Find yourself in the world

Studying abroad or away with Honors is more than just visiting another geography and dabbling in new cultures; it’s engaging in global citizenship through interdisciplinary immersion. Honors’ off-campus engagement operates on a continuum with possibilities that range from fully-structured programs with other UW students to direct exchanges with partner universities to open-ended, independent research.

Who is eligible: Our interdisciplinary international/study-away programs are open to UW students across all campuses, including those who are not pursuing Honors. Most programs can count towards general education credits and towards requirements in your major. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, no prerequisites or language requirements are needed to apply.

We support and encourage our undocumented students by working with the UW Study Abroad Office and Leadership Without Borders to provide step by step guidance. Learn more about resources for DACA students to engage in study abroad opportunities here.

Specific note for Honors Huskies: Honors students can complete an Honors experiential learning application to fulfill your experiential learning requirement through one of the below opportunities.

Information about Honors Study Abroad/Study Away for 2025 and beyond will be added here in late autumn quarter 2024

Summer A&B application deadline: January 31, 2024 // EFS 2024 application deadline: February 29, 2024

Honors Study Abroad/Study Away Summer 2024

Honors American South Study Away* (A-Term)

Honors American South: Foundations of Black Culture, Social Movements, and Collective Liberation
*Special opportunity to study away in the United States, not abroad

APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 2/22/24!
Application and more information available here!

Program Directors: Kathryn Cornforth, UAA; Ed Taylor, Education, in partnership with community organization Sankofa Impact 

Dates: June 16 – July 16, 2024

Information Sessions: 

Honors credits: 12 credits
Earn THREE of your Honors core course requirements in one month for a much lower price than what you would pay for on-campus credits!

  • HONORS 384 (A&H/SSc, DIV, W) / AES 498 (SSc, DIV, W) – Locating Racism and Resistance (4 credits)
  • HONORS 233 (SSc) / AES 498 (SSc)  – Leadership as a Moral Choice (4 credits)
  • HONORS 233 (SSc, DIV) / AES 498 (SSc, DIV) – Abolition and Collective Liberation (4 credits)

Program Description

“Sankofa” is an Adinkra symbol and concept used by the Akan people of Ghana meaning “go back and get it,” which teaches us that we must return to our roots in order to know where we are going. Through a journey of place-based learning, taking us from Texas to Washington D.C., we will explore the eras of enslavement, racial terrorism, civil rights, mass incarceration, and abolition activism today as well as visiting centers of Black history, joy, resilience, craft a vision of collective liberation, and engage in our own leadership practice and everyday activism. There will be numerous opportunities to process these emotionally challenging and spiritually fulfilling experiences via self-reflection, journaling, mindfulness, one-on-one meetings along with small and large group discussions.

More information on the CELE Center webpage.

Honors London (A-Term)

Socializing Medicine – Comparing the Concept of “Safety Net Hospitals” in the UK and US 

Program Director Mara Bann (mbann@uw.edu), Medicine & Program Coordinator Tory Brundage (toryb@uw.edu), College of Education

Dates: June 17 – July 17 (first week in Seattle, remaining weeks in London)
Application and more information available here!

Information Sessions: 

Honors credits: 6 credits of Honors or MED

  • HONORS 233 (SSc, DIV, W) / MED 490: Socializing Medicine – Comparing the Concept of “Safety Net Hospitals” in the UK and US (5 credits)
  • HONORS 233 (SSc, DIV, W) / MED 490: Socializing Medicine – Comparing the Concept of “Safety Net Hospitals” in the UK and US (1 credit)
photo of students on a past trip to London
Students on an international learning program in London

Program Description

Investigate the concept of “socialized medicine” while exploring the cultural and historical sites of London. This interdisciplinary course compares the development, implementation and outcomes between public hospitals in Britain’s National Health service and public “safety-net” hospitals in the United States in order to answer the question: What role do hospitals play with society and what forces shape delivery of healthcare? Additionally, through observational field study and site visits, students will observe, compare, and critique the current state of health and healthcare delivery as well as outcomes in both the UK and US with an eye towards equity and justice.

Honors Peru (A-Term)

Exploring Human Rights in Practice

Program Directors: Megan McCloskey (meganmc@uw.edu) & Carolyn Bain, Jackson School of International Studies

Dates: June 17-July 17 (first week in Seattle, remaining weeks in Peru)
Application and more information available here!
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 3/15/24!!

Information Sessions: 

  • Tuesday, Dec. 5, 4:00 p.m. – Honors Seminar Room (Mary Gates Hall 211 B)
  • Thursday, Jan. 18, 4:00 p.m. – Honors Seminar Room (Mary Gates Hall 211 B)

Honors Credits: 10 Honors or JSIS credits

  • HONORS 233/JSIS 396 (SSc, DIV, W)  (5)
  • HONORS 384 (SSC/A&H, DIV, W) / JSIS 396 (SSC, DIV, W) (5)

Program Description

Explore the Amazon while engaged in a grassroots approach to human rights in this three-week study abroad program in Peru. Students will have the opportunity to connect with faculty and students in the Department of Law at Catolica University in Lima as well as Peace and Hope International, to learn about the current enviro/economic challenges Peruvians face and to support projects to help to advance work by partner organizations. Students will examine the role of international advocates and volunteers and potential risks associated with volun-tourism while supporting those working in the field to advance human rights —  learning firsthand how projects are designed and implemented to recognize ways that marginalized groups of peoples both experience discrimination and exercise agency in asserting and defending their rights.  

