While studying abroad can involve long flights overseas, Domestic Field Study programs allow UGA students to “Study Away in the USA.” There are currently over 40 active programs, from as far away as New York City, Los Angeles, and Hawaii, to options closer to home in Atlanta or the Georgia coast, that allow students to study off campus to explore their interests.
Programs encompass a wide range of courses and subjects, including accounting, entrepreneurship, communications, journalism, ecology, geography, art, music, law, and more. The courses are offered throughout the year with many options during May semester and summer sessions. These compact trips during the summer are often more affordable and accessible to students.
UGA is actively working to increase the number of Field Study programs.
New and improved programs
Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications’ newest Domestic Field Study Program, “Travel Writing in Hawaii,” will launch for our May Session in 2024. This program will be taught by Journalism Department Head Jonathan Peters and will bring students to Waikiki south of Honolulu to meet with local journalists, government officials and residents to sharpen their skills in interviewing, observing and writing while learning about a new culture.
The College of Veterinary Medicine will also be offering its new program, “Vector Ecology Field Program,” in the 2024 May Session. Assistant professors Christopher Cleveland and Dan Peach are co-directing this program and will travel with students throughout South Carolina and Georgia to explore topics in entomology and infectious diseases.
The program “Jazz and Musical Theater in New York City” will be making a post-pandemic return. Senior Lecturer Dave D’Angelo and co-director Lecturer Michael Hadary with the Hugh Hodgson School of Music have reinvigorated and reimagined the program. Students will attend jazz concerts and Broadway shows and have the opportunity to meet with musicians and conductors to learn about producing high-quality shows.
A recent addition that launched for the 2023 May Session is “GLOBIS: Politics of the National Parks” led by Associate Professor Teena Wilhelm with the School of Public and International Affairs. Students spend three weeks traveling throughout the western U.S. visiting national parks in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. Students meet with policymakers and National Park Service personnel.
Leadership
Leading this expansion is Kait Farrell, who became the director of Domestic Field Study in fall 2022 after the program moved from the Office of Global Engagement to the Office of Instruction. In her role, Farrell works to increase Domestic Field Study’s visibility across campus, develop new programs and support the ongoing success of its existing programs.
“I am passionate about field studies because of how transformative they are for both students and faculty,” Farrell said. “As the Director, I am excited about leveraging my experiences to help our new and existing programs thrive.”
New Fellows Program
This past year welcomed a cohort of 11 inaugural Domestic Field Study Fellows, who are working to finalize their plans to launch their new field study programs in 2024 or beyond. The Fellows met in June for an intensive, three-week training workshop to learn best practices for creating and running these programs. They worked on outlining the course curriculum to anchor their program, learned about planning a budget and organizing travel expenses, and explored active learning strategies and service-learning opportunities to enhance student engagement. The workshop series was also an opportunity for the fellows to establish a support network as they continued to develop their programs asynchronously.
The fellows are working on proposals to launch in 2024, including “Dance in New York City” through the Franklin College of Arts and Science’s Department of Dance, “Writing and Community at the Georgia Coast” through the Franklin College’s Department of English, and “Business Sustainability Reporting” through Terry College of Business’s School of Accounting.
In addition, a workshop series is being developed to support existing programs and faculty interested in directing a new Domestic Field Study program.
As Domestic Field Study grows, a priority is to also support programs in the locations where UGA already has a strong presence, including Washington D.C., L.A., Chicago, and New York City.