2024-2025 Courses

Illuminate your learning with OWU's unique Travel-Learning Courses

Spend a semester in the classroom learning about a topic of interest and then hit the road for a related travel experience. Led by your professors, Travel-Learning Courses link academic theory with real-world experience to bring learning to life in invaluable and unforgettable ways.

The deadline for the Spring 2025 TLC Courses has passed

Spring 2025

BIOL 300.10: Biology of East Africa

Prof. Shala Hankison & Prof. Amy Downing

Arusha, Tanzania - May 11 - 22, 2025  

Estimated Student Cost: $5,000                             

Who hasn't always wanted to see the animals of East Africa in their natural habitat? This course provides an opportunity to do just that, and to go thoroughly prepared by knowing about the various species we'll be seeing — their natural histories, their roles in the ecosystem, the behaviors we're apt to witness and much more. The course will focus primarily on large mammals, but it also will highlight some of the huge diversity of colorful birds and a few reptiles. The travel portion will take place exclusively in Tanzania and include two parts of the Serengeti ecosystem: (1) Ngorongoro Crater (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and eighth natural wonder of the world), and (2) the Serengeti National Park itself. In addition, we'll visit Arusha National Park, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire National Park. All in all, we'll see some of the most spectacular scenery in East Africa and enjoy lots of close-up viewing of an incredible diversity of wildlife that you'll have learned all about before we go.

Capabilities: Students will be required to negotiate airports with their carry-on luggage and carry their checked bag for short distances and be prepared for traveling 24 hours straight when going to and from Africa. Other than long flights, the trip is not very demanding physically. The main activity on the trip will be bouncing around on dirt roads in a four-wheel drive safari vehicle — sometimes all day long — so those subject to becoming car sick should bring appropriate medicine. Anti-malarial medication should be taken for your own safety, and various vaccinations are suggested by the CDC before traveling to Tanzania. Students should consult with either their own physician or a travel-medicine healthcare provider.

Prerequisite: Permission of instructor and one unit in BIOL, BOMI or ZOOL.

BUS 120 and BUS 410 - Principles of Marketing and Brand Strategy and Management

Dr. Matt Vollrath & Destiny Coleman

Florida - March 9-15, 2025

Estimated Student Cost: $2,000

Explore the strategies that have helped produce some of the most iconic brands in the world on this spring break trip to Orlando, FL. We will visit Walt Disney World to participate in workshops at the Disney Institute focused on how any business can create memorable and valuable brand experiences for their customers. Students will also learn how iconic brands such as Disney, Universal Studios, NASA, SpaceX, and Florida itself leverage brand partnerships, public relations, and integrated marketing to grow their brand value.

Capabilities statement: Students should be comfortable with significant amounts of walking and occasionally riding on public transportation.

Students who have taken or are registered for either BUS 120/210 OR BUS 410 may apply for this trip.

BUS 260 - Social Entrepreneurship

Prof. Cliff Hurst & Leigh Mascolino

Netherlands - May 14-24, 2025

Estimated Student Cost: $2,300

Social entrepreneurship teaches the use of business principes for the purpose of doing good in the world. Historically, it has been widely maintained that the sole purpose of a business was tomake a profit. The goal of doing good was left to charity, philanthropy, and advocacy groups.Fortunately, this is beginning to change.

This course wades into this still-evolving concept known as social entrepreneurship to introduce students to this new way of thinking—a way of thinking that builds upon a synthesis between business principles and the pursuit of social and environmental "good." This parent course fulfills the core competency of "Act Responsibly" as defined in the Core Competencies Guide.The optional travel-learning component will occur at the end of the semester, immediately after graduation and entails a 10-day trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam is widelyrecognized as a center for social entrepreneurship.

Students in the TLC will experience first-hand the range of socially-minded businesses and non-profits operating in Amsterdam. They will learn what the city of Amsterdam does to support social entrepreneurship in its region. Upon completion of this trip, students will be able to compare and contrast dominant perspectives ofthe theory of business as practiced in the United States and Amsterdam.

