Studies Off Campus & Abroad

Travel brings textbooks to life.

About 50% of Rhodes students take advantage of learning opportunities outside the campus and often outside the country, most often during their junior year. And while language and culture are common subjects of study, specialized programs in anthropology, politics and archaeology, to name a few, help students develop real-world skills in their discipline—by putting themselves in the real world.

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Through the Rhodes Buckman Center for International Education, students discover the transformative power of sustained experience with other cultures. The Center helps develop and administer off-campus study programs such as:

Coral Reef Ecology—This summer program on Roatan Island, Honduras, combines lessons in physiology with lab work at the Institute of Marine Studies, snorkeling and diving. Housing consists of hillside cabins with an ocean view, with meals served on an open-air balcony. Past side trips have included whitewater rafting and rainforest hikes.
European Studies—This joint program of Rhodes and The University of the South offers a seventeen-week semester comprised of four weeks of study at the Univeristy of the South, a ten-day practicum at the Universities of York and Durham, six weeks at Lincoln College, Oxford University, and five weeks of travel in Western Europe. Students may choose one of two tracks: Ancient Greece and Rome or Western Europe in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Field Studies in Namibia—Students explore the major environmental issues of one of the world’s most arid and beautiful countries by meeting with indigenous people, government officials and others involved with the local environment. Rhino-tracking and lion-darting may be part of the educational experience during the trip.

Rhodes students also take part in such programs as:

British Studies at Oxford—Students live and study at St. John’s College in Oxford, with learning supplemented by trips to London, Stratford-upon-Avon and historic sites, as well as independent travel. Each year, this very popular program focuses on a particular period of British history and culture, with lectures, seminars, and other events hosted by British and American faculty from a wide range of disciplines.
Washington Semester—During sixteen weeks at American University in Washington, DC, participants complete internships and coursework for up to 16 academic credits, while networking in the heart of the U.S. government.