Short-term Faculty Led Programs

2025 Summer Programs

Australia: Teach and Learn Down Under

3 Credits: EDUC 230/240, EDUC 505, GEOG 192, or SA 300
Fulfills Global Connections (GEOG 192) and Intercultural Competency CORE Requirements; fulfills Multicultural, Linguistic and Instruction Methods (EDUC 230/240) requirement for Education studentsJuly 17-31, 2025
Estimated cost: $5,000
Faculty contacts: Dara Soljaga (darasoljaga@kings.edu) and Denise Reboli (denisereboli@kings.edu)  

Learn about the linguistic, cultural, and environmental richness of Australia! This short-term, faculty-led study abroad program, taught by Education professors, Drs. Dara Soljaga and Denise Reboli, will explore Australian institutions through in-country examinations and explorations. An undergraduate study of multicultural, linguistic, and instructional methods and graduate inquiry into ELL instructional theory and practice will be reinforced through collaboration with practicing host teachers in local classrooms. Further, the structured assignments present significant potential for forging lifelong collaborative international learning relationships. The program will also examine the inter-relationship of the human and physical landscapes of Australia, a country famed for being a home to vast wildlife, including koalas, emus, and kangaroos. Global and local themes will be embedded and explored in every aspect of this program, including the examination of the history and treatment of indigenous people of Australia, immigration, political, and cultural institutions, and more. Students will spend time in Brisbane and Sydney learning about Australia while exploring renowned landmarks.

Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Greece: The Western Imagination

3 Credits: HIST 101 (CORE), ENGL 149 (CORE), or SA 300
Fulfills Intercultural Competency CORE Requirement 
May 25 – June 10, 2025
Estimated Cost:  $4,800 
Faculty contacts: Cristofer Scarboro (cristoferscarboro@kings.edu) and Noreen O’Connor (noreenoconnor@kings.edu)

As part of King’s College’s “Geographies of Europe” series of short-term, faculty-led study abroad programs, this three-week course investigates the relationship between space and identity within socially and historically constructed landscapes.  Under the leadership of Drs. Noreen O’Connor (English) and Cristofer Scarboro (History) this course uses three neighboring countries, each with radically different experiences of European belonging in the modern era, to think deeply about questions of identity inscribed in place.  With its shifting boundaries and contested memories, southeastern Europe is riven by boundaries: between the “Christian” and “Muslim worlds”; between visions of “civilization” and “barbarism”; between “Europe” and “not”.  Hovering over all of this is the tragic knowledge that these boundaries, for a while, did not exist (at least officially).  Traveling across the Balkans will empower students to think deeply about the potentials and consequences of real and imagined boundaries, and how landscapes shift and shape identity. 

Canada: Faith, Justice, and Globalization in Québec

3 Credits: ECON 161, IB 241, THEO 164, or SA 300
Fulfills Global Connections (ECON 161), Theology and the Good Life (THEO 164), and Intercultural Competency Core Requirements; fulfills Globalization (IB 241) requirement for McGowan School of Business students
May 21 - June 2, 2025
Estimated Cost: $3,600 
Faculty contacts: Margarita Rose (margaritarose@kings.edu) and Fr. Daniel Issing, CSC (danielissing@kings.edu)

This short-term faculty-led study abroad program, led by Dr. Margarita Rose (Economics) and Fr. Dan Issing (Theology) will allow students to observe how Canada’s historical experiences of colonization and assimilation impacted its contemporary challenges of addiction, immigration, and identity in an age of climate change, international conflict, and political division. Moreover, students will develop fluency in the language of Catholic Social Teaching, through which they will articulate ethical and economic analyses of these socio-economic and moral issues, as well as actions that can be taken to address them. In class and in real-life encounters with businesspeople and scholars in Canada, students will develop a broad overview of the conditions in which today’s global economy functions, including political, legal, and cultural environments.  Throughout, students will have the chance to develop intercultural competence via learning about Québécois culture and interacting with French-speaking Canadians.  The dynamics of experiencing the Québécois culture can be applied to living and working within the framework of other cultures that students may experience in their future professional and personal encounters. In addition, the Holy Cross community’s sponsorship of St. Joseph’s Oratory on Mount Royal offers a distinct opportunity for the students of King’s College to connect their Holy Cross Experience (HCE) with the international character of Holy Cross. Through a focus on Saint Andre Bessette as the door to education in Montreal, we will delve with students into the relationship of education and worship to justice and the common good.

