Learning Beyond the Classroom: Global Learning at Oxford College of Emory University

These semester-long courses meet regularly and include a faculty-led travel component designed to enrich and apply classroom learning. By connecting academic study with experiences in the field, students can explore course concepts in real-world contexts while developing critical thinking skills, global perspectives, and a deeper understanding of the communities and environments they study. 

At the heart of each Global Learning experience is the course itself. This year’s offerings invite students to engage with a range of academic questions and perspectives, from African politics and the cultural, religious, and social dynamics of Ghana to socio-ecological relationships, sustainability, food systems, and identity in Brazil. In Political Science 385: African Politics: From Colonialism to Optimism in Ghana, for example, students examine themes related to African politics and how it reflects, or exemplifies, the politics of many African nations. Another course, People and Nature in Brazil, explores humanity’s relationship with living systems that sustain life, including sustainability, food systems, and the ways identity is shaped by shared environments.

Two additional courses extend global learning through the history of science and ancient philosophy. In the course, The Scientific Article Since 1665, students trace the evolution of the scientific research article and consider what its history reveals about science’s present and future. The May 9-12, 2027, trip to England and France will include visits to key sites in the history of scientific communication, such as the Royal Society and Versailles Palace. Another course, The Romans: Duty to Humanity, explores how duty to humanity developed in response to trauma. After studying ancient Roman literature, students will consider the relevance of the ideas today by interviewing health care professionals in Georgia and Italy during the May 10-21, 2027, trip.

For Melissa Hage, Associate Teaching Professor and Director of Global Learning, the impact of these experiences begins with how students learn. “The most meaningful aspect of Global Learning is not where students travel, but how they learn,” she says. By connecting academic concepts with lived experiences, Global Learning courses deepen students’ understanding of course material while fostering critical thinking, global perspectives, and a sense of responsibility to communities beyond their own. The travel component enriches that learning, but the course itself transforms the experience into something that stays with students long after they return to campus.

Applications for the 2027 Global Learning courses are September 30-October 19, 2026, with financial aid available for eligible students.