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Travel Courses

Sam Loos India

For over 20 years, MassArt faculty members have offered international travel courses across disciplines and to destinations all over the globe. The International Education Center supports both faculty and students in these courses, from conception to the flight home. By participating in a travel course, you'll join a group of globally inspired artists and designers led by MassArt faculty experts on a once-in-a-lifetime travel experience.

Travel Courses: OVerview

  • Travel courses are three-credit elective courses open to all majors, including first year students
  • Tuition for the 3 credits is included in full-time, undergraduate tuition
  • Graduate students, part-time students, and others will pay for the tuition by credit, and can inquire about tuition costs by emailing international@massart.edu
  • In addition to tuition costs, each course has a program fee that covers the costs of travel, lodging, and all required on-site course-related activities
  • Financial Aid may be applied to the cost of the program fee
  • A limited number of partial, travel course scholarships are available for international travel courses. They are need-based and awarded based on students' FAFSA scores. The scholarship application and complete eligibility requirements can be found in the Travel Course online application
  • If you’re a Pell Grant recipient, check if you are eligible for the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship
  • In addition to the travel component, course meetings are held throughout the semester
  • If you are considering study abroad, it is critical to get a passport immediately. Visit the U.S. Department of State for instructions
  • Visit Studio Abroad for more information and to complete the online application
  • All college-sponsored international travel is dependent on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and the safety of the destination/ability for travel as reviewed by the International Education Center in consultation with relevant internal and external sources. For MassArt's international travel policy, please refer to the MassArt wiki. 

fall 2022 Travel Courses

 
ANTWERP TO PARIS: CROSSING THE FASHION SPECTRUM

This course will examine both the historical heritage of couture design as found through the textiles, techniques and craftsmanship of the designers as well as a contemporary view of the globalization of fashion and where designers are heading in the future. We will examine how the old world techniques continue to shape and work within the technological advancements of the present day. Students will examine how Antwerp has surfaced as a leading innovative force in fashion and what this means in the larger global context, as well as the deep history and distinction of Parisian fashion. All of this will be accomplished through lectures and coursework throughout the semester and will culminate with a 2 week travel program to Antwerp and Paris.

Department: Fashion Design (open to all majors)
Credits: 3-Credits, Studio Elective
Class Meetings: Tuesdays, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Travel Dates: January 2-16, 2023*
Course Fee: 4,200* (Scholarships are available for eligible students!)
Faculty: Jennifer Vaerkamp • jvarekamp@massart.edu 

*Course fee, itinerary, and travel dates are tentative and subject to change. Course fee includes flights, lodging, and all required on-site course-related activities.
 

REBUILDING: THE ARCHITECTURE OF JAPAN

This travel course will look closely at the history of Japanese architecture in the cultural context of cities in Japan and landscape design influences, concentrating on the modern era following the rebuilding of Japan after World War II. Many Japanese architects from this period to the present day consider historical Japanese architecture extensively as a crucial part of their own practice. Therefore, we will confront traditional pre-Meiji Japanese architecture throughout our studies, through the lenses of the writing, teaching, and building of modern-era Japanese architects. 

We will bracket that with a look back at the architectural landmarks produced during the Westernization of Japan from 1875 to 1925, and a look forward through the lenses of contemporary graphic and digital media, cinema, landscapes, and street culture. A two-week travel in Japan is the capstone of the course, with visits to the most amazing and important Japanese temples, buildings, landscapes, and cities.

Department: Art History, Architecture (open to all majors)
Credits: 3-Credits, Studio Elective
Class Meetings: Wednesdays, 9:45pam - 12:45pm
Travel Dates: January 2-16, 2023*
Course Fee: TBD* (Scholarships are available for eligible students!)
Faculty: Gabriel Cira • gcira@massart.edu 
Faculty: Patricia Seitz • pseitz@massart.edu

*Course fee, itinerary, and travel dates are tentative and subject to change. Course fee includes flights, lodging, and all required on-site course-related activities.

TRAVEL COURSE SPOTLIGHTS

Laos: A Journey into Culture and Craft Through A Social Enterprise

During January 2020, students experienced the mystical country of Laos through an integrative collaboration with the social enterprise, Ma Té Sai, as they travelled with Jennifer Varekamp, Professor of Fashion Design, to some of the northern villages and worked with artisans on collaborative projects. The course explored the culture of Laos, through the people, the food and the varied landscape from the Mekong River to the Buddhist temples. Students participated in a variety of workshops on traditional handwork and explored the unique atmosphere of the UNESCO World Heritage City, Luang Prabang. (Video credit: Carley Byers, MFA Film/Video, 2021)

Crossing the Pond: Exploring Communication Design in London and Leeds

The UK is recognized internationally for cutting edge and innovative communication design—Design, Illustration, Advertising, Motion Graphics and Animation. Through this interdisciplinary course, faculty members Scott Bakal, Illustration, and Elizabeth Resnick, Graphic Design, brought a student group to London in March 2019 where they visited the studios of leading designers, illustrators and animators, as well as important art museums. The next stop was Leeds, a lively, stylish, and historic city located in West Yorkshire, England, crammed with top-quality museums and art galleries and a popular location for businesses in the creative industries, especially graphic design, advertising, film and new media. There, MassArt students worked collaboratively with students from Leeds on design projects, learning across disciplines and across cultures to foster greater understanding of different perspectives, to learn new approaches to the same task, and to inform current and future professional practice.

Embed video content - Greek Movie Final

Greece: History and Making Under the Light of the Acropolis

In the spring of 2018, students were introduced to contemporary and historical Western and non-Western jewelry, objects, art and culture beginning in Boston and culminating in a 2-week trip to Athens, Greece. While in Greece, students participated in exclusive tours and curated visits to historical sites and museums, including access to private collections not open to the general public, such as that of one of the world's leading institutions for jewelry: the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum in Athens. Students visited studios of practicing Greek artists, toured the distinguished Greed Gold Studio, and were the first group of students to be invited to work in the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Factory. While in Athens, students created projects in a variety of media, both concept and technically based, and completed the experience with an on-campus exhibit of their work. (Video credit: Gaby Gonzalez, Film/Video)

Your Identity Abroad

There are many facets of your identity that will impact your study abroad experience. Attitudes toward different groups can vary greatly across cultures, and the way a host country’s majority culture understands itself also differs from region to region. No place in the world is monocultural, and preparing in advance to live and study outside the United States will not only ease the transition, but may impact your choice of study abroad location.

As you consider and prepare for an international experience, use the Your Identity Abroad resource as a guide to examine some of the more personal aspects of study abroad.

Next Steps

Search Study Abroad Options