Transylvania University students will soon be packing for May term adventures abroad.
Classes are headed to Japan, four European countries and Belize, each accompanied by two professors and most with an interdisciplinary emphasis.
“It’s a good option for students who haven’t been abroad before and who want to go with a group of students and faculty that they know,” said Rachel Wilson, director of global and intercultural engagement.
May term, which this year is April 24-May 21, is a favorite time for Transylvania students to explore the world (they’re each encouraged to do so at least once during college).
One of this year’s classes is headed to southern Spain to study Medieval culture, including the coexistence of three major religions in the area. It’s Spanish professor Veronica Dean-Thacker’s last May term trip before she retires after 37 years. She’s co-teaching Cultures of Southern Spain — Medieval and Contemporary “Convivencia” with classics professor David Kaufman.
On the other side of the world in Japan, it’s Lights, Camera, Anime!, team-taught by art and art history professors Kurt Goode and Wei Lin. “This first-hand experience will educate students about the cultural, architectural and physical details visually present in many anime, developing a more complete understanding of the stories by experiencing both contemporary and early historical sites that inform Japanese lives, artworks and storytelling,” according to the course description.
Another of this year’s classes is International Accounting and Logistics Management led by accounting and business professors Christi Hayne and Jeff Hopper. Focused on the beverage industry, this course will take students on a tour of businesses in Germany, Italy and Greece.
This year’s other May term course abroad is Tropical Ecology in Belize with biology professors Belinda Sly and James Wagner. They’ll explore rain forests, coral reefs and investigate topics like species diversity and habitat conservation.
Closer to home, exercise science professor Sharon Brown and psychology professor Bethany Jurs are traveling with students around Kentucky and Tennessee to learn how nature positively interacts with our minds and bodies.
Transylvania recently announced courses for May term 2025 — including a literary-themed journey to Colombia, business studies in France, a look at the interaction of primates and human society in Gibraltar and the next episode of Lights, Camera, Anime! in Japan.
If none of these options are the best fit for a student interested in springtime study abroad, Wilson will help them find a university that Transylvania can partner with — so they can still earn May term credit toward their general education requirement.
“That opens up a lot of opportunities course-wise for students,” she said.
