miami ohio honors college essay

Honors Abroad

The Honors College supports international education as a vital way for students to develop global knowledge, social responsibility, and 21st century career readiness as part of our Honors College Citizen Scholar model. Wherever our students study abroad, the Honors Colleges aims to facilitate active engagement in honors education.

An Unparalleled and Enriching Opportunity

While Honors students can participate in any Miami University study abroad opportunity, the Honors College offers exclusive programs only for Honors students. Honors Abroad opportunities are primarily based in two European locations: the Miami University John E. Dolibois European Center (MUDEC) in Differdange, Luxembourg and our new Honors College study abroad hub in London, England.

The Honors College offers a signature Honors Abroad study abroad workshop: Leadership, Responsibility, and Service in the Azores, which takes first-year students abroad before the start of their first semester at Miami. Explore the world and your passions with Honors Abroad!

Leadership, Responsibility, and Service in the Azores: A Pre-Fall Semester Program

First-year students can experience the Honors College's signature study abroad program!

In August 2024, the Honors College is offering a brand-new study abroad program in the Azores open exclusively for incoming first-year Honors students. This program is ideal for students with an interest in positively impacting a local community, creating environmental change globally, and learning leadership skills. Program participants will enjoy once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to swim with dolphins in their natural habitat, cook food in active volcanoes, and hike through lush tropical rain forests. Leadership, Responsibility, and Service in the Azores will set the foundation for an incredible four years of Honors education at Miami University.

Leadership, Responsibility, and Service in the Azores is designed for incoming first-year students who want to connect with other Honors students, study abroad before fall classes begin, serve a local community abroad, learn about different ways of living and being, and more!

This 10-day study abroad program in the Azores is connected to a fall semester honors course. Upon returning to campus from the Azores, students will complete a two-credit honors course that bridges learning from the Azores and continues introducing students to research and the Honors College curriculum. This course culminates in a research proposal designed around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and aligned with each students’ area of interest. 

The Honors College is partnering with Stone and Compass, a 501(c)(3) study abroad nonprofit organization and global partner, whose mission is to “help build a vibrant future full of hope, financial security, peace, and happiness,” for this this unique pre-semester program to support the program’s education objectives. 

The Honors College is committed to exploring new and ground-breaking opportunities for its students, and this pre-semester study abroad program is the first-of-its-kind for Miami University.

See the "Azores FAQ" section below for more details.

Where is the Azores?

Who is eligible for this program?

Only incoming first-year Honors College students who will start at Miami University in Fall 2024 are eligible for this program. Students must be accepted into the Honors College and need to confirm their enrollment at Miami University in spring 2024 before applying to this study abroad program. When students confirm their enrollment at Miami University, this confirms their enrollment in the Honors College. 

How does a pre-semester program work? Will I move in early?

This program begins on Sunday, August 11, 2024 and ends on Thursday, August 22, 2024. 

All accepted students in the program will move into their Miami University residence hall before the trip departure date. All program participants will have early access to their Honors Residential College room, and will move in on Sunday, August 11. The program participants will meet together for the first time in-person that evening. 

Monday, August 12, 2024 will be spent together in Oxford, Ohio. This is a required day of pre-departure orientation activities, goal setting, and group building activities. 

Tuesday, August 13, 2024 is travel day. The program will travel together to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and fly to São Miguel Island. 

Wednesday, August 14 - Wednesday, August 21, 2024 will be spent in the Azores.

Thursday, August 22, 2024 is departure day from the Azores and the beginning of Miami University's standard move-in process. We will travel as a group back to Oxford and program participants will be home to their new on-campus beds with the rest of the Class of 2027 on August 22. Due to the time change flying west over the Atlantic, we will depart from São Miguel Island and arrive back in Oxford on the same day.

How will this program connect to my Honors College requirements?

All first-year Honors students are required to take an honors course each semester of their first year. This 10-day study abroad program in the Azores is connected to fall semester honors course that will serve as that required first-year honors course. Upon returning to campus from the Azores, students will complete a two-credit honors course that will bridge learning experiences from the Azores to related course content, and continue to introduce students to research and the Honors College curriculum. The course culminates in a research proposal designed around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and aligned with each students’ area of interest.

The mission of the Miami University Honors College is to produce citizen scholars: students who emerge from their honors education equipped not only with a lifelong love of learning, but also a lifelong commitment to use their talents, interests, and ambitions to advance the common good. This Azores pre-semester study abroad program is intended to set the foundation for this group of students to become citizen scholars and start on a path towards the best version of their futures. Leadership, Responsibility, and Service in the Azores  and its corresponding fall honors course provides the perfect incubator for teaching the Honors College values of creative scholarship, leadership, service, reflective learning, and building a community of learners, while also  supporting first-year Honors students as they transition into life at Miami.

The Honors College selected Stone & Compass as our study abroad provider for this program, in part because they use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in their work with local communities which allows for students to engage deeply and intentionally throughout every part of their study abroad program.  The Azores was selected as the study abroad location to allow for real-world exploration of sustainable practices.  Engaging with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and current sustainable practices allows our students to jumpstart their journey in developing as citizen scholars.

Apply to Leadership, Responsibility, and Service in the Azores!  

