Study Abroad

Honors Credit for Study Abroad
Honors students may receive up to three Honors elective credits for studying abroad. As a way to study and document the cultural learning that occurs outside of the classroom, Honors students may keep a journal while abroad, and use their daily experiences to write a composition upon their return to present to the Honors community. To receive Honors study abroad credit, students must submit the Honors Study Abroad Credit form in the semester before the proposed study abroad experience. Please click the link above for more details.

Summer Honors Travel Seminars (Please refer to blueView schedule of classes.)

Sustainable Development in Africa: Study Abroad in Uganda
Instructors: Professors Jimmy Senteza, Glenn McKnight, Thomas Root, Deb Bishop
HONR 067
6 credits

This three-week travel seminar focuses on human rights, democracy, entrepreneurship, education, tourism, health care and business practices through the lens of a Drake study trip to Uganda.  Dr. Jimmy Senteza, one of the lead professors for the trip, grew up in Uganda, and has used his connections there to create a course which exposes students to life-changing learning experiences in a developing country. Dr. Glenn McKnight, another lead professor for this course, completed part of his doctoral dissertation in Uganda, and has bridged connections with the Makerere Institute of Social Research, giving students on this trip opportunities to interact with influential figures in Ugandan government. Students on the trip also do work with a school for children with special needs, meet with business professionals, go on a safari tour, and take a tour of rural agriculture.

Please e-mail any of the trip instructors for details about the study trip in Uganda.

View the student blog from Uganda trip 2010

Egypt: Cradle of Civilization
Instructor: Professor Mahmoud Hamad
HONR 069 & HONR 75
3 credits each

This three-week course focuses on contemporary Middle Eastern politics, culture, and religion. Travel destinations for this trip include Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, the Red Sea, Luxor and Aswan. Visits include the mighty Pyramids, the Egyptian Museum, the Biblioteca Alexandria, the Valley of the Kings, the White Desert and Cairo University, among other historical and educational sites. Participants will have the opportunity to hear lectures from Egyptian university faculty, public officials and political leaders. Students will also interact with Egyptian university students, as well as members of the Egyptian general public.

Seeing South Africa:
Instructors: Dr. Melisa Klimaszewski and Sofia Turnbull
HONR 097
6 credits

South Africa's past is a vibrant and complicated part of its present. This seminar visits a wide range of historical sites to investigate the ways in which the people of South Africa tell the stories of their past (a traumatic racial history), their present, and their future. Students in this seminar will see four of South Africa's major cities (Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, and Pietermaritzburg) while also spending two days at a lodge in the Kruger National Park area reflecting on race relations in rural areas, "eco" or "nature" tourism, and storytelling as part of "safari" experiences.

Walking: Making Art Out There
Instructor: Angela Battle
HONR 126
3 credits

This three-week summer interim session landscape painting and drawing course is open to majors and non-majors of all class levels. After becoming familiar with the tradition of landscape art from the 18th through 21st centuries, students will travel to the Badlands of South Dakota for an eight-day camping adventure to capture the landscape and sky using a variety of painting and drawing materials. Upon return, the group will further develop selected works by synthesizing both visual and journal recordings and present a group exhibition to the university community. No previous art-making experience is necessary, just a willingness to learn.