Many undergraduate students began Winter Term classes on campus this week while others prepared to travel across the country and around the globe as part of Winter Term global experiences.
A new year has brought a new term at Elon University, with many undergraduate students returning to campus to begin the month-long Winter Term and others heading off to participate in global experiences across the country and around the globe.
Most students on campus for the three-week Winter Term will be taking a single course, meeting daily with faculty and their classmates until classes conclude on Jan. 23. Winter Term typically includes both core courses as well as courses with more creative or unique topics.
Elon is renowned for its emphasis on global engagement, and Winter Term is the busiest time of the year for this critical element of an Elon education. The start of the term also means hundreds of Elon students, faculty and staff will be heading out on short-term study abroad and Study USA programs.
“As we start the new year, we’re thrilled to see Elon students, faculty and staff depart for 2023 study away programs,” said Nick Gozik, dean of global education.
According to Gozik, this year largely represents a return to normal in terms of travel. With fewer restrictions, it has been easier for faculty and students to count on travel plans, he said. At the same time, the university continues to monitor the health and safety of locations where students will be traveling, he said.
During this year’s Winter Term, close to 800 undergraduate and graduate students will participate in intensive programs through Elon’s study abroad and Study USA programs, cohort travel and course-embedded travel. They’ll be joined by more than 80 faculty and staff as they delve into immersive learning experiences around the globe.
Unique to Elon is the preparation students receive for their Winter Term programs. Most study abroad and Study USA courses require a one-credit course in the preceding fall semester, where students meet with their faculty members and classmates as they learn in advance about the locations and cultures they plan to visit. The classes allow professors to forge strong relationships with their students and give students an avenue to learn about each other prior to their immersion in new and dynamic places.
“Study abroad and Study USA remain flagship programs for Elon,” Gozik said. “One of the primary reasons students come to Elon is to engage in experiential and global learning, on and off campus. The ability to travel and study with faculty experts on more than 30 programs, on five continents, provides students with access to the world, both to learn about themselves and the local communities that they visit.”
Study abroad and Study USA programs for Winter Term 2023 include:
- Argentina & Uruguay: Through the Lends of ESPN — from Bristol to Beyond
- Argentina: Latin American Social Movements
- Austria & Germany: Lives of the Great Composers
- Barbados: Culture, Politics & Society
- Business In The Pacific Rim
- Costa Rica: Human Service Studies Practicum
- Costa Rica: Language, Culture & Ecotourism
- Disney: Happiest Place? The Science of Happiness at Disney
- Dominican Republic: Baseball & Tourism
- East Asia: Business, Culture & Economics
- England: Literary Landscapes
- France: Eat, Pray, Love – Sacred Space & the Place of Religion
- Ghana: West African History & Culture
- Great Structures of Europe: Technology & History
- Hawai’i: Nation or State?
- Holocaust Journey
- India: Public Health Studies Practicum
- India’s Identities: Religion, Caste and Gender in Contemporary South India
- Innovation in Los Angeles
- Italy: Bodies of Knowledge – Health care & the History of Art
- Italy: Culinary Transformations – The Science Behind What’s Cooking
- New Zealand: Critically Engaged Ecotourism
- Panama: Field Biology
- Spain & Morocco: Historical & Contemporary Encounters
- Sundance Film Festival Experience
In addition to these 31 Winter Term programs, a number of academic cohorts will be participating in study away programs both domestically and abroad:
- Business Fellows – France and United Arab Emirates
- Communications Fellows – Florida
- Elon College Fellows – Washington, D.C.
- Honors Fellows – Turkey
- Interactive Media graduate program – Dominican Republic
- Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellows – Alabama
- Master of Arts in Higher Education graduate program – Denmark and Sweden
- MBA graduate program – Vietnam
- Periclean Scholars – Sri Lanka
- Teaching Fellows – two groups will be in Washington, D.C. and South Carolina
During Winter Term, students on campus can also participate in Burst the Bubble programs throughout the month. These free, noncredit sessions are created and led by students who have a talent, interest or skill they wish to share with their peers. Typically, a Burst the Bubble program meets three times – once a week – for an hour each time. Burst the Bubble programs are open to all students at Elon University.
Among this year’s offerings are interesting topics such as “A Capella Arranging and Beatboxing Workshop,” “Introduction to Wire Jewelry Making,” “Into the Dark: a series of horror movie discussions” and “Hallyu: K-Pop & Beyond.”
January is also a month for Elon to commemorate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a variety of events to be held throughout the month including the National Day for Racial Healing on Jan. 18, a cultural excursion to the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro and service opportunities in the community.
Elon’s annual Speaker Series also continues in January, with acclaimed author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Tommy Orange delivering the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address on Jan. 10 in McCrary Theater.