KU Students Explore Ireland in Interdisciplinary Study Abroad Program

21 terrific Kutztown University students spent five weeks traveling across Ireland as part of a faculty-led study abroad program that visited Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Killarney, and Galway, immersing them in the country's history, literature, and culture.

The KU Ireland program has been running since 2018, integrating courses in Psychology, History, and Literature as a literal expression of the Kutztown Univeristy Compass Program commitment to interdisciplinary study. Energized by experiential learning, students explored each city as a living extension of their coursework. In Belfast, visits to the controversial peace walls grounded discussions of collective trauma and community resilience. Walking the streets of Dublin, students mapped the complex social forces that have shaped social history and identity. While the port of Cork focused studies in the famine, food culture, and diasporic immigration, time in Killarney's national park offered space for quiet reflection in ancient monasteries and nature. Finally, Galway provided opportunities to experience historic Irish-speaking regions by day and traditional music at night.  

Professors Jason Lanter, Eric Johnson, and Andrew Vogel have designed the program to model the ways that research specializations intersect in practice — a core value of the University's Compass Program. Students described their time in Ireland as “life changing” because they forged a “tight-knit community” while learning “through all five” of their senses.  Upon return, they celebrate having had the opportunity to “experience learning outside of a typical school setting” and pride in a deep sense of personal growth shaped by five weeks of sustained travel, study, and cultural immersion.

The Kutztown University Ireland program is just one part of the larger University College dedication to cross-disciplinary study, confident communication, fierce critical reasoning, and empowered personal growth.