What type of activities will students do while in the Azores?

Cultural immersion experiences include horseback riding, swimming with dolphins, and service-learning on a rural farm. Students should be prepared for light-to-moderate physical activity, with plenty of breaks, nourishment, and rest throughout the 10-day trip. The Azores were selected as the travel destination because, while in-country, the program will focus on leadership development, team building, cross-cultural communication, and building a stronger global perspective, all through the lens of sustainability.

What is the application timeline for this program?

The program application is now open for admitted incoming first-year Honors College students.

Priority applications are due by March 31, 2024. Honors students must confirm their enrollment at Miami University before applying to the program. Completed applications include:

• General application, submitted via online application portal.
• Supplemental essay; to be reviewed by Honors College staff.

Applications submitted by March 31 will be reviewed during the week of April 1-5. Decisions will be communicated to all applicants before April 9.

The application will remain open through Sunday, April 21st and applications will be reviewed as space allows. Your deposit deadline will be communicated to you when you are admitted to the program. Admission into the program does not secure a spot in the program. Deposits are required to secure placement in the program. If a deposit is not submitted by the stated deadline, the spot will be offered to a student on the waitlist.  The full program fee (Program Fee less your Deposit) is due from all program participants by Friday, May 3, 2024. 

What is the cost of this program?

The total anticipated cost of the program is $3,890. This is broken into an all-inclusive program fee of $3,590 which you will pay directly to Miami and approximately $300 in personal expenses, which includes GeoBlue health insurance, out-of-pocket expenses, such as meals and snacks, and any incidentals associated with your travel.

The $3,590 program fee is all-inclusive, meaning this includes your round-trip flight to and from the Azores from Cincinnati, OH, lodging, and all meals while abroad.   On the  Azores program application  on Miami's Education Abroad website, you can review a breakdown all of the costs associated with this program under the "Costs/Scholarships" tab.

A $1,250 program fee deposit is required to secure your place in the program. This program fee deposit contributes towards your overall $3,590 program fee balance. The program fee deposit is non-refundable after it is paid. 

Study, Engage, and Travel in the Heart of Europe

Honors exclusive programs in luxembourg.

The Honors College offers honors-exclusive study-abroad programs each winter and summer term to provide students with a unique and rewarding opportunity to study alongside other Honors students. Students complete an honors course at the Miami University Dolibois European Center, the Miami campus in Luxembourg, and participate in a study-tour travel component to another country. All Honors Abroad programs offered in Luxembourg are designed by top Miami faculty exclusively for the Honors College. The specific study-abroad programs vary year to year to provide diverse options for Honors students. Additionally, each study-abroad trip is two Honors experiences built into one study-abroad program. See below for upcoming programs!

Enhance a Semester Abroad in Luxembourg with Honors

Honors College students studying abroad at the Miami campus in Luxembourg during the fall or spring semester can enhance their study abroad experience by engaging in advanced course material offered exclusively to Honors students. The Honors College has worked with the Miami faculty in Luxembourg to offer honors level coursework for students who wish to continue their honors education while studying abroad.

Upcoming Honors Exclusive Programs

Winter 2024: MUDEC Honors - Servant Leadership in a Crisis: Humanitarian Aid in Luxembourg and Switzerland

Students will examine humanitarian organizations, with special attention given to the role and impact of healthcare workers. This program will provide opportunities for students to evaluate past challenges and successes in humanitarian aid, explore the impact on health and well-being of populations displaced by humanitarian aid crises resulting from environmental, social, or political-economic processes, and analyze future trends in humanitarian aid considering current global power relations and international systems. Students will visit local and international headquarters in Luxembourg and Geneva, Switzerland. The target audience includes students in the Honors College interested in global response and humanitarian aid, healthcare, sustainability and climate change, and transnational systems operations.

Winter 2025: Honors in London - Sport, Management, and Culture in the Global Marketplace

Previous honors exclusive programs.

Winter 2022: Two Millennia of Globalization

Students investigated the causes and consequences of globalization over the very long-term, primarily through the lens of the European experience: starting with Rome, through the First Age of Globalization, and ending with the European Union. Students visited locations in Luxembourg, Belgium, and Germany to explore how democracies handle the politics of globalization. Students also traveled in small groups for an independent research assignment to France or Germany.

Summer 2022: Media & Identity in Europe

This program explored the historic ways media depicted minorities in Europe, how those depictions have helped perpetuate stereotype and misunderstanding, and also examined the ways media producers attempt to reshape hegemonic understandings of European identity. This program visited Berlin for a week to connect with European journalists to better understand this topic.

Summer 2022: The Dutch Golden Age - How One Century Birthed Modern Capitalism

This program investigated the political conditions and institutions needed for economic development through the lens of the Dutch Republic during its Golden Age that roughly coincided with the 17th century. The class culminated in a trip to the Netherlands.

Winter 2023: Borders and Bridges - An Honors Exploration of the New Europe

Honors students examined the many national and cultural borders that have blurred in Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the signing of the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht. Students explored their own historical question around identity and the real and metaphorical borders and bridges that shape our own individual self-understandings. The program allowed students to cross back and forth along the borders between Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Honors College

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