Featured Programs

UWB Faculty-Led Programs in 2019

Some of these programs are in the process of being approved. Check frequently for updates! For a complete list of all UW programs now accepting applications click here.

Spring Break Programs

India: Gender, Culture, and Human Rights **Program Canceled**

Led by Alka Kurian and Camille Walsh, IAS | 5 credits
Explore the most pressing issues of gender, culture and human rights in India! The 5-credit program begins with Winter Quarter classes on the Bothell campus, followed by 2 weeks of site visits in Delhi and Mumbai in India. The program ends with some online assignments and a couple of meetings at UWB in Spring Quarter. Students will have the opportunity to experience two culturally distinct states in India, visit with community organizations, interact with college students and women from urban and rural areas, and read cultural and literary representations of women’s issues. Learn more from former participants Angela Wirig and Holli Nolan.

Thailand: Global Health Care, MBA Global Study Tour

Led by James Reinnoldt  and Andy Stergachis​, Business | 5 credits 
This study tour examines public health care as key private and public sector components of Thailand’s society. Students will learn about drug laws and patents, the business of health tourism, medical data privacy laws, and the retail pharmaceutical sector. They will also learn about public public health challenges such as an aging population, infectious diseases, and efficient and effective health care delivery from key institutions, organizations and NGOs involved with public health in Thailand through guest lectures from professionals, field trips in the Bangkok area and peer-to-peer exchanges with fellow students. **Application now closed.** Please visit the UWB School of Business for more information or questions.

Summer Term A Programs​

When in Rome: Interdisciplinary Studio Art and Italian Culture **Program Canceled**

Led by Barbara Noah, IAS | 12 credits
Students from all majors have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the experience of Rome creatively and adventurously through the lens of visual art and the culture of the city, as well as each student's own unique backgrounds, disciplines, research, and interests. For an insider's view, check out the 5-part video series from former participant Jessica McGarvie. Learn more. 

Italy, France & Switzerland: Explorations of Science, Art & Architecture in Europe

Led by Andrew Abian, STEM | 6 credits
This program will conceptually explore topics related to the development of science, art and architecture in Europe from Ancient times to the Modern Age through visits to historical sites, museums, and present day laboratories. Several themes will be explored, including the connections between Galileo’s observations to the discoveries being made at the modern centers of scientific research of CERN and VIRGO, and the development of linear perspective in the works of Renaissance artists and its connection to the mathematical field of projective geometry. Learn more and apply online.

The Politics of Soccer in Spain, France, and Beyond 

Led by Ron Krabill, IAS | 12 credits
Students will approach soccer as a political and cultural phenomenon examining the ways in which the sport functions as a site for political contestation on regional, national, and international scales. This program will also explore the politics of soccer elsewhere, including human rights violations, corruption surrounding recent and future world cups, and the exploitation of athletes from across the globe. Learn more from former participant Alicia Lookabill. Learn more and apply online.

Summer Term B Programs

The Art of Anti-Colonial Resistance in the UK **Program Canceled**

Led by Maryam Griffin, IAS
Students from the United States--who are themselves based in a center of global power--will be inspired and empowered to foster transnational solidarity towards a more just world. Traveling and learning in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England, students will be asked to think critically about diversity, mobility, culture, and anti-colonialism; they will discover points of connection between themselves and others across geographic and cultural borders; and they will reflect and synthesize knowledge through interdisciplinary writing and collaborative creative projects. Together we will learn about historical and ongoing anti-colonial social movements in the United Kingdom, focusing on the ways that art and culture have been used to gain international visibility for local and regional freedom struggles. Learn more and apply online. 

Early Fall Exploration Seminars

Sustainable Energy in Japan

Led by Steve Collins, STEM, and Hiroshi Miyamoto
This early fall course explores the challenges and opportunities of deploying new energy technologies that are economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable.  The geographic focus is Japan, and specifically the island of Shikoku, though comparison will also be made to the US and Pacific Northwest.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Southeast Asia

Led by Jim Reinnoldt, Business |5 credits
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) describes a company’s responsibility beyond its traditional shareholders in that it promotes the notion that companies need to be responsive to the needs of a broader group of stakeholders that are directly and indirectly impacted by their actions: shareholders, consumers. employees, business partners, suppliers, and even local communities. The CSR in Southeast Asia Study Tour from August 25-September 14 2019 will provide students with the rare opportunity to observe, study, and learn about CSR strategies, trends and programs in Thailand and Cambodia. The five-credit tour is geared at academically qualified juniors and seniors from primarily business disciplines, although students from all disciplines can attend.Through a combination of interdisciplinary coursework and active engagement with businesses, government agencies and non-profits in the communities of both countries, students will develop a more in-depth understanding of the key issues and challenges of globalization and how companies are responding to these challenges through CSR programs in partnership with NGOs, government agencies and local communities in order to have a positive impact on the very world in which we live. Learn more and apply online.

