Face to face learning with Liberal Studies Abroad

At Malaspina University-College, there are many ways to learn and many places that learning can take you.

Since 1997, Malaspina has operated the Liberal Studies Abroad program, an exciting opportunity for on-site study in Europe. The program is open to students from Malaspina, as well as other institutions, and to members of the community at large.

“You can learn so much more than what you read in books,” said Sue Douglas, a retiree who will take her third Liberal Studies Abroad trip this June to Prague. “It was a wonderful experience, like a holiday, but with a focus on learning.”

Douglas, like many of the people who take part in the Liberal Studies Abroad program, is a retiree who wanted to expand her learning in a fun, open environment. While the program is open to students of all ages and members of the community, many retirees take advantage of the program.

“These trips are great for a retired person,” said Douglas. “I don’t think there’s a comparison anywhere when it comes to a combination of fun, learning and affordability.”

The Liberal Studies Abroad program creates an excellent educational opportunity that includes on-site lectures, seminars, guided visits to galleries, art studios, museums, concert halls and other cultural centres at distinctive locations in Europe. Each trip is led by experienced Malaspina University-College faculty and guides from each of the locations visited to provide an in-depth and well-rounded educational experience.  

“I think the main strength of the program is the experiential learning,” said John Black, Coordinator of the Liberal Studies Abroad program. “When you are studying the Renaissance and you’re surrounded by the very buildings where those works of art were created, the books were written and the philosophy developed, it’s very different from looking at a picture in a book. You get face to face contact with living history and have a direct, personal connection with it.”

Black has been with the program since it began in 1997. Since then, there have been 17 study abroad trips, with participants aged 17 – 85, in credit and non-credit programs. While students learn a great deal from the class work, Black says the experience often goes beyond regular course work.

“One of the side effects of this program is what students learn immersing themselves in a totally different culture. While not related to the classes, there is a great potential for personal growth that many participants experience.”

Trips are usually four to five weeks long and often include preparatory classes at Malaspina’s Nanaimo campus. The programs are interdisciplinary in nature, covering the art, architecture, literature, music, science and philosophy of the historical period and place.

“The lectures and tours illuminated the great accomplishments of the cultural Renaissance in Northern Italy,” said Mary Shakespeare, a retiree who traveled to Florence, Italy, in 2005 as part of the program. “I also learned to see the world from a different perspective. My experience with the study abroad program was a journey of discovery for me. Living in and experiencing the setting of the renaissance enriched my knowledge and fuelled my passion for learning.”

For more information on the Liberal Studies Abroad program, please contact John Black at 250-740-6495 or black@viu.ca