Global Seminars combine spring semester courses with 7-10 day international travel experience during Spring Break or early May. Each program features a robust itinerary of site visits, cultural excursions, and on-the-ground projects specifically aligned with your course content.  

• Courses and travel are taught and led by Temple faculty.  

• Global Seminars are intentionally designed to foster growth in intercultural knowledge and competence and critical thinking among a community of learners. 

• The 7- to 10-day international travel period can make global programs more accessible for students with schedule constraints. 

• Tuition is included in your Temple spring semester tuition. The additional program fee (approximately $2,500) includes airfare, accommodation and program activities. 

Programs are open to undergraduate students from all majors and class levels, and we encourage you to explore a topic of interest. Talk to your academic advisor about how a Global Seminar fits into your degree plan. 

Global Seminars are ideal for students who wish to actively engage in global learning as a member of a community both in the classroom and as a cohort while traveling abroad. 

See eligibility below for more details and contact us with questions.

• See below for eligibility.
• The application will open in Summer 2026. Join our email list to be notified when applications open.
• Application deadline: September 15, 2026 for Spring 2027 Global Seminars.
• All applications will be reviewed after the deadline.

•  Tuition is included in your Temple spring semester tuition.

• The additional program fee (approximately $2,500) includes airfare, accommodation and program activities. 

Learn how – as any major – you can apply systems thinking to solve complex, real-world problems and enhance your career. This Global Seminar focuses on the dynamics behind water scarcity and rapid urban growth in Lima, a city facing extreme water stress. In Lima, you will engage with community members, government agencies, utilities, and NGOs to better understand the complex factors and recommend actionable solutions while exploring Peruvian culture. 

• Course: (select one) 
  • Industrial & Systems Engineering 0818 Tackling Global Problems with Systems Thinking (3 credits)
    • Fulfills World Society GenEd. No pre-requisite.
  • Industrial & Systems Engineering 3103: Systems Thinking & Modeling (3 credits)
    • Pre-requisite: Minimum grade of C- in ISE 2101 and (MATH 2041, MATH 2941, MATH 3041, MATH 3941, or 'Y' in METW)
• Travel Location: Lima, Peru  
• Course Duration: January – May (with required Spring Break travel to Lima) 
• Faculty: Dr. Julie Drzymalski, Professor, Engineering, Technology, and Management ([click-for-email])

Examine Taiwanese culture - history, memory, faith, urban space, and cultural identity - through literature and film and then bring those themes to life as you travel with your seminar to Taipei over spring break. A dynamic, student-friendly city, Taipei blends cutting-edge modern life with deep traditions. You’ll visit cultural and historical sites, traverse lively neighborhoods, experience night markets packed with affordable street food, and engage with local communities alongside your instructor, Dr. Huang, who grew up in Taiwan.  

• Course: (select one)
  • Asian Studies 0868 World Society in Literature and Film (3 credits)
    • Fulfills World Society GenEd. 
  • Asian Studies 2030: Special Topics I (3 credits)
  • Chinese 3000: Chinese Special Topics I (3 credits)
• Travel Location: Taipei, Taiwan  
• Course Duration: January – March (with required Spring Break travel to Taipei) 
• Faculty: Dr. Shuchen (Susan) Huang, Associate Professor, Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures ([click-for-email])

Explore how the Netherlands leads in tackling issues like climate adaptation, circular economies, and environmental justice through longstanding commitments to renewable energy, water management, and land reclamation. Through immersive, firsthand learning, you’ll gain the tools, perspective, and agency to apply these global insights to sustainability work in Philadelphia and drive meaningful change. 

• Course: (select one)
  • Biology 3380: Contemporary Biology (3 credits)
    • (Pre-requisite: BIOL 1111 and BIOL 1112)
  • SCTC 2100 Special Topics in Science and Technology (3 credits)
    • (Pre-requisite: BIOL 1111 and MATH 1022)
• Faculty: Dr. Rob Jennings, Associate Professor, Biology ([click-for-email]) & Dr. Roy Keyer, Professor, Chemistry ([click-for-email])
• Course Duration: January – mid-May (with required travel to the Netherlands in May) 
• Travel Location: Netherlands   

Explore the intersection of art, culture, and social change through a Global Seminar that combines on-campus studio work at Temple with an immersive field experience in Oaxaca, Mexico over spring break. Through critical inquiry and creative practice, you will examine how throughout history, printmaking has served as a powerful medium for political expression, community organizing, and cultural preservation. Specifically, the course will focus on protest graphics - from revolutionary pamphlets and political posters to contemporary street art and memes. In the studio you will learn or refine (depending on your experience) two printmaking techniques (letterpress, relief printing, and/or screen printing). While in Oaxaca, you will engage with artists, printmaking workshops, Indigenous communities, and cultural organizations to investigate how art intersects with struggles for land rights, environmental sustainability, labor, and cultural identity. Your final project (either a portfolio of original prints or a research paper incorporating photographs and visual analysis) will respond to a contemporary social justice issue inspired by the people, places, and topics encountered in Oaxaca. No prior printmaking experience is required.  

