REL-240, REL-270, INT-124, PHE-113
This exciting trip can be taken in 3 different tracks:
Track 1: Tour of Vietnam
If you’re interested in international travel and learning about the beautiful country of Vietnam, this is the track for you. You’ll get to experience the culture, history, and beautiful landscape of Vietnam.
Track 2: Travel Class Track
For those wanting to earn academic credit, this track allows you to take courses while traveling.
Track 3: Christian Foundations Track
If you’re interested in a Ministry Minor, this track will allow you to earn the 6 credits needed to fulfill the Christian Foundations minor requirements.
While in Marion (May 1-4) - (Multi-faith Ministry)
While in Marion, we’ll focus on multifaith ministry by learning directly from ministry leaders.
While in Vietnam - (Multi-dimensional Ministry)
In Vietnam, we’ll witness the fruit of Northwood Church’s 25-year involvement in the country. You’ll see how they engage with various domains of Vietnamese society and learn strategies for impactful ministry in a culture very different from our own. The trip includes:
This trip is ideal for anyone interested in understanding how to minister effectively in diverse cultural contexts!
*Cost does not include tuition.
*Students can take it for 0-7 academic credits, but preference is given to students who take this for credits. For scholarship opportunities, please contact the faculty leader.
England, UK
$4,500 - $4,800 (est.)
May 2025
Modern Language, Literature and Communications
Course(s): ENG-238
This intercultural filed trip will explore Lewis’s views on topics such as salvation, holiness, the nature of God, sovereignty and free will, and more. Special attention will be devoted to the relationship between Lewis’s theological beliefs and his articulation of the Christian faith. We will also address Lewis’s on-going relevance in light of Postmodernity, the Emergent Church Movement, and other contemporary cultural currents.
To emphasize these points, the class will plan to visit London and Oxford, stopping at spots such as Holy Trinity Church (Lewis’ gravesite), Magdalen College, The Kilns, Buckingham Palace, and more.
*Opportunities are extended to students who have taken the ENG-238 in the spring or want to gain some cross cultural experience.
This course is designed to engage young designers and photographers in the technical, conceptual, and practical elements of graphic design and landscape photography through careful and mindful exploration of internal and external personal landscapes.
Focus will be given to the tools and techniques available to designers and landscape photographers, the methods and conventions with which designers and photographers apply themselves, and an on-site seminar in one of the most diverse landscapes on the planet.
The course will culminate in a designed and printed coffee table style book for the designers and a printed portfolio of work for the photographers with accompanying reflection and contextual support.
*Cost does not include tuition.
*Students can take the trip for 0-3 academic credits.
London, England and Paris, France
$5,350
TBD
Division of Behavioral Sciences
Course(s): PSY-475
This travel class is designed to provide students with a firsthand journey into the history of psychology, particularly into its philosophical and treatment roots. This course will specifically review Sigmund Freud's contributions and foundational theories. Students will visit key historical places related to the early history of Psychology.
Additionally, students will explore mental illness as displayed by Jack the Ripper and Musée d'art et d'histoire de la Psychiatrie in Paris. This former asylum displays machines from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries designed to heal, contain, revive, reanimate; straitjackets, handcuffs, ties, keys, bathtubs, peepholes, armchairs; care tools such as stretchers, chairs, ambulances; brain mapping.
The whole trip is designed for the group to consider how intellectual and cultural contexts have shaped interpretations of history.
Stops will include Paris and London.
Germany and Austria
$4,650-$5,000
TBD
Division of Behavioral Sciences
*This trip requires vigorous exercise. Students must be able to walk around 8 miles per day.
*Cost of trip is subject to change.
Course(s): SOC-210, PHE-113, PHE-101
Study intergroup relations in Germany and Austria AND/OR fulfill your health and physical education general course requirements. You can take up to 5 course credits, or fewer if you prefer. Through walking, hiking, and biking, the group will explore intergroup relations by visiting World War II sites in Berlin, Munich, Nuremberg, Berchtesgaden, and Salzburg, Austria. (Think Sound of Music.)
Israel, Jordan, Asia and Palestine
$5,000-$7,000
TBD
School of Theology and Ministry
IWU’s Summer in the Holy Land program is a three- to seven-week academic study. This program focuses on three areas of study: 1) the modern- day culture and politics of Israel and Palestine, 2) the geographical and historical settings of the Bible, and 3) the discipline of archaeology and its contributions to biblical studies.
This experience fulfills a semester's worth of requirements for ministry majors, but it can also count as elective credits for non-ministry majors.
Please contact the trip leader to advise you on courses to take.
*Cost varies depending on credits taken.
Course(s): COM 336
This course will familiarize students with famous historical and cultural theatre sites in England, specifically centered around Stratford-Upon-Avon and London. We will study great plays by William Shakespeare, contextualize the reign of the House of Tudor, experience on-site locations, and attend West End shows.
Additional focus will involve a day trip to Oxford where we will visit famous locations familiar to J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, including their homes, schools, and personal haunts.
*Cost does not include tuition.
*Students can audit the class or take it for 1 or 3 academic credits, but preference is given to students who take this for credits. For scholarship opportunities, please contact the faculty leader.
Course(s): WRI-370, ENG-237
Students will study and travel to an international location to learn more about the business and craft of travel writing. In the past, students in this course have traveled to Spain and Ireland, writing about key cities, historic monuments, and areas of natural wonder. They also live as closely as possible with the local population, often staying in homestays or hostels, and attending local churches and community groups.
This trip is an academic, writing-intensive course that mirrors the travel situations a travel writer might experience. Students will complete weekly journals, compose thoughtful essays, and participate in group workshops.
*Cost does not include tuition.
*Students can take the trip for 0-3 academic credits.
Scotland, UK
$3,500
TBD
School of Teacher Education
Course(s): EDU-295, EDU-296
Collaborating with Hamilton College, a private, faith-based P-12 school located in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, students will have the opportunity to serve overseas while getting experience in the classroom. This opportunity will enable students to explore an international education setting.
Candidates will be challenged to compare and contrast elements of the Scottish and American educational systems including curriculum, behavior management, instruction, assessment and administration. They will also be exposed to Scottish culture through exploration and engagement with P-12 students as well as other professionals in the field.
Varies
$3,600-$6,000
TBD
School of Theology and Ministry
Shadow a ministry team in one of four locations around the world. Learn what ministry looks like on a global scale and get the chance to engage in work that God is doing in the world. You will have the chance to attend a school to work on the local language and spend two weeks working at a camp for English language learners.
*Cost of trip will depend on which location you select.
Find out more about the NEXT program on the Global Partners website.