Afro Cultures of Brazil

Led by Tasha Buttler, IAS, and Eduardo Silva, UWS Portuguese Studies |5 credits
This program will expose UW students to the richness of Afro-Brazilian cultures by studying and living in Salvador da Bahia, the heartland of Afro-descended peoples of Brazil. Students will also visit the National Park Chapada Diamantina, an important site from the mining era of slavery in the state of Bahia. In addition, students will be able to compare the histories of oppression, systematic racism, and contributions of blacks in Brazil to the experiences of blacks in the United States to gain more complex and developed perspectives on current discussions of race. Learn more and apply online.

Andes to Amazon, Peru: Biodiversity, Conservation, and Sustainability in Peru

Led by Ursula Valdez and Martha Groom, IAS |5 credits
We will explore the fascinating diversity of this region, while studying the conservation challenges confronting it. Through surveys of the biodiversity, and meetings with indigenous people, land-use managers, conservationists, and other stakeholders, we will analyze sustainable alternatives for the conservation of this world biodiversity hotspot. Learn more from former participants Kendall Wiggins and Pearle Maki. Learn more and apply online.

Sexual Politics, Culture, & Justice in Norway

Led by Kari Lerum, IAS |5 credits
Contemporary Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland) are frequently lauded as the happiest, healthiest, and most gender equitable places in the world. We will study the ways that sexual politics, feminist thought, and movements for social justice shape contemporary Norwegian institutions, culture, and daily life. Learn more and apply online.

Exploring Cultural Traditions on Ireland's West Coast 

Led by Charlie Collins and Jill Freidberg, IAS |5 credits
In a global economy, political and economic leaders have placed massive investment in urban centers - Ireland is no different. This has resulted in disinvestment in rural regions forcing young people to move out of their birth places and into urban centers for their economic livelihood. In Ireland's West Coast, the Kerry and Skellig Regions have experienced an out-migration with many of their young residents moving to urban centers like Dublin, Belfast, and London, seeking educational and economic opportunities. Many fear that this out-migration may lead to the deterioration of the region's more than 2000 year old cultural traditions, including music, art, literature, social connections, and traditional forms of work. During this study abroad, students will home stay with families in the town of Cahersiveen (Kah-her-sy-veen) in the Ring of Kerry. Students will converse with local stewards of the regions' cultural traditions including chefs, educators, artists, fishermen, and health workers, for example. They will also visit various cultural locations and social groups including a day trip around the Ring of Kerry, visits to the Cill Rialaig Arts Centre, Kerry Bog Village, and Derrynane House, and social groups including men's sheds and women's groups. Students will gain an understanding of local culture and examine how globalization is transforming the ways residents in rural communities adapt to these changes. Learn More and Apply Now!

Paris, France: Arts, Culture, and Technology in France, Past and Present

Led by Alexander Barchechat, STEM |5 credits
The City of Paris and its environs will provide our mostly open-air classroom for experiencing and understanding the interplay of art and mathematical concepts in an urban space. We will visit the Louvre Museum to study paintings and other art forms. Other sites will offer us the opportunity to contemplate the presence of symmetry groups in mosaics, building facades and floors. Site visits include the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame de Paris, Saint-Sulpice, the Paris Observatory, Le Père Lachaise Cemetery, l'Institut de Monde Arabe, and the Palace of Versailles. Learn More and Apply Now!

Urban Exploration in Busan, South Korea: Mapping Communities in the Smart City

Led by Jin-Kyu Jung, IAS |5 credits
This program provides students with a critical reflection on the smart city, urban regeneration and community-building process in the context of modern cities in South Korea, in particular Busan. Busan, the second largest city in Korea, will feature an exemplary global smart urban development, where smart technology and infrastructure are already part of people’s everyday life. This course will also provide students an opportunity to work with digital (mapping) technologies as the process of developing their creative engagement with local communities. Learn more and apply online. 

iSchool South Korea: Information, Technology, and Society in Modern South Korea

Led by Matthew Saxton and Jeffrey Kim |5 credits
This program will be held in collaboration with Sunkyunkwan University (SKKU). Readings will be assigned in advance so that the time abroad will be largely experiential. Seminar topics will include: Korean language and culture instruction, social change, popular culture, and technology, and social computing. Guest lectures on information industry, economics, politics, and information culture. Korea is a leading country in IT adoption. Per capita, it has the most broadband access of any country in the world. Its fast moving Internet-based applications, culture and life will provide students a sense of what will come to the United States in the next five years. Online Gaming is prevalent across genders and ages. Cultural activities will include visits to a handful of Seoul's numerous museums and palaces, an overnight stay at a Buddhist temple, a theater performance (Nanta), and a trip to the DMZ. The first two weeks of the Seminar will take place in Seoul, with SKKU providing on-campus housing. In the third week of the Seminar, we will travel to Busan. The Seminar will return to Seoul during the final week, with students staying at a hotel in downtown Seoul. Learn more and apply now!

Past UW Bothell Faculty Led Programs