Course:  

• Art 2701: Protest Graphics 

  • This course is an approved option for the Honors Social Justice Minor 

Travel Location: Oaxaca City and surrounding communities, Oaxaca, Mexico 

Course Duration: January–May (with required Spring Break travel to Oaxaca) 

Faculty: Corinne Teed, Printmaking, [click-for-email] 

Build a deep understanding of the complexities of conflict, reconciliation, and social change through a Global Seminar that culminates with an immersive program in Northern Ireland at the end of the spring semester in May. This course examines the history of the Troubles, the competing political and religious identities that shaped the conflict, and the ongoing challenges of building lasting peace. During the travel component in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry, you will engage with community members, historians, and organizations working in peacebuilding to examine multiple perspectives on the conflict, the Good Friday Agreement, and the continuing process of reconciliation while experiencing the rich culture and history of Northern Ireland. Throughout the course, you will consider how the lessons of Northern Ireland can inform the study of other divided societies and contemporary conflicts.  

Course: Political Science 3000: Topics in Political Science (3 credits) 

Travel Location: Belfast and Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland 

Course Duration: January–May (with required travel to Northern Ireland in May) 

Faculty: Dr. Lauren Farmer, Political Science, laa@temple.edu 

Explore real-world sustainability challenges while developing a deeper understanding of environmental resilience and innovation through a semester-long Global Seminar that culminates in a 7- to 10-day field experience in the Faroe Islands in May. This course uses the Faroe Islands, a remote North Atlantic archipelago, as a case study to examine how communities balance economic development with environmental stewardship. The on-site immersion will allow you to see firsthand how geography, climate, and limited resources shape sustainability in practice. Because the islands operate as an isolated energy system and experience the effects of climate change firsthand, they are an ideal setting for studying renewable energy, resource management, and environmental adaptation. You will engage with local communities, renewable energy experts, and industry leaders to learn about islands' transition toward 100% renewable electricity by 2030, climate adaptation in fisheries and aquaculture, and sustainable tourism initiatives while gaining insights applicable to sustainability challenges around the world. Open to all students. 

Course: (select one) 

• Earth and Environmental Science 0842: Sustainable Environments (3 credits) 

• Fulfills Science and Technology GenEd.     

• Earth and Environmental Science 4200: Topics in Geoscience (3 credits) 

Travel Location: Faroe Islands 

Course Duration: January–May (with required travel to the Faroe Islands in May) 

Faculty: Dr. Jesse Thornburg, Earth and Environmental Science, [click-for-email]  

Where creativity meets the coast — study social media in Croatia. 

Explore themes of international communication and global professional collaboration through the exciting, dynamic field of social media marketing. Analyze digital campaigns, understand influencer marketing, and dive into cross-cultural branding. This program takes students from Philadelphia to Croatia and includes a visit to WPP Croatia, part of one of the world’s leading advertising and communications groups. 

Students interested in agency careers, influencer marketing, or global brand strategy are encouraged to apply for this experiential, international program.

• Travel Location: Croatia 

• Course Duration: January - May (with required travel to Croatia in May) 

• Faculty: Katherine Bex, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Advertising ([click-for-email]) 

• Water Infrastructure Entrepreneurship in Panama
• Art of Sacred Space in Istanbul, Turkey
• Schools, Schooling, and Why it Works or Fails (London, U.K.)
• Fox School of Business offers related programs each year. Visit the Fox Global Immersion website for details.

• You are enrolled as a full-time matriculated student at the time of application until the end of the Global Seminar.
• You will have completed at least one (1) semester of college-level study by the program start.

• You meet the minimum cumulative GPA requirement from all colleges/universities attended. The GPA requirement for Temple Global Seminars is 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
• You remain in good academic standing from the time of application until the start of the semester of the Global Seminar; students on academic warning are not eligible to participate.

A copy of your passport will be required by the October 15 commitment deadline .Your passport cannot expire for at least 6 months after you return from your trip abroad. 

You must be in good disciplinary standing at the time of application and remain so through the start of your travel abroad. Students who have been found responsible for a code of conduct violation and will not be in good disciplinary standing (including disciplinary probation) may submit a petition for review.

You are at least 18 years old at the time of application.