Student Lenka Slamova 24' with her host family at COA's Yucatán program.
Term-long COA programs
Yucatán program: Each winter term, COA students spend 14 weeks in the Yucatán, Mexico, as part of a linguistic and cultural immersion. In the preceding term students take an intensive Spanish course. The Yucatán program is appropriate for all students, from experienced Spanish speakers to absolute beginners. This program is run in coordination with PICY: Programas de Inmersión Cultural en Yucatán.
French program: COA runs a French program every spring that combines language learning with other academic study. The program is based at the CAVILAM institute in Vichy, France. The academic emphasis varies from year to year, depending on which faculty are leading the program. Courses that have been taught as part of the French program: French Food Politics and European Political Institutions and Taking the Waters: The Politics & Culture of Water in France.
Additional programs: Depending on faculty interest and student demand, COA often runs additional summer and term-long study-abroad programs. Some additional programs that have been previously offered:
- In 2016-17 we offered the inaugural Human Ecology Abroad in Taiwan (HEAT) program, taught by faculty members Bonnie Tai and Suzanne Morse.
- Beginning in summer 2016, COA and Ashoka Japan launched the Human Ecology Lab and Island Odyssey (HELIO) program in Osakikamijima. Drawing inspiration from COA and Ashoka, HELIO organizers developed this program to begin creating an American-accredited institution of higher education that will present an alternative to the Japanese model of lecturing and compartmentalization, and help usher in an age of educational reform. Participants include students from COA, Japan, and other Ashoka universities.
- We have offered several courses on renewable energy and green business that include travel to Samsø, Denmark.
- In 2014 a program in the Veneto region of Italy studied Italian culture and included homestays and language immersion.
- In 2013 we ran a program on cultural anthropology and ethnography in Guatemala.
COA Courses with an international travel component
We offer several courses that are based on campus and then travel off-campus for several weeks after the academic term is complete. Examples include:
- The course Costa Rican Natural History & Conservation includes a two-week trip to Costa Rica.
- There is an optional two-week field trip to Peru associated with the course South American Earth Systems.
- Students in Marvelous Terrible Place take a two-week trip to Newfoundland, Canada, at the conclusion of spring term.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions many additional study abroad programs and courses with a travel component have been put on hold until travels are safe for students and faculty again.
Independent study and travel
Students often travel abroad and study abroad as part of an internship, independent study, or residency. COA’s study abroad coordinator and director of internships and career services Jill Barlow-Kellye, works closely with students in order to find the independent study abroad opportunities that match their interests and availabilities.
Term-long programs offered by other institutions
COA students frequently take advantage of study-abroad opportunities offered by other organizations such as the School for International Training, Duke Global Education for Undergraduates, and the School for Field Studies.