Learn more about some of the previous study abroad programs OMA&D has held in past years:
Oceanography Australia: STEM Autonomous & Robotic Observations Marine Ecosystems
The program takes place at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, and at the Moreton Bay Research Station off the coast of Brisbane. The focus of the course is to experience first-hand the use of autonomous robotic systems in the exploration and collection of data relevant to the study and monitoring of marine ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef.
Students will explore both technological aspects of ocean monitoring, as well as local cultural and sociological factors related to use of technology as it pertains to local ecology.
Read some of our students’ accounts:
2018 Student Blog
2016 Student Blog
2015 Student Blog
2013 Student Blog
2012 Student Blog
Rupturing the Narrative: Re-Conceptualizing Communication and Difference in Barbados
What happens when a “minority” passes as a member of the “majority”? What happens when a “majority” group member finds herself standing out as a “minority”? In this summer study abroad program in the Eastern Caribbean nation of Barbados, students re-think, or more accurately, rupture their narratives of race, beauty, intelligence, culture, politics, and power.
By centering the course on Barbadian representations of culture, tourism, and race, students begin to think globally about the ways in which power operates. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which Blackness is scripted and re-scripted in Barbados, a majority-Black country (with approximately 90% of the population having African descent), as opposed to in the United States, a minority-Black country (with approximately 14% of the population having African descent).
Read some of our students’ accounts:
2013 Student Blog
2012 Student Blog
2011 Student Blog
Study Abroad in Brazil
Study Abroad in Brazil focused on student reflection on their own identities by examining aspects of Brazil’s complexities about ethnicity, race, and gender. In this course, students engaged with local students, doing projects with Brazilians rather than on Brazilians, allowing both UW students and Brazilian students opportunities for deeper connections and learning.
The “Sankofa” Experience in Ghana – Exploration of Race & Identity Development in a Cross Cultural Exchange
The concept of Sankofa means “to go back and get it,” to seek an understanding of one’s history both physical and social, then journey forward to one’s present and onward to their individual and collective future. “The Sankofa Experience in Ghana” took students to the Republic of Ghana to learn the history and culture of this diverse African country, while also uncovering the vast trans-Atlantic influence that the United States and Ghana have exerted on one another for over three centuries. The crucial historical context for discussions included understanding Ghana and the United States as two aspects of the African Diaspora, connected historically by migrations – both forced and voluntary – that carried people of African descent across the Atlantic Ocean.
Read some of our students’ accounts:
2012 Student Blog
2011 Student Blog