Upcoming May Term Study Experiences
Note for 2025
The cost of flights to and from Salt Lake City is not included in the study experience program cost. Participants can opt to purchase a flight on the suggested group flight itinerary, or you can book any flight arriving during the designated arrival window. It is important that you do not make any non-refundable travel reservations until you have received travel guidance from the faculty leaders.
2025 May Term Study Experiences
Registration for May Term Study Experiences opens at 7:30 a.m. on October 22, 2024. A link will be available on this page (not Self-Service) on the day that registration opens. A non-refundable $300 deposit is required at the time of registration.
Travel to: Thailand: Bangkok, Buriram Province, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, and Tak Province.
Travel Dates: May 18–June 15, 2025. Participants will need to book their own flights arriving in Bangkok on May 18 and departing Bangkok on June 15. Do not make any non-refundable reservations until you receive specific instructions from your faculty leaders.
Courses (choose 1): PUBH 300DD, NURS 300DD, HON 300DD, or OEL 300DD
Engaging the World: Successful completion of this May Term Study Experience with a grade of C- or better fulfills the Engaging the World graduation requirement.
Faculty/Staff Leaders: Han Kim, Kellie Gerbers
Mandatory On-Campus Meeting Dates: December 5; January 28; February 19; March 26; April 22; and May 7.
Prerequisites: None
Study Experience Cost: $3,300 includes ground transportation, hotels or other lodging, most meals, entrance fees, international health insurance, and faculty expenses.
Participants will need an estimated $1,600 additional spending money for airfare and personal expenses.
Tuition Cost: $400 for 4 credit hours.
Program Notes: The itinerary includes stays in rural villages with limited electricity and sometimes no running water. Daytime temperatures can be above 90°F with high humidity.
Course Description: This course will explore the educational, health, and developmental needs of rural Thai citizens and indigenous populations through cultural immersion and active participation in service projects. Students will participate in deep cultural immersion activities, including service-learning projects in rural Thai villages in the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai and Tak Thailand. These activities will help alleviate some of the health, educational, and developmental issues present.
During travel, students will have an opportunity to explore community attitudes, values, and practices associated with outdoor recreation activities. While participating in some of Thailand's recreational offerings, students should consider the purpose(s) of outdoor recreation from a Thai perspective.
Other activities will include a visit to a groundbreaking new concept school in the northeast, tours of historically significant sites in Thailand, visiting an HIV/AIDS hospice, sightseeing in Bangkok, and a relaxing few days on a tropical island to end the trip. Students will meet during Spring Semester 2025 for preparatory sessions that will ready them for the experience. Course assignments will include reflective journaling, active discussions during the trip, and a reflective multimedia project at the end of the trip.
Travel to: Paris, Chartres, Reims
Travel Dates: May 19–June 11, 2025. Participants will need to book their own flights arriving in Paris on May 20 and departing Paris on June 11. Do not make any non-refundable reservations until you receive specific instructions from your faculty leaders.
Courses Offered (choose 1): ART 300TT or FRENCH 300TT
Prerequisites: FREN 110 or equivalent required for French. No prerequisite for Art.
Engaging the World: Successful completion of this May Term Study Experience with a grade of C- or better fulfills the Engaging the World graduation requirement.
Faculty/Staff Leaders: David Baddley and Steve Haslam
Mandatory On-Campus Meeting Dates: TBA
Study Experience Cost: $4,850 includes local ground transportation at the program site, accommodations
(double rooms), breakfasts, at least one group meal, entrance fees, international
health insurance, and faculty expenses.
Participants will need an estimated $1,800 - $2,200 additional spending money for
airfare, meals, and personal expenses.
Tuition Cost: $400 for 4 credit hours.
Program Notes: Participants can expect to walk at least 2 kilometers daily between hotel, metro, and outing venues, and to use public transportation regularly.
Course Description: Hemingway famously described Paris as “a moveable feast,” and by this he meant that the cityʼs culture absorbed in youth would stay with the lucky traveler for a lifetime. Our May Term Study Experience offers a distinctive learning experience in one of the most historically, culturally, and artistically rich cities on earth—an experience that features visits to inspiring cultural touchstones interlaced with sustained personal creative responsibility.
We will visit galleries and museums; explore landmarks; attend a variety of live performances; and discuss art and French culture. We will hang out in cafés, and individually undertake various creative projects appropriate to our disciplines. We will also go on outings by train to other nearby towns. Students will enjoy the conventional aspects of a study tour and harvest the creative results from labors uniquely available only through an artistic residency.