Prerequisites: Business 260 is an upper-level course without prerequisites. The TLC portion of the course is open to students who enroll n Business 260 in the Spring of 2025, or who completed this course in the Spring of 2024.

Capabilities: Amsterdam is a pedestrian-friendly city. We will walk a lot (and take trains, trams,and canal boats). Activities will include a plastic-fishing expedition with the Plastic Whale and a dining experience completely in the dark at C-Taste Restaurant. We will take an extended e-bikeride though the nearby windmill region. Accommodation can be made for student who are notable to ride an e-bike.

COMM 314 Health Communication & The Black Body and WGS 310 Black Feminisms 

Prof. Dawn Chisebe & Prof. Phokeng Dailey

Southern Africa - Mid-May to Early June 2025

Estimated Student Cost: $4,500 - $5,100

Both courses will center the role of colonialism, eurocentrism, and patriarchy in the production of health knowledge and health disparities among Black women, the mechanisms through which mass-mediated and interpersonal communication messages affect health behaviors and outcomes of Black women in the USA and Southern Africa, and how health communication theory informs research and health intervention practices targeted at Black women in the USA and Southern Africa.

We will travel as a group to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana to learn FROM local peoples and put that in concert with what we learned prior to entering their communities and workplaces. All three countries are studied and discussed in the parent courses as instrumental sites for Black feminism in Africa and post-colonial initiatives centered around Black women's health. The three countries border one another, have linked economies through trade and migration that impact Black women, and have been the focus of much of the global work on HIV/AIDS, malaria, and vaccine research. The travel component is intended to allow students to observe first hand a) the relationship between language, culture, race/ethnicity, gender, and place and health outcomes of Black women in Southern Africa, (b) the impact of large-scale health initiatives in Southern Africa on Black women and (c) the unique ways that Black women frame their activism surrounding access to and the creation of public health initiatives.

The travel component objectives complement the parent component of the courses by including experiences/activities centered around topics central to the parent courses: colonialism, natural resources, governance (monarchies, societal organization, democracy), local health epistemologies (wellness and medicine), medical systems, the history of HIV and cervical cancer prevention & treatment in Southern Africa. These objectives will be met by students traveling to spaces in all three countries where students can observe, engage with and learn from Black women.

ENG 300.15/REL 300.15 - Britainistan: Literary and Religious Narratives of British Muslims

Drs. Comorau and Gunasti 

London, England - May 12-24, 2025

Estimated Student Cost: $2,000

This course will explore the experiences of the nearly three million Muslims who live in contemporary Britain through the lenses of religion and literature. We will trace a series of issues that are religious, literary, and cultural. We will address some of the salient issues that Muslim Britons navigate, including conflicting ideas of tradition and modernity, negotiating gender roles and norms as promoted by religion and cultural expectations, sexuality,  and critiques of Islam from within the community. Students will learn about the role of Muslim writers in Britain's rich literary tradition as they read about the religious and cultural complexities of belonging to a visible minority, religion, and cultures that have often faced hostility in Britain. 

We will travel to multiple cities in the United Kingdom, including Bradford/Leeds, Oxford, and London, to experience  some of the places and ideas we've read about. We will visit a range of mosques in different communities that represent different orientations, and take walking tours of historically Muslim neighborhoods. We will see museum exhibits on Islamic art and history, visit restaurants featuring cuisines from around the Muslim world, and seek out literary readings, theatre, dance, comedy, and other cultural productions. 

This course counts for Group III distribution and diversity requirements. It has been submitted for the Examine Power and Inequities competency.  

Capabilities statement: Students will be expected to walk moderate distances, including during walking tours, through museums, and through airports. Students will be expected to carry their own luggage. We will often be in crowded city spaces and public transit. Students with disabilities are encouraged to reach out to the trip leaders to see if we can make the trip workable for you. 

