Unique programs you won't find anywhere else
On faculty-led programs, you travel abroad with renowned University of Iowa faculty and earn university credit. Faculty-led programs are usually short (2-3 weeks) and take place over the summer, winter break, or spring break.
Explore this page to learn more.
Winter 2025-2026 Programs
India Winteirm
Faculty leaders: Jerry Anthony & Allen Bradley
- Sustainable Development: The Kerala Experience: This intensive, field-based program provides students with the opportunity to learn within India's diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and geographical mosaic. Students will travel around Kerala and will work on a number of sustainable development projects while also gaining a deeper understanding of Indian culture.
- Water Poverty in Rural India, A Freshwater Crisis Case: This course will focus on how culture, economics, and the environment shape the sustainability of water resources in the Mewat and Alwar districts.
Dominican Republic: Education and Culture
Faculty leaders: Amira Nash & Enrique David Degollado
This course offers students the opportunity to view and interact firsthand with a variety of community, civil society, and government services in the field of education in the Dominican Republic. These include local organizations carrying out activities such as basic education, social change, empowerment, and community resilience.
International Business in Sydney
Gain a deeper understanding of international business in Australia and the management issues confronting small-medium enterprises (SMEs) and multi-national enterprises (MNEs) in the Asia Pacific Region.
International Business in London
Faculty leaders: Dennis Hamilton & Jim Lewis
- Topics in Finance: Financial markets affect everything, and they are global. But what do they do, how do they do it, and why did New York City replace London as the center of it all? This course will answer these questions and more by exploring how markets evolved to create the global financial system we have today.
- Insurtech Innovation: This course traces the fascinating evolution of insurance from its earliest origins to its rapidly transforming future. Anchored in the historical narrative of Against the Gods: The Story of Risk and enriched by modern-day case studies from the fast-paced world of insurtech, students will explore how societies have understood, quantified, and managed risk through time.
Writing Greece
Faculty leader: Stephen Voyce
This course emphasizes both myth and history, with tales of gods and goddesses and narratives of kings and philosophers receiving equal weight. Students will study the fascinating deities Athena and Poseidon, learn about the Athenian statesman Pericles, and familiarize ourselves with the poetry of Sappho.
Women's Empowerment in the Dominican Republic
Faculty leader: Motier Haskins
This course is designed to prepare students to understand and address the complex issues associated with women’s empowerment, dealing with cross-culture issues, and working with marginalized and at-risk young women. Students will engage with non-profit organizations, visit local government offices, and explore the geographic and sociocultural context.
Eco-tourism in Costa Rica
*Please Note: A program page for this new winter program will be created later this summer.
"For my very first time out of the country, a two-week study abroad trip to the Dominican Republic was the perfect first exposure. I was able to find a program that aligned so well with my career and academic interests surrounded by people who shared similar goals. I ended up with a new group of friends and an appreciation for other cultures!”
Past Programs
Paris on Film
Faculty leader: Paula Amad
A combined online and site-specific three-week study abroad course, this course will provide you with an overview of milestones in French cinema through the lens of diverse cinematic representations of Paris and the evolving cultural and social relationship between the city and cinema.
City of Athens: Bronze Age to Roman World
Faculty leader: Deb Trusty
This course consists of a spring semester on-campus seminar to prepare you for travel and a three-week exploration of Athens in the summer. Each day in Greece is packed with exciting sites, museum visits, and cultural activities, bringing classroom material to life to deepen your appreciation for the rich culture of ancient Athens.
Sustainable Chemistry Along the Rhine River
Faculty leaders: Adam Brummett & Stratis Giannakouros
The Rhine River Valley is at the heart of industrial and urban sustainability efforts in Europe and provides an ideal opportunity to collaborate with industry and academic leaders in sustainable chemistry. This course will explore urbanization, biodiversity, conservation, climate change adaptation, and mitigation in a region at the forefront of advancement in these areas.
Maternal Health in Migrant Communities
Faculty leaders: Nichole Nidey & Jonathan Platt
This course will provide you with a comparative public health perspective to explore similarities and differences in the delivery of maternal health care in migrant, rural, and indigenous communities in Costa Rica and Iowa. This course will be taught in the summer in Costa Rica.
Exploring Major Determinants of Health in Spain
Faculty leader: Lucas Carr
Spain is often cited as the healthiest country in the world by the Bloomberg Global Health Index. This course will take a socioecological view and explore determinants of health outcomes in Spain. You'll be exposed to a variety of individual, organizational, community, and structural systems in two major Spanish cities: Madrid and Valencia.
Iowa Hispanic Institute
Faculty leader: Becky Gonzalez
This program is designed to improve your written and spoken Spanish and enhance your understanding of Spanish culture and life in Spain. The program offers five weeks of academic instruction and one week of independent travel.
Education in Senegal
Faculty leaders: Amira Nash & Dr. Pam Wesely
This program offers an immersion into Francophone Africa through cultural and community-based learning. You'll be exposed to a variety of educational settings with visits to several schools in Dakar, Senegal. The course also will examine the historical impact of the slave trade and colonial rule on the West African country.
Irish Writing Program
Faculty leader: Inara Verzemnieks
The Irish Writing Program is a rigorous creative writing program requiring some talent, but most importantly, commitment and discipline. Its goal is to help aspiring writers become better at their craft. University of Iowa students and non-UI students are welcome to apply to the program.
Cultures of Spain
Faculty leader: Luis Martin-Estudillo
Cultures of Spain is a resident-credit summer course held in Madrid, Spain that offers you an overview of the cultural landscape of Spain through an interdisciplinary approach to its history. Coursework will be reinforced with site visits throughout Madrid and the neighboring regions and cities.
Ancient Perspectives, Modern Eyes
Faculty Leader: Deb Trusty
Designed specifically for Honors students and Classics majors and minors, this course will take students on a 3-week exploration of Greece. Students will reconstruct and interpret life in ancient Greece through the study of language, literature, art history, and archeology and visit key sites in Athens, Delphi, Olympia, Mycenae, Delos, Santorini, and more.
Child Life Experiential Learning
This program is a 3-week course based in Cape Town, South Africa. You will have the opportunity to learn from a variety of hospital and clinical settings. If you are interested in health and child life, regardless of major or skill level, you are welcome to participate.
European Ceramics Studio, Rome
Study in the historical center of Rome, Italy at a non-profit organization that focuses on ceramics, residencies, exhibitions, teaching and the arts. You will complete original artwork, attend lectures, visit relevant historic and contemporary sites, and work collaboratively with a studio team of peers and mentors.
Ghana Education and Culture
The College of Education sponsors this 15-day summer course in Ghana designed to provide you with an international experience. You will explore teaching issues through classroom visits, guest lecturers, and field trips.