Study in the States
A unique program in the Lee Honors College
Study in the States offers experience driven learning opportunities that take place outside the classroom. Except for the cost of tuition, expenses will be paid by the honors college. All trip descriptions, including dates, are included below. Follow us online using #LHCSIS!
Applications are due by Oct. 15, 2025 at 5 p.m.
Selected students will be notified by Dec. 5, 2025. All courses will have an in-person meeting component in addition to the travel dates.
2026 Study in the States course offerings:
Spring:
HNRS 4301: Classified: Exploring the Life and Legacy of Merze Tate
Dates: March 7 - 14, 2026
This course satisfies WMU Essential Studies Level 3: Connections - Local and National Perspectives Category.
This course also meets the Diversity and Inclusion student learning outcome.
Delve into the captivating life of Dr. Merze Tate as we uncover her life through an F.B.I. file and the archives across the country that hold a wealth of information about her life. Our search through her records and paper trails from WMU to Washington, D.C., will allow students to follow her journey from a pioneer girl in Blanchard, Michigan, to the archives of Washington D.C., Oxford University, and beyond, to uncover her life as a prolific educator, world traveler, author, inventor, U.S. State Department cinematographer, and more! Contact Anthony Helms, Assistant Dean, Lee Honors College, with questions.
HNRS 4302: Desert Southwest
Dates: March 7 - 14, 2026
This course satisfies WMU Essential Studies Level 3: Connections - Local and National Perspectives Category.
This course also meets the Planetary Sustainability student learning outcome.
This course is an investigation of the desert southwest and an exploration of culture, archaeology, and ecology. Punctuated by therapeutic soaks in hot springs, we visit the major sites of the Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi), including Chaco Canyon, Canyon De Chelly, and Mesa Verde. We will study petroglyphs and pictographs, ride horses and hike to remote sites, and frequent remarkable desert mesas and vistas. We will learn through active engagement in an experiential, open-road, instructional pedagogy. Contact Dr. Jeffrey Jones, Teaching, Learning and Educational Studies, with questions.
HNRS 4301: Idlewild: A Jim Crow-era Resort Community and Its Revitalization
Dates: May 3 - 10, 2026
This course satisfies WMU Essential Studies Level 3: Connections - Local and National Perspectives Category.
This course also meets the Diversity and Inclusion student learning outcome.
This course discusses and explores the Jim Crow-era resort community, Idlewild, Michigan, located 1.5 hours north of Kalamazoo. From the 1920s to the1960s, the resort was pivotal to the African American cultural and leisure experience. This experiential learning course will examine the effects of capitalism, segregation, desegregation, community abandonment, and revitalization. With the guidance and supervision of Dr. Luchara Wallace, students will have the opportunity to create and design projects that will enhance the livelihood and well-being of a community that is looking for ways to attract visitors to their town, while at the same time improving basic services for their residents. Contact Dr. Wallace, Merze Tate College Dean, with questions.
HNRS 4302: Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice in Puerto Rico
Dates: May 3 - 10, 2026
This course satisfies WMU Essential Studies Level 3: Connections - Local and National Perspectives Category.
This course also meets the Planetary Sustainability student learning outcome.
This course offers combines a unique opportunity for experiential learning focused on cultural diversity and the impacts of coloniality on social, economic, and environmental justice in Puerto Rico with Photovoice research. We will build upon the decade of success of Dr. Dee Sherwood’s SWRK 4650 travel courses on the Island. Specifically, students will critically reflect on the history, diaspora, cultures, and resilience of communities in Puerto Rico, 2) engage in training, implementation, and dissemination as co-researchers in an creative, participatory action research process called Photovoice that enables students to capture the impact of their experience and communicate it through photos and discussions; 3) make connections between the current social and environmental justice issues in Puerto Rico, the enduring impacts of coloniality, and the strengths and agency of communities. Contact Dr. Dee Sherwood, School of Social Work, with questions.
Summer II:
HNRS 4303: Walt’s Pilgrimage: A Journey in the Life of Walt Disney
Dates: July 23 - 31, 2026
This course satisfies WMU Essential Studies Level 3: Connections - Local and National Perspectives Category.
Travel with honors college and WMU alumnus Dr. Christopher Tremblay to explore the legacy of Walt Disney, beginning in Chicago at Disney’s birthplace and ending in California at his gravesite, taking us cross-country to all of the significant places in Walt’s life. This unique, biographical course will take you from the birth to the death of the famous Walt Disney. This experience is a historical journey about the 60-year life of an individual who left his mark on America in so many ways. Existing museums and buildings bearing Walt’s name will be a part of this one-of-a-kind, nationwide tour. Over the course of our travel, nearly 40 destinations with a connection to Walt will be visited, in chronological order. We will interact with many Disney historians along the way. This course offers an exclusive perspective on Disney, beyond what probably most of us know from our own personal, prior experiences related to him and his Kingdom. Get ready to step inside the wonderful world of Disney! 3 credit hours. Contact Dr. Tremblay, honors college alumnus, with any questions.