England and Ireland: Global Marketing and Business Communications in England and Ireland

3 Credits: MKT 390, MSB 250, or SA 300
May 19 – May 31, 2025
Estimated cost:  $4,800 
Faculty contacts: JC Blewitt (jcblewitt@kings.edu) and Kelly Lettieri (kellylettieri@kings.edu)

This program, led by Dr. JC Blewitt (Business School) and Ms. Kelly Lettieri (Business School and KC Pathways), will be centered on a short-term study abroad program to England and Ireland.  The goal of the program is for students to better understand the international market environments in which businesses operate with an emphasis on the role of environmental and cultural differences.  This course will expose students to the global nature of business, to the creative and design elements of business communications, and to a bucket-list destination of culture and history. Prior to and during travel abroad, students will work on a community-shared blog documenting their expectations, their experiences, their own media, and their key takeaways of the program. Students will leave this course empowered with cross-cultural knowledge and a new understanding of business.  

Peru: In the Holy Cross Tradition: Healthcare in Lima, Peru

1 Credit: SA 300 Service Immersion (undergraduate)
May 17 – June 4, 2025
Estimated cost: $4,000 
Faculty contact: Megan Corcoran (megancorcoran@kings.edu)

Led by two professors from the Department of Physician Assistant Studies directed by Mrs. Megan Corcoran, students will participate in a two-week immersive healthcare experience in partnership with the Holy Cross Misson in Canto Grande. This program is designed for undergraduate students with a focus on studies in medicine/healthcare. The goals of this program are to provide students with an understanding of medical care in a developing country while building basic patient care skills that they can apply to their futures studies. Much of the time spent on this program will be at Policlinico, working with the medical staff to provide care and disease education to the patients within that community. Participants will also provide outreach services to local schools and communities. Furthermore, through planned excursions, students will be able to experience the history and culture of Peru.

Peru: In the Holy Cross Tradition: Clinical Medicine in Lima, Peru

1 Credit: SA 300 Service Immersion (graduate)
July 5 – 16, 2025
Estimated Cost: $3,300
Faculty contacts: William Reynolds (williamreynolds@kings.edu) and Lisa Zimmerman (lisazimmerman@kings.edu)

Under the leadership of Physician Assistant Studies educators, William Reynolds and Lisa Zimmerman, Physician Assistant graduate students will use their clinical skills to extend medical care services to the people of the Canto Grande neighborhood of Lima, Peru. Students will concentrate on identifying and initiating treatment for common chronic disease such as anemia and diabetes as well as assisting the local clinic to treat patients with acute conditions.  Through their interactions with patients and the local medical team as well as cultural excursions in Peru, students will learn to provide care for patients through the lens of cultural and social determinants of health to an underserved population.

Jamaica: Level I Fieldwork in Psychosocial Impacts of Occupational Performance in Jamaica

2 Credits: OT 450
July 19 – 26, 2025
Estimated cost: $3,000
Faculty contacts: Marie Patterson (mariepatterson@kings.edu) and Jennifer Dessoye (jenniferdessoye@kings.edu) 

Under the leadership of Occupational Therapy professors Dr. Marie Patterson and Dr. Jennifer Dessoye, this short-term, faculty-led study abroad experience offers an immersive fieldwork opportunity tailored specifically for occupational therapy students. Spend 40 hours shadowing in a Residential Care facility or a group home setting for young pregnant mothers, gaining hands-on experience with individuals diagnosed with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, Down syndrome, auditory and visual deficits, and intellectual disabilities. In addition to this enriching fieldwork, you'll enjoy a full day of guided cultural visits in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Explore the beach, vibrant food markets, and optional museum visits—an excursion designed to deepen your cultural understanding and appreciation. This experience fulfills the requirements for OT 450: Level 1 Fieldwork in Psychosocial Impacts on Occupational Performance (2 credits). Work alongside faculty and peers as you observe, organize, and implement occupational therapy with a psychosocial focus. Don’t miss this chance to broaden your skills and worldview in one of the Caribbean’s most beautiful and culturally rich destinations!