Our Global Initiatives curriculum is devised — and continually reviewed and revised — to ensure our students are getting the most out of their travel experiences, whether it is a week-long tour of Civil War battlefields or year-long course of study in Madrid.
Experiential Learning
Our fall, spring and summer breaks provide myriad opportunities to take our education on the road, redefining the term “field trip.” Week-long trips, led by Exeter faculty, offer programming a variety subjects and interests:
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Visit Ellis Island and discover how immigration has shaped the city of New York and its collective culture. Study blues and jazz in New Orleans, while also delving into the genres’ complicated past rooted in slavery and segregation. Head to Philadelphia and investigate the history and economics of private prisons. Our Harkness pedagogy is grounded in the belief that we are better equipped to learn and to lead when our thoughts are tested by others, particularly by those whose thoughts or identities are different from our own.
History, Literature and the Arts
Study Shakespeare, dig into classical archeology or tour with the music department on a cultural exchange and performance program. The Classical Languages Department partners with The Gabii Project to spend part of summer on a dig in Central Italy. Our History Department makes regular trips to Alabama to be near the origins of the Civil Rights movement. And 2024, our jazz ensemble toured and performed in the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans.
Environment and Sustainability
Exeter students might venture to Yellowstone National Park to study wolf reintroduction and the effects of climate change; or travel to Costa Rica contribute to pollinator research in the mountains Puntarenas province. Our programs provide students with opportunities to explore environmental issues and develop a sense of connection with and stewardship for the natural world.
Business and Entrepreneurship
Using startup-friendly Berlin, Germany, as their classroom, students learn to leverage their business skills to create sustainable solutions to community challenges. Closer to home, students spend Thanksgiving break in Boston exploring the intersection of ethics and engineering. Other opportunities include a summer of study at Penn’s Wharton School and attending the annual Future Business Leaders of America conference (upcoming destinations include Anaheim, San Antonio and Salt Lake City).
Community Engagement
Spend a school break putting our non sibi values into action in communities beyond Exeter. Our students venture to New Orleans annually to help rebuild communities, including repairing homes, planting gardens, restoring community parks and contributing to other neighborhood revitalization projects.
