Expand Your Horizons
Revolutionize how you see the world while you enhance your studies, across the sea or in another state.
Examine the world’s most complex challenges from different angles, through multiple lenses, and in real-world settings alongside classmates and faculty.
Relate to different cultures and function effectively within them – skills so important we’ve made it a part of our Common Ground curriculum.
Enhance your understanding of the world and expand your understanding of yourself and your culture as you prepare to become an engaged global citizen.
International Study
Whether you want to complete courses in Israel, attend college in Germany, or experience a summer in Mexico you’ll find so many opportunities to stamp your passport.
Wuppertal Exchange Program
Since 1951, Bethel and the Bergische-Universität-Gesamthochschule-Wuppertal in Germany have maintained one of the oldest exchange programs between American and German universities. One or two students from each institution spend a semester or academic year at the other institution. Over the past 65+ years, more than 150 students have gained firsthand experience in a different culture, built lifelong friendships and developed language proficiency as they completed academic work at a foreign university.
German participants in the program and Bethel alumni in Germany founded the Friends of Bethel in Germany for fellowship and especially to support Bethel students studying in Wuppertal.
BCA Study Abroad
offers undergraduates a year of study at any of the following institutions:
- University of Marburg, Germany
- University of Strasbourg, France
- University of Barcelona, Spain
- Dalian University of Foreign Languages Institute, People’s Republic of China
- University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, England
- University of San Francisco, Quito, Ecuador
- University of Veracruz, Xalapa, Mexico
- College year in Athens, Greece
- Vesalius College, Free University of Brussels, Belgium
- University of Roehampton, London, England
- Madras Christian College, Chennai, India
- Maynooth University, Dublin, Ireland
- University of Otago, Dunnedin, New Zealand
- University of Castille, Valladolid, Spain
- University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
BCA Summer Options
- International Culture Institute, Vienna, Austria
- University of Roehampton, London, England
- Maynooth University, Dublin, Ireland
- Dolomit, Trentino, Italy
- Dar Loughat Cross-Cultural Language Center, Tetovan, Morocco
- University of Castille, Valladolid, Spain
Travel courses
Study-abroad courses are offered during interterm, spring break or summer break. Those scheduled regularly include:
- ART435 Selected Topics in Art History (Italy)
- BIO303 Biological and Cultural Richness of Mexico
- BIO495 Biology Field Trip (Costa Rica)
- BRL305 Jerusalem Seminar (Israel/Palestine)
- HIS462 History of East Central Europe
- LAN315 German Language and Culture in a German Environment
- MUS381 European Choir Tour
- SWK364 Social Work and Social Development (Mexico)
Students should consult each year’s schedule for a complete listing.
International Partnership for Service Learning
The International Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership (IPSL) was founded in 1982 as an organization providing programs worldwide to students, colleges and universities that link academic study and volunteer service to the community.
“Today, IPSL, a registered Social Benefit Corporation (B-Corp), offers fully accredited graduate programs and credit-bearing, undergraduate service-learning programs in nations across the globe—programs in which over 4,000 students from more than 400 universities or colleges in the U.S. and 25 other nations have participated.”
An official transcript with course titles, letter grades, and number of credits and in some instances the number of credit hours is issued by the host institution upon completing the program. (NOTE – for some IPSL programs, a transcript will be issued by IPSL’s Official School of Record, an accredited U.S.-based institution.
Currently, IPSL offers programs in:
- Cambodia
- Columbia
- Ecuador
- France
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Ireland
- Italy
- Peru
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Vietnam
Off-campus Study
You don’t always need to go to another country to experience a culture different than your own, such as:
- Washington Community Scholars’ Center: WCSC brings students to Washington, D.C., to learn hands-on about vocations, urban social change, ethnicity, faith and personal growth. WCSC programs combine service internships with group living, university courses and seminar courses.
- Urban Studies: The Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture provides a program of study that includes courses on urban life, arts and culture in Chicago, and group dynamics, among others.