Short term study abroad programs

Short term study abroad Faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences lead study abroad programs over winter, spring, and summer breaks.

Have questions? Please contact the faculty member leading the trip you're interested in or set up an appointment with a study abroad advisor in the LAS International Programs office. View the LAS International Programs Event Calendar for upcoming info sessions.

Application Deadlines

Feb. 15 for all summer programs
Sept. 15 for winter short-term programs
Oct. 15 for spring short-term programs

Scholarship opportunities

The LAS Global Engagement Scholarship is available for current LAS students who plan to study abroad in an Illinois-approved program. Scholarship amounts range from $1,000 to $5,000.

Examples of programs

AAP in Costa Rica

AAP Costa Rica Students on Program LAS Access & Achievement Program students can participate in "AAP in Costa Rica" over the summer.

Studying in Costa Rica provides opportunities to experience a country with a strong commitment to protecting its natural resources, all while exploring its volcanoes, beaches, rain forests, and cloud forests. Engage with the local community in San Joaquin and put your academic and communication skills to the test in a program with caring host families, diverse volunteering opportunities, and very few tourists.

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CLCV 250: Sports and Society in Greece and Rome

WITH CLASSICS PROFESSOR DANIEL LEON

CLCV 250 (3 credits)

A section of the Zliten mosaic, an ancient Roman artwork depicting gladiators in combat.

Course description: This course introduces the role of sports in ancient Greek and Roman society (from roughly 3000 B.C.E. to the sixth century C.E.). Because sports touched the lives of almost everyone in ancient Greece and Rome, we will also have a chance to study the full and vibrant diversity of ancient Mediterranean societies in terms of gender, race, class, and numerous other factors that have historically received less attention than they deserve in scholarship and in the classroom. Students will learn the “nuts and bolts” of Greco-Roman athletics, including the spatial contexts, timing, and rules of various competitions, as well as the identities of specific successful athletes. On top of that, we will learn sophisticated skills for analyzing archaeological and literary evidence, and we will examine the social significance of sports in the lives of the everyday people who cared about them. Although our focus will be on ancient history, many of the issues we will study continue to play out in the world we live in today, and so we will develop skills for observing and understanding parallel phenomena in our own lives, with special attention to modern uses of imagery and ideology drawn from ancient athletic competitions.

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Peru: Archaeology Field School

WITH PROFESSOR KASIA SZREMSKI

LAST 395 (3 credits)

Course description: This course is an archaeological field school where students will have the opportunity to engage in innovative original research at the archaeological site of Cerro Blanco, a Chancay Administrative Center located in central Peru. This course is great for students interested in anthropology, economy, political science, social impacts of climate change, environmental sustainability, indigenous ecologies, resource management, or Latin American studies.

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Community Archaeology at the Ancient Maya City of Rivera, Belize

WITH ANTHROPOLOGY PROFESSOR DR. LISA LUCERO, FIELD DIRECTOR YIFAN WANG, AND CREW CHIEF ANNABELLE OKITE

(3 credits) Yifan and a group of students standing by a truck during fieldwork

Course description: The 2025 Valley of Peace Archaeology (VOPA) field school (May 15-June 26) the endangered Rivera site c. 4 km from downtown Belmopan, the capital of Belize, in collaboration with the Belize Institute of Archaeology (IA). This project is a unique opportunity to collaborate with IA archaeologists to focus on the most at-risk structures to test excavate once we have mapped the site and used the drone to map surrounding settlement not covered by modern settlement. Students will learn excavation and field lab methods in this six-week, six-credit program, as well as visit one of the largest ancient Maya cities, Tikal in Guatemala.

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HIST 354: The Making of Europe in Prague

WITH STEFAN DJORDJEVIC AND MARCO JAIMES FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

Students in Prague

HIST 354 (3 credits)

The course examines the making of modern Europe through the lens of one of its major cities, Prague. Students delve into the role of literature, opera, and art in society, the rise of mass ideologies, the dissolution of empires, and the creation of nation-states. The journey begins with an overview of premodern Central European history and transitions to an exploration of key aspects of the 19th and 20th centuries through site visits and classroom discussions in Prague. The course makes extensive use of resources in the Czech Republic, including Prague's historic foundations at Vyšehrad Castle, significant monuments like the Nazi concentration camp at Theresienstadt, and Karlštejn Castle, the former home of the Imperial Crown Jewels.

Spring Term B (on campus) + Summer I (in Prague)

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French Language Studies in Arles

WITH FRENCH PROFESSOR DANIEL MAROUN

Arles Photo

FR 103, FR 104, AND FR 335

Arles, located in the south of France, is a charming town with a rich cultural history. As a part of the Arles program, you will be taking courses (FR 103, FR 104 or FR 335) on an accelerated program in complete French immersion. This program will improve your fluency in the French language and will also broaden your cultural understanding. This program is designed for students working to fulfill their language requirement as well as those who are French, Global Studies, Business, Art History, Archaeology, Classics, and Architecture majors among others.

Summer Term

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Africa Connections Program - Culture, History, and Language in Kenya

GLBL 298 Kenya 2023

9 CREDITS

This program is designed to provide Swahili students with an understanding of Kenya’s rich social and cultural history. Students will explore the cultural practices and beliefs, history, ethnicity, gender, politics, development, and global influence in Kenya in an academic and cultural context. Students will be exposed to varied contexts for the examination of the socio-political and cultural traditions that ground the life experiences and current realities of the Kenyan people. To enrich the students’ experience, excursions that vary between quiet rural, vibrant urban settings, and more remote rural locations are planned. Students will have ample opportunities not only to interact with diverse cultures to enhance cultural awareness but also to explore topics of interest to advance their academic goals.

Summer short term (Late May - early June, 2025)

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