Short-Term Study Abroad
Muhlenberg students have many opportunities to take courses that conclude with a few weeks abroad with their classmates and faculty.
At Muhlenberg, we know that a life-changing experience does not have to consume an entire semester. Muhlenberg Integrative Learning Abroad (MILA) courses end with approximately two-week-long excursions that take place after a semester of studies on an interdisciplinary topic. These trips are led by faculty members and take students all over the world to challenge participants to approach and investigate issues from multiple perspectives. MILA programs can be a more accessible option for studying abroad without sacrificing any of the adventure.
Noah Halterman-Mitchell ’24
“In class [for the Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Bangladesh MILA], we read about how the floods and saltwater intrusion were destroying crop land and villages. It’s different when you see something in a picture or a video than when you go and you see the bank of the river 10 meters from somebody’s house.”Read More
Examples of MILA Courses
Community Sustainability in Costa Rica
Students explore solutions to complex community problems related to sustainability in Costa Rica. At Muhlenberg, students study the area’s ecological diversity and political, cultural, and social issues. In Costa Rica, students explore a variety of habitats, live in and interact with members of a small town, and conduct both community service and independent research projects.
Writing About Place: Italy
Students investigate how we come to know the physical world and our relationship to it by writing creatively about how the natural and built environments we inhabit influence and transform us. At Muhlenberg, students explore a variety of genres and literary traditions and hone their creative writing skills. The course culminates in a short study abroad experience at a writer’s retreat in Italy.
Ecology and Religion in Japan
Students examine the intersections of sustainability and religion in the context of an industrialized Asian country. At Muhlenberg, students receive an introduction to the fundamentals of ecology and how humans rely upon and impact ecosystems as well as to the history and ritual of Buddhism and indigenous Shinto. In Japan, students explore Japanese religious communities, businesses, schools, and secular urban spaces to gain an understanding of Japanese practices of place.