Off-Campus Summer Term Courses 2027
St. Lawrence University offers an array of dynamic off-campus summer courses around the world. Explore this page to learn more!
Kenya The European Union Hong Kong/Sri Lanka South Korea The Netherlands
Application links are provided below.
Summer 2027 course application deadline:
December 6, 2026
Summer 2027 Course Fees and timeline
Note: Summer 2027 course fees have not been finalized. Summer 2026 course fees are listed below for reference. These costs are subject to change and will be updated:
1 SLU Unit - $4,917 + airfare
1.5 SLU Units - $6,555 + airfare
Students will be billed a $50 application fee after submission of their application.
Students are required to submit the full summer course payment via the instructions provided on Studio Abroad by February 1, 2027.
All courses are contingent on sufficient enrollment and course fees are subject to change. Course fees do not include the cost of airfare.
Note: Seniors intending to graduate in May 2027 may apply/participate on summer courses with the permission of the instructor, but will be ineligible for financial aid. Priority in admission will be given to current students.
If you have questions about any of these programs, please contact the program instructor(s).
Conservation in Kenya Through the Lens of Gender and Sustainable Development
Students should verify that they are eligible to travel to KENYA before applying.
Instructors: Diane Husic
Dates: May 26th - June 12th, 2027 (tentative)
Listing: This course will count as a 200 level elective in Environmental Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Global Studies.
Units: 1.5 SLU Unit
Pre-requisites: One 100 level course in Environmental Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, or Global Studies, or by permission of the instructor.
Course Length: 2.5 Weeks
Course description: While blessed with beautiful landscapes and rich biodiversity, Kenya also faces an array of socio-economic and political challenges. Water resources, climate change, and gender dynamics form a complex nexus that influences a society’s sustainable and equitable development along with the country’s ability to conserve its vast natural resources. Women, often primary resource managers and users, play a vital role in sustainable development, yet frequently face disproportionate impacts from environmental degradation and exclusion from decision-making processes. Likewise, there are complex relationships between Kenya's indigenous communities, land, water, and wildlife, the colonial history of the country, and the role of various stakeholders in conservation. In this course, we will examine these interlinkages and tensions through readings, courses discussions and travel. In Kenya, we will visit an urban forest protected largely through the inspiring efforts of Nobel Laureate and Kenyan native, Wangari Maathai, along with national parks and research centers. We will also meet with policy makers, researchers, and conservationists, and during a home stay, learn directly from Kenyans from the Dr. Maathai’s home region.
The European Union
Students should verify that they are eligible to travel to FRANCE, BELGIUM, GERMANY, and LUXEMBOURG before applying.
Instructors: Dr. Mert Kartal
Dates: June 29 - July 13, 2027 (tentative)
Listing: Political Science; Approved to count toward the European Studies minor
Units: 1 SLU Unit
Pre-requisites: None
Course Length: 2 weeks
Course Description: This two-week off-campus course is designed for those of you who are interested in a hands-on exploration of what is arguably the most ambitious form of inter-state cooperation in the world, the European Union (EU). When learning about the cultural, historical, and political factors that have shaped the EU, we will visit several sites of key importance for Europe. This course will also feature lively discussions on current issues before the EU (such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the rise of populism, and refugee flows) and the role of culture, diversity, and human rights in Europe facilitated by prominent scholars as well as current and former policymakers. From exploring historical landmarks to savoring diverse cuisines, our journey promises to be educational and culturally enriching.
Apply to Study in the European Union
Matcha to Masala Chai: Indo-Chinese Connections and Eco-Historical Perspectives
Students should verify that they are eligible to travel to HONG KONG and SRI LANKA before applying.
Instructor: Dr. Aswini Pai and Dr. Yanqiu Zheng
Dates: May 24 - June 9, 2027 (tentative)
Listing: Public Health, Asian Studies, Anthropology, and accepted toward the Sociology/Environmental Studies Combined Major
Units: 1.5 SLU Units
Pre-requisites: None
Course Length: 2.5 weeks
Course description: We invite students to learn about the diverse culinary, medicinal, and other uses of spices and tea native to East and South Asia. We will examine the historical, ecological, and economic impact of these plants in connecting these two regions. Our site visits in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China and the island nation of Sri Lanka will include ports, markets, plantations, and traditional medicine hospitals. Together with the preparatory readings, the course will explore how commonly cultivated and consumed spices or tea affect landscape and climate, fuel international trade, and humanize intercultural encounters. The multivalent significance of spices, tea, and medicine and the wide geographical coverage will appeal to students in diverse majors and minors, including Asian studies, (conservation) biology, anthropology, environmental studies, global studies, government, history, and public health.
Apply to Study in Hong Kong/Sri Lanka
Progress and Catastrophe: South Korean Modernity, Popular Movements, and Cultural Forms
Students should verify that they are eligible to travel to SOUTH KOREA before applying.
Instructors: Dr. Sookyoung Lee and Dr. Madeleine Wong
Dates: May 24 - June 8, 2027 (tentative)
Listing: English and Global Studies
Units: 1.5 SLU Unit
Pre-requisites: None
Course Length: 2 Weeks
In this class, we will explore Korea’s contemporary social history and youth movements, paying particular attention to their representations in film, literary works, and TV shows. Our time abroad will focus on site visits and ethnographic study. How do demographic changes shape biopolitics? How is the education system facilitated by the media? What distinguishes social welfare programs here? Key visits will include a tour of the DMZ area, a 2-day “temple stay” at a Buddhist temple in the mountains, the university district for conversations and interviews with peers, the National Museum, Prison History Hall and other historical sites, the port city Busan, and the UNESCO World Heritage site Gyeongju.
Sleep, Dreams, and Altered States
Students should verify that they are eligible to travel to THE NETHERLANDS before applying.
Instructors: Dr. Serge Onyper
Dates: June 18 - July 10, 2027 (tentative)
Listing: Neuroscience, Psychology
Units: 1 SLU Unit
Pre-requisites: BIO102 or PSYC101 or permission of the instructor
Course Length: 3.5 Weeks
Course description: The requirement for sleep is a profound biological imperative shared across humans, mammals, birds, and even the simplest invertebrates. These states have been evolutionarily preserved because sleep serves as a critical period for neural restoration, metabolic cleaning and the consolidation of memories. Though the 24-hour demands of modern society often treat sleep as an optional luxury, our ancestral biology dictates otherwise. Is the sleeping brain merely an "idling" engine, or is it a basic survival need? In this course, we will interrogate the boundaries of the human mind through several compelling questions: How does the brain’s waste-clearance system operate during deep sleep, and what are the cognitive and health consequences of chronic sleep loss? Are dreams random bursts of neural activity, or do they help reshape emotional memories? Why can some individuals become aware they are dreaming and influence events, while others experience the unsettling state of waking mentally but remaining physically paralyzed? And what do rare behaviors such as sleepwalking or even sleep violence reveal about the neural circuits that normally coordinate thought and action?
Moving beyond the simple sleep–wake cycle, we will compare natural sleep to altered states such as anesthesia and hypnosis to ask what changes in brain networks reveal about consciousness itself. Drawing on narrative science from Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker and clinical case studies from The Nocturnal Brain by Guy Leschziner, you will learn how circadian and homeostatic processes regulate sleep; how specific brain structures and neurotransmitter systems generate sleep stages; how neural oscillations support memory consolidation and emotional regulation; and how disruptions in these systems affect cognition, performance, and mental health. Throughout the course, we will analyze neuroscientific evidence, evaluate competing explanations of dreaming and altered states, and apply systems-level models of brain function to questions that directly shape human behavior and well-being.