Short-Term Study Abroad

Short-Term Study Abroad

The Humanities Program, dedicated to engagement with the wide diversity of human culture, offers regular short-term study abroad opportunities that combine course credit with participation in a broad range of intellectual, spiritual, and cultural communities.

One to three weeks in length and held outside of the regular semester schedule, these courses can be combined with any degree plan. While Humanities Program students are especially encouraged to participate, most courses are open to all Providence College students.


Surprised by Joy
Oxford, England; Spring Break, 2025; 1 credit

Join Fr. Dominic Verner and Dr. Colum Dever for an in depth consideration of the life, writings, friends, and communal life of C. S. Lewis, one of the greatest Christian apologists of our time. Explore Oxford, the home of Oxford University, J. R. R. Tolkien, St. John Henry Newman, and the Inklings. Read some of Lewis’s and Tolkien’s greatest stories and essays together at Blackfriars Hall, the home of the English Dominicans of Oxford. Limited fellowships for students are available. Part of the the C. S. Lewis Fellowship at Providence College. For more information contact Fr. Isaac Morales, Associate Professor of Theology and Director of the C. S. Lewis Fellowship. Applications are due in the fall of 2024 and are submitted through the PC study abroad website.


Christ in the Desert
Moab Desert, Utah; Spring Break, 2025; 1 credit

Led by Fr. Brendan Baron, Dr. Gary Culpepper, and Dr. Patrick Macfarlane, Christ in the Desert emphasizes leadership development within the spiritual and intellectual context of the Catholic and Dominican tradition. Participants will travel to the Moab Desert in Utah where they will learn outdoor skills, including kayaking and canyoneering, within the context of Lenten spiritual and intellectual reflection and professional leadership development exercises. Part of the Humanities Program’s Duc in Altum initiative. Hosted by COR Expeditions. Open by invitation only. For more information, contact Dr. Raymond Hain, Associate Director of the Humanities Program.


Ambition and Beauty in the Eternal City
Rome, Italy; May, 2025; 3 credits

Scale the heights of human ambition and gaze upon its creative expression as you consider the life, politics, and culture of the Eternal City while Professors Iain Bernhoft and Jiyoon Im lead you on an intensive two-week immersion into Rome. You’ll read Shakespeare’s Roman plays, visit the Vatican and the Colosseum, see the ruins of Pompeii and the glories of Michelangelo while considering how Rome’s political transformations (as Republic, Empire, and Church) shaped the virtues and ambitions of its citizens. For more information contact Dr. Iain Bernhoft, Humanities Forum Coordinator. Applications are due November 1, 2024, and are submitted through the PC study abroad website. 3 credits, fulfills the Oral Proficiency requirement of the core curriculum; limited financial aid is available. 


Verso l’Alto
Wind River Mountains, Wyoming; August, 2025; 1 credit

Led by Fr. Justin Bolger and Dr. Raymond Hain, Verso l’Alto (“To the Heights”) is for rising seniors and emphasizes leadership development within the spiritual and intellectual context of the Catholic and Dominican tradition. Participants will travel to the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming where they will learn outdoor skills, including unsupported backpacking, within the context of spiritual and intellectual reflection and professional leadership development exercises. Part of the Humanities Program’s Duc in Altum initiative. Hosted by COR Expeditions. Open by invitation only. For more information, contact Dr. Raymond Hain, Associate Director of the Humanities Program.


Stillness in the Floating City
Venice, Italy; January 1-11, 2026; 3 credits

Venice inspires our wonder at the splendor and magnificence of human achievement. This interdisciplinary Humanities January-term course, led by Dr. Iain Bernhoft and Dr. Jiyoon Im, invites you to enter into the world’s most beautiful city at its quietest season. We will cultivate our habits of attention, receptiveness to wonder, and interior silence by appreciation of Venice’s artistic and architectural masterpieces. Through visiting Venetian Gothic churches, studying the greatest paintings of the Venetian Renaissance, and participating in daily group walks, students will expand their receptiveness to beauty and wonder. For more information contact Dr. Iain Bernhoft, Humanities Forum Coordinator; 3 credits; limited financial aid is available.