Travel Seminars

This immersive course explores Irish literature and artistic expression through the landscapes and cities that inspired them. Traveling from Dublin to Galway via Belfast, Derry and Sligo, students will engage with the works of W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, James Joyce and others in the places they lived, wrote and helped shape Irish identity.

Site visits include the Joyce Tower, Trinity College, the Antrim Coast, Glencar Falls, Coole Park and the Cliffs of Moher. Alongside literary discussions, students will examine Ireland’s cultural and political history, from ancient tombs to the Troubles. Through guided tours and on-site presentations, literary expression comes alive, rooted in place, history and imagination.

Experience the heart of Costa Rica through a nine-day immersive program focused on sustainable coffee agriculture, rural development and ecotourism. Based at the Las Nubes EcoCampus, students will visit coffee cooperatives, smallholder farms and family-run processing facilities, with opportunities for hands-on learning and community engagement.

Trip highlights include visiting coffee producers during harvest season, discussions on sustainability, fair trade and rural livelihoods, local homestays for cultural immersion and guided readings, reflection and classroom sessions at the EcoCampus. Discover Costa Rica through coffee, culture and community. Open to all majors.

Join us on an unforgettable educational journey through France, designed to immerse students in the country’s rich cultural, historical and artistic heritage. This 11-day faculty-led program takes participants from the iconic boulevards of Paris to the prehistoric caves of Les Eyzies, the papal palaces of Avignon and the Provençal landscapes that inspired Cézanne.

Throughout the trip, students will engage with world-class museums, historic landmarks and regional culture through curated visits, guided tours and interactive experiences. The itinerary includes highlights such as the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Musée d'Orsay, Grotte de Font-de-Gaume and a hike on Mont Sainte-Victoire. Participants will also explore Gothic cathedrals, ancient burial grounds and the vibrant artistic legacies of France’s most celebrated figures.

Delve into the relationship between National Socialism and Christian institutions in this intensive travel seminar. As students move through Berlin, Nuremberg and Munich, they will analyze how Hitler’s regime sought to control, exploit or suppress religious groups and how churches responded with resistance, compromise or collaboration. Key sites include the Berlin Unterwelten (Underground Air Raid Shelters), the Holocaust Memorial, the Nazi Party Rally Grounds, the Nuremberg Trials Courtroom and Dachau Concentration Camp. The seminar provides a powerful encounter with history while also offering time to experience and explore German cuisine, culture and daily life.

This course offers a hands-on journey into the heart of Malaysian Borneo, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth where environmental policy meets the realities of sustainable tourism. Through immersive experiences in both marine and rainforest ecosystems, you will explore what it takes to balance conservation with tourism in a region under increasing environmental pressure.

Trek through ancient rainforests and witness firsthand the challenges and triumphs of protecting these delicate environments. You will engage directly with the people on the front lines of sustainability — resort managers, local conservationists and expert guides — gaining insight into how policy is put into practice and what it costs, financially and ecologically, to operate responsibly in this extraordinary setting.

Offered during the spring semester, this travel course introduces students to the basics of digital photography and culminates in a seven-day trip to Colorado in May 2026. The expedition includes visits to stunning locations such as the Great Sand Dunes, Red Rocks and Glenwood Canyon.

Throughout the semester, students will learn to operate a digital camera while exploring how others have portrayed the American West in photography. By studying 19th-century geological surveys and modern representations like Easy Rider, students will reflect on their relationship with the American landscape. The course concludes with a hands-on photographic journey through Colorado in May.

Peace and Conflict Studies is a travel course that builds on Stonehill College’s international, research-intensive internship program in Armenia, offered since 2015. Students are matched with partner organizations to conduct research on peacebuilding across Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia. The course examines the drivers of armed conflict and the conditions that foster peaceful coexistence, with case studies including the Balkans, the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, conflicts in Georgia and Russia and Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Special focus is given to the fragile peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan following the 2020 war.

Armenia, the world’s first Christian nation, offers a rich cultural setting. Students will visit historic monasteries such as Geghard, Noravank, Tatev, Khor Virap and the Temple of Garni. They will also meet with regional analysts, journalists and diplomats at think tanks and universities, and explore the Areni region, home to one of the world’s oldest wineries and the oldest known leather shoe. Cultural excursions include performances at the Yerevan Opera, live jazz at local clubs and visits to museums and galleries in Yerevan.

Stonehill’s Super Bowl Experience, featured among its leadership-driven travel seminars, is an annual opportunity that places sport management students at the center of premier VIP event operations. Year after year, selected students staff the NFL House, assist with guest check-in, coordinate hospitality and support event presentation. The week culminates with students working on game day at the Super Bowl, where they gain firsthand exposure to the scale and complexity of executing a global sporting event.

Beyond the excitement of the game itself, students learn priceless skills from client service and teamwork to strategic planning and adaptability. They collaborate closely with industry partners like GMR Marketing, earning hands-on experience in large-scale event execution. These trips foster personal and professional growth, helping students recognize their place in high-performance environments.

Stonehill’s Costa Rica program combines environmental field research with cultural immersion in a vibrant tropical setting. Environmental science students spent 10 days at La Selva Research Station conducting hands-on tropical ecology research. Students prepare for the trip throughout the fall semester by developing their research projects, designing methods and gathering equipment, then travel together to carry out their studies in one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems.

Beyond research, students gain critical problem-solving and adaptability skills by navigating real-world conditions in the field. They establish reciprocal learning relationships with one another and with faculty, becoming confident in applying classroom knowledge to complex scientific work. The experience challenges students personally and academically, offering lasting insight into their potential as emerging researchers and global leaders.