ENVS 111 - Intro to Earth Science

Dr. Nate Rowley (Faculty lead) & Dr. Laurie Anderson

Iceland, May 12-23, 2025

Student Cost: $2,200

Introduction to Earth Science is a lower-level course that introduces the fundamental Earth Science processes that produce the landscapes we have on our planet. This broad course covers a variety of topics including the rock cycle, plate tectonics and volcanism, ocean currents, glaciers, and erosion. In this course, we use data from measurements, in-class photos, and Google Earth tours to create a deeper understanding of these processes and patterns. 

Iceland is a microcosm of our wild planet as it holds many of the landscapes covered in the course, thus making it an ideal case study on the discovery of earth's processes. We will spend much of our time outdoors exploring various landscapes and landforms by hiking waterfalls, beaches, glaciers, and recent volcanic lava fields. Iceland in mid-May is cool and rainy with early sunrises and late sunsets. Iceland is a welcoming and safe place as it hosts a significant number of international tourists and English is the preferred language. 

Capabilities: Due to the Icelandic climate, long day lengths, and our spending significant time outdoors, students must be in good physical condition. Students should be comfortable in outdoor environments and be prepared to hike extensively over uneven terrain and be able to hike up and down slopes. Hiking boots and layered clothing are a must, including (but not limited to) a wind-breaker shell jacket, rain jacket, gloves and hat, comfortable day pack, water bottle, and sun protection for the skin and eyes.

NUTR 300.12 Global Food Systems 

Dr. Liz Nix & Dr. Eva Paris-Huesca

Havana, Cuba - March 8-16, 2025

Estimated Student Cost: $2,900

This course is designed to develop system thinking and apply these skills to food systems studies, particularly in the US and Cuba. The food system plays a crucial role in various fields including public health, nutrition, social justice and environmental studies. Understanding the food system is central to gaining perspective on various concerns, such as climate change, food security, workers' rights, and nutritional status, and to understanding the range of determinants of such concerns. Students interested in nutrition, health promotion, and other related fields must move beyond just the physiological and behavioral principles of dietary health, and carry forward a solid background in systems thinking into their academic growth. A strong understanding of the food system is also essential for environmental sustainability and socio-political issues. However, food systems can differ greatly between regions and countries, which play a crucial role on the health and well-being of these countries' people, plants, soil, and animals. This course will start with a brief historical perspective on food production and acquisition in the United States (US), and will highlight the key components, processes, relationships, drivers, and outcomes that are common in food systems around the world. We will use case studies and examples from Cuba to illustrate the differences and concerns between these two countries and how the complex factors of the food system, particularly climate and policy, influence the health and food adequacy of the people of these countries. 

Capabilities: Students should be in good physical condition and be prepared for a variety of physical activities including, walking, hiking, farming, etc. Students will have limited access to internet and cell phone data and should plan accordingly. 

Application, Billing, and Financial Aid

Application Process

Students apply and are selected by the lead faculty on the course. Once they have been accepted and commit to the course, they will register for it during their regular Spring Semester registration period. Accepted students should refer to their acceptance email. Students with questions should call 740-368-3075.

Billing Process

The charges for the Spring 25 Travel Learning Courses will be placed on the February or March student statement/bill, depending on the course. Final student charges will be released prior to this. Travel Learning Courses cover almost all student travel costs, including air & ground transportation, accommodations, most all meals, entrance fees, etc.

Students should plan to budget for souvenirs, additional food, excess baggage, additional/optional travel, etc. Vaccinations are not covered. Details often vary course-to-course but are made available to students by the faculty and/or the IOCP. Students with specific questions about student billing policies and procedures (such as the NelNet payment plan) and charges should contact student accounts at 740-368-3362.

For more details on student financial responsibility for Travel Learning Courses, please go here.

Financial Aid

Endowed funds from donors cover approximately half of the cost of each individual student's travel experience. For assistance with the remaining balance students have access to Parent PLUS and private loans. For more information go to the TLC Student Information page.

If a student is receiving a Pell Grant, they may also apply for the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship through the U.S. Department of State.

For further information, please contact the IOCP office (Slocum 311) or email Lisa Ho (leho@owu.edu).