AU Global — Travel in May and Summer with AU Faculty

Travel in May and Summer offers exciting learning opportunities that lead to academic credit. Many Travel in May and Summer classes involve traveling to a new destination either to a city in the United States or abroad.

Scheduled to meet for three weeks immediately following the spring semester, Travel in May makes it possible to take one additional course and still have time for that all-important summer job or traditional summer school classes. Travel in Summer provides an exciting experiential learning opportunity to a location off campus.

 In 2023, undergraduate students have the option to:

• Learn Spanish in an ancient university town in Spain where they will live with a family and be immersed in the culture.
• Study politics and economics in Copenhagen, Berlin, and Prague.
• Conduct environmental research on shipwrecks in Lake Michigan.
• Discover career paths for working with animals by visiting a wolf research center, a humane society, and a veterinary school. 

Benefits of Travel in May and Summer include:

• Enjoy courses specifically developed for May and Summer Travel.
• Immerse yourself in a particular culture or tradition.
• Concentrate on just one class.
• Ease your course load during the fall or spring semester.
• Stay on track for graduation.
• Fulfill a prerequisite.
• Complete general education courses (select classes).

International Travel Courses 2023

This course will entail a variety of Spanish experiences that cannot be duplicated in a traditional classroom setting. Students will live with a Spanish family and attend classes at Colegio Delibes in Salamanca, Spain. Mornings will be spent in class. Afternoons, evenings, and weekends will include cultural events and experiences such as cooking and dance lessons as well as various excursions to museums, nearby cities, and other historic sites. Each student will write reflectively about and discuss various experiences in written Spanish by keeping an individual journal, as well as contributing to a group journal. Living in Spain with a family, each student should expect to develop their speaking and listening skills in Spanish. All students will be expected to work diligently, collectively, and independently in order to improve their Spanish language skills as well as cultural knowledge. Participation in all activities and excursions is expected unless discussed with the instructor. The course will meet on the Aurora campus on May 9, 2023, from 10 a.m.-noon. Travel will occur from May 11-27, 2023. The complete travel cost is $3,400, due by February 14, 2023. A $500 deposit is required to secure a place in the course. Please see the course faculty for permission to register.

Credit Hours – 4

Prerequisite(s) – SPN2300

Faculty – Denise Hatcher

This course allows students to see first-hand the effects of post-WWII political and economic developments in Central and Eastern European countries. The historical, political, and economic forces that have shaped contemporary economies are discussed. Exploring Copenhagen, Berlin, Prague, and nearby sites will provide meaningful examples of economic ideas. Most mornings will be spent in class with afternoons, evenings, and weekends engaged in experiences such as excursions to museums, historic sites, and economic and financial districts. The course analyzes differences in labor, financial, and other markets, particularly in the context of the development of the European Union. The course will meet on the Aurora campus May 8-12, 2023, from 8 a.m.-noon. Travel will occur from May 13-27, 2023. The complete travel cost is $3,875, due by February 14, 2023. A $500 deposit is required to secure a place in the course. Please see the course faculty for permission to register.

Credit Hours – 4

Prerequisite(s) – ECN2030

Faculty – Caleb Lewis

Domestic Travel Course 2023

This three-week immersive course provides students with hands-on, field-based opportunities to learn how to use a wide range of technologies such as drones, trail cameras, and weather stations to collect data about the natural environment. Students will also explore ways in which environmental data can be analyzed with tools such as geographic information system (GIS) software and shared for use in conservation decision-making processes. During the one-week travel portion of the course, students will visit Wisconsin to work with staff at Geneva Lake Environmental Agency and Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary to participate in ongoing environmental research projects. Key concepts that will be emphasized in the course include data collection and analysis, field research, design thinking, and project management. The course will meet on the Aurora campus May 8-12, 2023, and May 22-26, 2023, from 9 a.m.-noon. Travel will occur from May 15-19, 2023. The complete travel cost is $450, due by February 14, 2023. A $200 deposit is required to secure a place in the course. Please see the course faculty for permission to register.

Credit Hours – 4

Prerequisite(s) – None

Faculty – Chris Wells

This class will expose participants to a wide variety of career path options for those pursuing a degree in Human-Animal Studies. Students may know what they want to major in or learn, but struggle with what they do next once they graduate. The students will engage in classroom learning as well as a 5-day trip throughout the Midwest to various animal-related organizations and universities with advanced degrees related to the field. Through connections with these establishments, students will get true behind-the-scenes, up close and personal experience that will open their eyes to what the possibilities are beyond graduation. These locations include but are not limited to Wolf Park, in Central Indiana, the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana Veterinary School, the Missouri Humane Society in St. Louis, Purina in St. Louis, and the University of Missouri in Columbia. Students will come away with a realistic understanding of future possibilities. This course will meet on the Aurora University Campus May 8-11, 2023, and May 22-25, 2023 from 8-10 a.m. Travel will take place May 15-19, 2023. The complete travel cost is $600, due by February 14, 2023. A $200 deposit is required to secure a place in the course. Please see the course faculty for permission to register.

Credit Hours – 4

Prerequisite(s) – Junior or Senior standing; Human-Animal Studies major

Faculty – Jane Davis and Anna Payton