Why Study Abroad With Us?
Students often cite studying abroad as the highlight of their academic career and a crucial moment in helping them gain a clearer view of the world, its peoples and the complex challenges facing us all.
The School of Human Evolution and Social Change offers a suite of faculty-directed study abroad programs designed to connect students with real-life issues that impact local communities, transect borders, and create lifelong memories alongside personal and professional growth.
2023 information session and walkthrough
Global health students, check with your advisor to see if these programs satisfy your global health study abroad requirement.
Programs By Major
Anthropology | Global Health | Applied Mathematics for the Life and Social Sciences
Scholarships available
Apply for a scholarship from the school to attend a faculty-led study abroad program in 2023. The scholarship eligible programs are below. Scholarships range from $250-$1,000. Scholarship applications are due by the program application deadline.
Spring 2023
South Africa
Ancestors, Habitats and Changing Climates of South Africa
Are you curious about what ancient life was like for our ancestors? Do you want to see the Atlantic Ocean from its eastern shores? Have you dreamed of visiting the African bush? Do you enjoy exploring exciting, modern cities? Then this program is for you!
From the 3-million-year-old fossil skull of the Taung child to the evidence of ancient Homo sapiens who survived along the coast about 165,000 years ago, South Africa is crucial to understanding human origins. What habitats did these species live in? Was their diet “paleo”? Was climate change responsible for new adaptations that led to different hominin species? In this program, students will do research for the Hominins and Habitats Project, visit ancient fossil localities, and see the actual fossils.
South Africa’s more recent history holds important lessons as well. The program explores how migrations and colonization created strife, marginalization and apartheid, and examines freedom fighters’ struggle against the apartheid government through an understanding of the life of Nelson Mandela. South Africa has much to offer about how humans from the present and the past are linked through their relationship to the environment.
Applications closed for Study Abroad - South Africa.
Summer 2023
England
Plague Pits and Body Snatchers: History of Health & Disease in a Global City
May 30 - June 18, 2023
This trans-disciplinary program explores London, and the surrounding areas, to study how people of the region lived and died through the lens of global health and bioarchaeology. The emphasis is on the city as our classroom, exploring castles, museums, streets and parks to discover how the city's past and present are connected. Students will also participate in a unique behind the scenes tour of the British Museum, featuring the museum's skeletal collection, and a river tour of the Thames. Other highlights will include visits to Highgate Cemetery, the Wellcome Collection and walking tours in the footsteps of deadly diseases, such as the bubonic plague and cholera. Participants will earn 6 credits.
Australia
One Health in Australia: Community Care and Ecosystem Sustainability
May 14 - June 8, 2023
This six credit traveling program visits Queensland, Northern Territory and New South Wales spending four weeks getting to know urban, mangrove, rainforest, reef, beach and outback landscapes across Australia. Learn how 200 years of colonization and more recent processes of urbanization and globalization have brought massive enviornmental, social and political changes to the continent with critical implications for its future sustainability. Students will explore 15 ecosystems - included five World Heritage Sites - multiple health centers, and visit with dozens of diverse stakeholders to understand complex interaction among people, their communities and environments.
France
An Exploration of Culture, Cuisine and Health in the City of Light
July 3 - July 22, 2023
Paris is a global center for many things, not least among these food and health. In this global education excursion, we dive deep into these two interconnected realms, exploring the role of food in defining French identity, how food has changed throughout French history through processes such as urbanization, industrialization, immigration, and globalization and how these changes have impacted social ties, cultural meanings, and human health.
Field Schools
Guatemala
Community Health and Medical Anthropology in Guatemala
Summer 2023: June 18 - July 21, 2023
Faculty Director Jonathan Maupin
This field school is led by Dr. Jonathan Maupin, one of SHESC's top medical anthropologists. Students will benefit from his extensive research experience focusing on issues of community participation in health programs, variation in illness concepts, and cultural competency among the Kaqchikel Maya in Guatemala. Students will participate in research projects with individual households and local schools that focus on community health issues, such as food insecurity, body image, and reproductive health. Students will also visit different healthcare providers in urban and rural settings, including the government health system, non-governmental organizations, and indigenous Maya healers.
Kampsville