Honors Sweden & Finland (B-Term)

Art and Activism in the Nordic Region

Program Directors: Kim Kraft (kimkraft@uw.edu) and Laura Poyer (lpoyer@uw.edu), Scandinavian Studies

Dates: July 18 – August 16, 2024
Application and more information available here.

Information Sessions:

Honors credits: 12 credits

  • HONORS 213 (A&H, DIV, W) – Art and Activism in the Nordic Region (5 credits)
  • HONORS 384 (A&H/SSc, DIV, W) – History of Art and Activism in the Nordic Countries (5 credits)
  • HONORS 213 (A&H) – Introduction to Nordic Languages (2 credits)
Stadion Subway Station in Stockholm, Sweden.

Program Description

Examine the relation of art and activism in Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki, Finland while answering questions surrounding “high” vs. “low” art; art education in the Nordics; urban design and planning in Nordic cities and the place of [and reaction to] public art; the role of museums in curating, preserving, and presenting culturally important artifacts; and the changing roles of traditional and social media in communicating contemporary political, economic, and social ideas, especially in relation to international identities. We will use contemporary Swedish and Finnish film, music, and performance and visual art to learn about modern Swedish culture and society, and we will also examine pre-modern handicraft and local folk architecture as a window into the history of material culture and folk art expression in the Nordic region. Situating our program in Stockholm and Helsinki will provide opportunities for rich and unique experiential learning such as site visits, field trips, and guest lectures.

2024 Early Fall Start Programs

Honors & GWSS León, Spain: Sounds of Social Justice in Diasporic Dance and Music (Early Fall)

Program Directors: Professors Michelle Habell-Pallán (UW Gender Women & Sexuality Studies, Music) (mhabellp@uw.edu) & Grammy-winner and MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellow Professor Martha Gonzalez (Scripps College, Chicano Studies) (mgonzale@scrippscollege.edu)

Dates: August 14 – September 4, 2024
Application deadline: February 15, 2024

Application and more information available here!

Information sessions:

Honors credits: 5 Honors credits or 5 GWSS credits

  • HONORS 384 (SSc/A&H) / GWSS 390 (SSc), DIV, W

Program description:
Exploring histories of resistance and resilience in contemporary social justice movements in Spain and the Spanish language diaspora through the lens of participatory dance and music communities, this program based at the UW Léon Center will examine how practices in sound create spaces of belonging. Students will connect with a feminist immigrant justice organization in the Basque Country, participate in music and dance workshops, and culminate with a community music Fandango celebration in Madrid that brings together community and dance from the Americas. Via theoretical frameworks drawing on decolonization, trauma-informed theory, transnational feminism, and neoliberalism/ globalization, this program will explore gender and race in a variety of musical traditions, genres, and scenes.

Additional Study Abroad/Direct Exchange Programs

Global Leadership Fellows Program, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan-FULL YEAR EXCHANGE for Academic Year 2024-25

University of Washington Honors Program students are invited to apply for this interdisciplinary leadership program which runs autumn 2024-early summer 2025 in Tokyo, Japan.

Students will receive UW credit (Honors or other credits per pre-approval). Dorm housing is provided by Waseda. Accepted students will cover tuition (equivalent to UW tuition), airfare, food, and personal expenses. 

The application is closed for the 2024-25 year.

Details/Info Sessions

Other Useful Resources and Opportunities

Study Abroad Ad Hoc Honors

Students may receive Interdisciplinary Honors credit for work completed on a non-Honors study abroad program by creating and completing an additional ad hoc Honors project designed to supplement the regular study abroad experience. It is assumed that any Honors student who exercises this option is interested in pursuing the subject to a greater depth and with more intensity and is prepared to undertake the extra work.

More About Ad Hoc Honors Credit

Independent International Study

In addition to the study abroad courses, students may also embark on an international study project of their own choosing for Honors credit. This option is for motivated students prepared to show initiative and invest a great deal of time and energy. Students must have a faculty adviser to do independent study. Be sure to consult with an Honors adviser before pursuing this option!

More About Honors Independent International Study

The Bonderman Travel Fellowship

Bonderman Fellowships enable students to undertake independent international travel to explore, be open to the unexpected, and come to know the world in new ways. Available to UW graduate students (including those in the Law and Business Schools and other graduate and professional programs) and undergraduate students across all three UW campuses, this fellowship gives students the opportunity to travel independently for at least eight months, to at least six countries, in at least two regions of the world. These are no credit fellowships and fellows are not allowed to study or do research.

More About the Bonderman Travel Fellowship

Travel Logs

Whether you’re a student, faculty member, or potential international partner, please take a moment to check out the experiences of past Honors students on our Blogs and Profiles pages.

UW Study Abroad

The UW Study Abroad website hosts a wealth of information for students interested in studying abroad, including:

The Gilman Scholarship Program

The Gilman Scholarship Program offers awards for undergraduate study abroad and was established by the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000. This scholarship provides awards for U.S. undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study abroad programs worldwide.

More About the Gilman Scholarship

Other UW Resources

Try these other departments for even more study abroad information and opportunities:

Programs no longer accepting applications

Winter & Spring 2024 (deadlines passed)

Honors Rome: Global Refugee Crisis: From Devastation to Diaspora
Dates: January 3 – March 8, 2024  | 15 credits

Using Italy and the U.S. as case studies in refugee resettlement, the connecting thread of this program is the lived experience of refugees and asylum seekers as they traverse the extensive journey from their home country to the country of final asylum.

Details/Info Sessions

Music León: the music of Spain and its diaspora
Dates: April 1 – June 8, 2024  | 16 credits
(5 credits of Honors 240 with other Honors credits available via Honors ad hoc)

Details/Info Sessions