Faculty-led Study Abroad Courses

international travel collage

STUDY ABROAD – BRINGING THE WORLD INTO THE EQUATION

How cool is it to study another culture, country or region and then experience that place firsthand?

That’s what a Rose study abroad experience delivers. Our faculty-led international adventures provide students with opportunities and experiences they'll never forget.

In our most recent trips in spring and summer of 2023, we offered amazing opportunities to study in Japan, France, and Belgium and the Netherlands. Further details are below and more information will be coming soon about 2024 courses.

Why Study Abroad?

Rose-Hulman students hold school flag on trip to UK. 

Study abroad experiences help you to become a better engineer, developing the core skills employers are looking for, such as an ability to collaborate in a diverse team or solve technical problems in  unique environments.

Studying STEM presents many opportunities for co-ops, internships and other industry experiences during your college career. Take advantage of international travel your first year, and leave room for industry experiences during your sophomore, junior and senior years.

2025 Courses

Study abroad courses for 2025-26 include British Politics and Government, which will travel to London and Edinburgh; Global Engineering and the Social Context; and Chemistry of Food and Drink in Italy.

More information will be shared about these exciting programs as it becomes available.

Study abroad group in Great BritainStudy abroad group in Italy

Click below to learn more about individual courses.

POLSS304 British Politics and Government

Spring Quarter course with travel in June 2026 

From Keir Starmer to King Charles, from Magna Carta to Margaret Thatcher, POLS304 British Politics and Government, will guide you through the ins and outs of Great Britain’s history, institutions, and politics. During the spring quarter, we will be examining the big events of recent British history – from Churchill and the “finest hour” to the drama of the Brexit referendum. Then we will study the country’s political system, examining its governing ideas, institutions, actors, and electoral processes. 

Best of all, after our time in the classroom, we travel to London and Edinburgh  to get a firsthand look at the places and institutions we have been discussing. We will check out the Houses of Parliament and the Scottish Parliament and meet some of their members. World-class historical and cultural sites are also on the itinerary, including the British Museum, the Tower of London, Edinburgh Castle, the National Gallery, and the Cabinet War Rooms. And we will be immersed in British culture and enjoy a much more diverse and delicious cuisine than these nations often get credit for!

Contact Dr. Terrence Casey for more information.

The Chemistry of Food and Drink

The romance of Tuscany is about more than just the  magnificence of its Renaissance art and architecture.  It’s also about the food of Tuscany.  Tuscan food is truly from the earth, with a bounty of whole food products and livestock that spring from and live off the land.  This course will present fundamentals of the chemistry of food and drink with a special emphasis on foods and beverages that are uniquely Italian with an emphasis on Tuscan foods. During spring break, students will travel to Siena to tour food processing sites as well as tourist sites like the Galleria dell ’Accademia (home of Michelangelo’s David) in Florence, and the Piazza del Campo and the Duomo in Siena.  Even better, there will be a cooking class focusing on regional food.  For more information, contact Dr. Tilstra or Dr. DeVasher (Chemistry & Biochemistry). 

2024 Courses

Study abroad courses for 2024 include Japanese Society, which will travel to Tokyo; Global Engineering and the Social Context, which will travel to Kenya; and Computing in a Global Society, which will travel to Ulm, Germany

More information will be shared about these exciting programs as it becomes available.

 Red Torii Gate tunnel     Rose-Hulman Kenya study abroad 2022.

Click Below to Learn More

ANTHS 301 - Japanese Society

Spring Quarter 2024: ANTHS 301 - Japanese Society

Japan has long-inspired outside fascination. From the samurai to Godzilla and the tea ceremony to Pokemon and Hello Kitty, it’s iconic cultural and creative innovations have intrigued and confused the outside world. Japanese Society (ANTHS-301) seeks to unravel some of this confusion and attach our collective fascination to sturdy intellectual moorings. In class we will examine contemporary Japan with an eye to experiencing all that we study over a week of travel to Tokyo, Osaka/Kyoto, and Hiroshima during spring of 2024.

Contact Dr. Paul Christensen for more information.

