Imagine walking on the beaches where thousands of Americans lost their lives on D-Day. Or see yourself walking through the Andes Mountains or through the ancient cities of Maya. Well, students can visit these wonders of the world and many others with Baker University’s study abroad interterm courses.

2016 Travel Interterms

Music and Culture of Western Europe

D-Day: The Climatic Battle of WWII

England: The History of Discovery

Yucatan Adventure

Public Health: Nicaragua

Amsterdam and The Netherlands

Peru: Machu Picchu to Lima

Study Spanish in Salamanca, Spain

Although Baker is still in the works of figuring out how interterm will work in the future, it has approved these interterms for students so they could start saving money and planning their trips.

Associate Professor of Music Robin Liston is teaching Music and Culture of Western Europe, a trip where students will be able to learn about the history of music and the cultures of Germany and the Czech Republic January 10-21, 2016. Students will be able to see where Martin Luther placed his Ninety-five Theses and sparked the Protestant Reformation. Students will also attend operas and concerts over the course of the trip.

Liston said there are many reasons students should study abroad, notably that experiencing life outside of the U.S. can be very enlightening.

“When we think about wanting all our students to be educated broadly we value wanting them to have experience with the rest of the world and to see something outside of their own neighborhood,” Liston said.

Her own experiences studying abroad helped her grow intellectually.

“If you haven’t seen it done, then you know intellectually it can happen, but if you haven’t done it yourself, it still feels very fantasy-like I think for many people,” Liston said. “The language thing is an interesting part of it, but when you go to a place that doesn’t speak your language necessarily, you have to function differently, and those experiences I believe, those challenges, teach us that we can do anything we want. It empowers us.”

Sophomore Bailey Kabrey attended Professor of Business and Economics Lee Green’s New York 2015 interterm trip. Kabrey had never been to New York before, and enjoyed exploring the city.

“We saw the inside of the city with a bus tour and took a boat tour to see the outside of it,” she said. “The culture was very overwhelming and it gave me a greater appreciation for the Midwest and how we are here.”

Kabrey, who has never been outside of the U.S., decided to enroll in Green’s 2016 interterm trip, D-Day: The Climatic Battle of WWII. She is interested in the British culture and she has always dreamed of visiting London and Paris.

Student’s who attend Green’s D-Day: The Climatic Battle of WWII interterm program will learn about D-Day, the decisive battle in World War II. Students will also have the opportunity to tour other sites in London, Normandy and Paris during the trip through organized tours, and also visit sites, museums, and other attractions on their own.

“I think that these interterm trips are great experiential learning experiences for students, and that’s why they’re so much to do,” Green said.

There are many other interterm trips that students can choose from.

Student’s can spend 12 days in England learning about many of the biggest science discoveries ever made if they go on Associate Professor of Biology Erin Morris’ England: The History of Discovery trip. They will be based in London, but take day trips to Stonehenge, Cambridge, the Jurassic coach and visit the home of Charles Darwin and see the original archaeopteryx fossil.

The Yucatan Adventure, led by Associate Professor of History Leonard Ortiz, is an opportunity to explore the Yucatan region of Mexico. Students will visit ancient cities of the Maya and trek, repel, bike, kayak, and zip line their way through the jungle. They will beaches and ecoparks where they will have a chance to swim with tropical fish.

Director of Honors Program Carrie Coward Bucher is taking students to learn about the public health in Nicaragua. Students with training in medicine will have the opportunity to assist doctors during intake and patient care while the rest will engage in non-medical patient care or service to the community.

Joe Watson, associate professor of mass media, will be taking students on a trip to explore Amsterdam and The Netherlands. Students will cruise the city’s famous canals, and experience unique sites like the Heineken Brewery, the Anne Frank House and Museum, the Van Gogh Museum, and the International Court of Justice.

Brett Knappe, associate professor of art history, will be taking students on the trip to discover the cultures of Machu Picchu, which was placed on the list of the New 7 Wonders of the World when it was compiled between 2000 and 2007. Students will visit the capital city of Lima and visit the Sacred Valley of the Incas. They will also have a chance to study pre-Columbian art and see beaches, temples, churches, catacombs, museums, fortresses, picturesque towns, the Peruvian Pacific coast, the “Sistine Chapel of the Americas,” and even a farm.

Those interested in further their knowledge of the Spanish language and culture can visit Salamanca, Spain with Sandra Schumm, professor of Spanish. The interterm is open to all levels but can be used as a study abroad credit for Spanish majors. Students who attend will get to spend two weeks with a family in Salamanca, a famous university city, and have intensive Spanish classes and culture at the Hispano Continental School – in addition to exploring Madrid and Toledo.

Liston said that traveling enables students to make connections with people who they might not otherwise have gotten to know. It is a chance to meet other students and people from all over the world. She also said that it is special to learn about the history of countries that are much older than America.

“I would encourage student’s to study abroad,” Liston said. “To see yourself as someone who can fit into other places is a very incredible and amazing experience.”

If students have questions about a trip, they should contact the professor who is teaching the interterm course.