This program will run during Summer A from May 27- June 9, 2026. 

Below is the proposed itinerary for 2026. Please note that this itinerary is subject to change and a final program itinerary will be provided to participants before our departure at the pre-trip meetings.

Day 1 (May 27, 2026): Travel to London. The group will take a bus from Nazareth to Toronto and travel to London on an overnight flight direct from Toronto. 

Day 2 (May 28, 2026): Arrive in London. Check into your hotel. Brunch at a local restaurant of choice. Visit the British Museum, exploring cultures, art, and history from all over the world. Afterwards, continue site seeing in Central London, possibly to he historic castle of the Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, located on the beautiful River Thames.

Day 3 (May 29, 2026): Students will visit the famous Tower of London and the London Museum Docklands. 

Day 4 (May 30, 2026): Visit the Imperial War Museum, one of the world's most well known museum of war and conflict. We will spend time in the Holocaust Exhibit. 

Day 5 (May 31, 2026): Free Day to explore on your own. 

Day 6 (June 1, 2026): Travel to Oxford. Visit the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Architecture, where we will have the opportunity to meet with leading art historian and teaching curator Jim Harris. Visit the Pitt Rivers, a delightful Natural History Museum. Dinner will be at The White Rabbit, a delicious pub in the center of Oxford. 

Day 7 (June 2, 2026): The morning will be free for students to enjoy some different options before departing by train to Glasgow, Scotland in the afternoon. 

Day 8 (June 3, 2026): Visit the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Enjoy curator Nelson Cummins speak of how history of slavery and British colonialism has affected and still affects the city and people of Glasgow today, Visit The Hunterian, a museum that displays thousands of anatomical specimens. Its located in the building of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. 

Day 9 (June 4, 2026): Take the ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Visit the Peace Walls, a series of more than 100 separation barriers that were originally built in 1969 to show division amongst the Catholic nationalist and Protestant loyalist communities. 

Day 10 (June 5, 2026): Visit the Ulster Museum, home of art, artifacts and specimans from the natural world. Visit with National Museum of Northern Ireland. There will be a guided walking tour of The Troubles, where you will hear about events that started during the late 1960's, that then turned into conflict and strife for many years after. 

Day 11-12 (June 6-7, 2026): Off to Dublin for the next couple of days to see the Epic, an Irish Emigration museum and the Little Museum, a unique and friendly introduction to the people of Ireland. You will have some free time to explore the bustling city of Dublin.

Day 13:(June 8, 2026) Tour the National Museum of Ireland and have time for last minute shopping for some souvenirs and mementos.

Day 13: (June 9, 2026) Travel day back to Toronto on direct flight from Dublin. Bus from Toronto back to Nazareth.

PHIS 365 - 3 credit hybrid course

The 21st Century Museum: Diversity, Equity, and Community. This course provides students with an advanced experiential survey of contemporary issues in museology by studying museums in the United Kingdom, the site of some of the oldest and newest museums in the world. Students will travel to London and then to Oxford, Liverpool, Glasgow, Dublin, and Belfast, where they will conduct grounded research and reflect on the changing mission of museums. Early museums focused on collecting objects, but contemporary museums engage audiences through an emotional experience while serving as sites of community change.  The twenty-first-century museum has embraced diversity, begun decolonizing the collections and exhibits, and built more inclusive displays by working with local and marginalized communities to share authority to do the work of social justice.

May: Summer A course begins - access set of readings and videos via Moodle on the 21st Century Museum

June: Complete two formal papers

Course assignments: Student learning will be assessed by the following:

• Posts to a Moodle Forum during the trip;
• Blog posts about the trip on social media; and,
• Two formal written assignments
• Formal paper #1: Reflection/assessment of the trip and learning experiences. 
• Formal paper #2: Review of the mission, community outreach, diversity initiatives, and inclusiveness of exhibits in English museums (7-10 pages). 

Program Fee: $3,750 before funding

Funding Sources:

For SPARK eligible students, you will receive the $1,500 SPARK Grant from the Center for Life's Work. SPARK students will also receive a three credit tuition offset which covers summer tuition for this course. Students will still need to pay the $30 course registration fee. Your final out-of-pocket cost will be $2,250 + the $30 course registration fee. 

For non-SPARK eligible undergraduate students, you will receive $400 in funding from the Center for International Education. You will also receive a two credit offset which covers a majority of the summer tuition for this course. Your final out-of-pocket cost will be $3,350 + the cost of one summer credit and the $30 course registration fee.

Program Fee Includes:

• Round trip airfare
• All hotels and accommodation
• Meals part of the itinerary
• All in-country transportation, including ferries
• All projects, activities, workshops, museum entries, etc. part of the itinerary
• Ground transportation to and from airports (if necessary) 
• International travel and medical insurance

Not Included:

• Passport (must be valid at least 6 months past the return date of the program). Contact Josh Fess as soon as possible for assistance with applying for or renewing your passport.
  
• Additional meals (meals not in the itinerary)
• Miscellaneous expenses (such as souvenirs, personal care items, etc.)

Visit the following sites to see the recommended immunizations and medications for your program. Talk with your family and your physician to understand which ones you may need to travel. 

CDC 

Passport Health

U.S. State Department