MDS202 - Global Engineering and the Social Context

MDS202 - Global Engineering and the Social Context

This program will expose students to the design methods, standards, codes, and regulations of engineering in Kenya, as well as the social, cultural, and political factors that impact engineering practice in the region.

We will arrive on Monday, May 27, 2024, in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. A Local Program Facilitator expert from EDU‐Africa will meet the group at the airport and arrange for travel to Brackenhurst in the Limuru region. Students will stay in dormitories on the 100-acre site. We will also visit the Egerton University where we will live and work on an engineering project. We will also spend about 4 days on safari at the world-famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve. Our goal will be to complete a practical engineering project appropriate in Kenya.

We will visit local sites to learn about the people of Kenya, their culture, and challenges. Planned visits include: the Nairobi Design Thinking School, the Kibera Power Women’s Group, Gearbox—an initiative that aims at improving the ecosystem for hardware entrepreneurship, the Maa Trust a Maasai community, and an Elephant Orphanage.

View more information here.

Check out this immersive story from the 2022 study-abroad experience.

To apply please visit the RHIT Global Programs website at:

http://global.rose‐hulman.edu Search under Faculty‐led programs.

Questions? Contact Dr. Deborah Walter.

 

2023 Courses

Click the boxes below to learn more about the study abroad courses our students experienced in 2023!

Read more below to learn more about the Chemistry of Food and Drinks in Japan travel course; and watch this video featuring Dr. Fumie Sunahori and Dr. Luanne Tilstra, the faculty leading the course.

Read more below to learn more about the Introduction to Sustainability travel course; and watch this video featuring Dr. Mark Minster, the faculty leading the course.

HUM/MDS 130 - Introduction to Sustainability

Dr. Mark Minster (Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts) Spring Quarter 2023 -- Travel to Belgium and the Netherlands during Spring Break

This is a course about the future that we need right now. How is it being imagined? How is it being built?

We know humans need food, water, and energy, for example. But growing food is energy- and water-intensive. It takes lots of energy to clean water and lots of water to generate energy. What kinds of infrastructure and agriculture will we need in order to sustain the well-being of 10 billion people, without requiring even more water and energy?

What kinds of changes will we need to make? Leading the way in imagining and building a sustainable future are countries like Belgium and the Netherlands. Over Spring Break 2023 we will visit historic windmills and state-of-the-art wind-farms, world-class farms and greenhouses. We will meet scientists, engineers, activists, and experts from climate and eco-power cooperatives and car-sharing initiatives. We will tour climate resiliency infrastructure from medieval dikes and canals to newly restored wetlands. And of course we will build in plenty of time for cultural experiences: museums, breweries, chocolatiers, and marketplaces.

Before the trip, we will learn about the fundamentals of sustainability in historical, social, scientific, and engineering contexts. We will see firsthand how these concepts are applied in Belgium and the Netherlands. After the trip, we will examine the costs and benefits of what we have experienced in our travels, proposing strategies to manage these challenges. Focusing on the food-water-energy nexus, we will think about how they can be redesigned to complement each other.

For more info, email Dr. Minster >>

CHEM270 - CHEMISTRY OF FOOD AND DRINK IN JAPAN

Spring Quarter 2024: CHEM270 - CHEMISTRY OF FOOD AND DRINK IN JAPAN - Travel to Japan in Summer

Have you ever wondered exactly what tofu or miso is? Or maybe you’ve wondered how sake differs from other liquors. In this course taught by Professors Fumie Sunahori and Luanne Tilstra, you will—in Spring quarter—learn some of the fundamental chemistry behind food and drink and then explore mysteries of Japanese food, drink, and cooking methods developed in Japan.

We will complete with two-week trip to Japan—right after Commencement—in Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, and Hiroshima led by a native instructor, offering you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to immerse themselves in a unique, foreign environment to learn history and culture in Japan where both traditional practices and latest technologies coexist. As a part of the course, you will participate field trips to sake and miso factory as well as traditional Japanese sweet cooking class. Availability for the course is limited to 16 students. Cost for the study abroad experience is estimated to be between $3,300 and $4,000. Students must have completed prerequisites in CHEM 112 or CHEM111 & CHEM111L.

Want more information? Contact Dr. Fumie Sunahori.

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