Travel to: Bluff, Utah; Chinle, Arizona; and Tuba City, Arizona
Travel Dates: May 19–28, 2025. Participants will travel together in university-owned vans departing campus on May 19 and returning to campus on May 28.
Courses (choose 1): HON 300R, NURS 300F, EDUC 300E, PSYC 300R, PLSC 300R, or JUST 300RR
Prerequisites: None
Engaging the World: Successful completion of this May Term Study Experience with a grade of C- or better fulfills the Engaging the World graduation requirement.
Faculty/Staff Leaders: Marilee Coles-Ritchie and Kelly Asao
Mandatory On-Campus Meeting Dates: April 10 and 22, 4–5:30 p.m.; May 13 and 15, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Study Experience Cost: $700 includes ground transportation, hotels or other lodging, most meals, entrance fees, and faculty expenses.
Participants will need an estimated $50 additional spending money for meals and more to purchase optional souvenirs.
Tuition Cost: $400 for 4 credit hours.
Program Notes: The itinerary includes an optional hike, short walks, and a San Juan River trip.
Course Description: This course introduces students to Hopi and Diné cultures. It includes social, psychological, educational, environmental, political, economic, artistic, health, and caring aspects of lived histories and practices. A special emphasis will be placed on the practical aspects of health care in local outpatient clinics, and educational practices in the local schools. Students will have the opportunity to experience the complex histories, worldviews, and perceptions of the environment, relationships, and values of the Hopi and Diné people through various perspectives.
Travel to: Big Island of Hawaii
Travel Dates: May 28 - June 10, 2025. Participants will need to book their own flights arriving in Hilo, Hawaii on May 28 and an overnight flight departing from Kona, Hawaii on June 9. Do not make any non-refundable reservations until you receive specific instructions from your faculty leaders.
Courses (choose 1): CHEM 300F, BIOL 300EE, ENVI 300NN, GEOL 300E, HON 300NN
Prerequisites: None
Engaging the World: Successful completion of this May Term Study Experience with a grade of C- or better fulfills the Engaging the World graduation requirement.
Faculty/Staff Leaders: Christy Clay, Julia Kamenetzky, Robyn Hyde
Mandatory On-campus Meeting Dates: Monday May 19, Wednesday May 21, Friday May 23, Monday May 26, Wednesday June 11, class time TBD
Study Experience Cost: $2,750 includes ground transportation in Hawaii, lodging, entrance fees, approximately 75% of meals including a small meal allowance, and faculty expenses.
Participants will need an estimated $900 additional spending money for airfare, meals, snacks, and personal expenses. Opportunities for SCUBA are available at an additional cost.
Tuition Cost: $400 for 4 credit hours.
Program Notes: Students should be prepared to walk and hike greater than 3 miles over rough and sandy terrain and at elevation. Hikes could be longer if the possibility exists to view an active lava flow. Students should be comfortable in a boat and around water with no lifeguard present, though all swimming/snorkeling experiences are optional. Because of the current activity of the active volcano and excursions to high elevation areas, fumes may negatively affect those with asthma or other respiratory problems. Since the program cost includes an allowance for food, this program can accommodate a variety of dietary preferences.
Course Description: This course will take a multidisciplinary approach to studying the island of Hawaii. Hawaii is one of the newest landmasses on Earth, and therefore can provide insights into how islands form and become inhabited. The fact that this is such a new natural environment does not, however, mean that it is pristine. This island is being adversely affected by the natural elements, as well as commercial exploitation and population growth. Important aspects of our discussions will include island formation, the responsibilities that people have for the stewardship of the island known as “America’s Paradise”, food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture.
While traveling around the Hawaiian island, each day the class will drive, boat, hike and/or snorkel to different destinations and at each destination the culture, history, science and/or agroecology unique to the area will be highlighted. The trip will begin at the youngest part of the island and end at the oldest part of the island. Most evenings will wrap up with discussions about the encounters of the day and stewardship. Students will be given time to reflect in their journals. This course has a high degree of interdisciplinarity. Students will not simply be learning agroecology, biology, chemistry, geology and history, they will be learning how these fields come together to create sustainability such as safeguarding reef systems, protecting the nutrient balance of a rain forest and enhancing ecosystem functions to improve food production. There are at least two optional Scuba diving experiences for those that have their open water certification, each at an additional expense.