The Luther College Center for Global Learning (CGL) recently announced the January Term (J-Term) study away courses for 2026. They are planning to offer 17 courses in total — 15 international and 2 domestic. A variety of subjects will be offered, ranging from Biology to Music to foreign languages, as well as offering six different Paideia 450 courses.
All J-Term study abroad courses are available to view on the CGL website. Luther students and faculty have the opportunity to visit a wide variety of regions, and each course has a unique focus. These regions include Sub-Saharan Africa, South and East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Oceania, and the United States. Each course provides 4 credits to students who participate.
Luther students have much to say about the prospect of studying abroad. First-year student Eva Hemenway (‘28) sees the wide variety of study abroad courses offered to be a strength of Luther College, and she is interested in studying abroad next J-Term.
“Studying abroad is an amazingly unique experience that Luther offers because the college cares so much about educating and creating well-traveled graduates,” Hemenway said.
One of the courses offered in Europe next January is “In Frankenstein’s Footsteps: The Keats-Shelley Circle in London, Geneva, and Italy,” led by Professor of English Amy Weldon. The course, first constructed in 2010, follows the path of Mary Shelley as she wrote the acclaimed novel “Frankenstein” through London, Geneva, Venice, Florence and Rome.
In the course’s informational session guide, Weldon notes this course provides “rich connections to history, art, ecology, politics, language, two world wars, theatre, science, religion, classics, architecture, food and medicine.”
As exemplified by Weldon’s favorite quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes – that “man’s mind, once stretched, never returns to its original dimensions” – she believes that the value of these study abroad programs lies in their potential for students to grow and expand their worldviews.
“Studying abroad means pushing out the boundaries of your world,” Weldon said. “Once you’ve experienced the world beyond what you’ve become used to, your life is different.”
Weldon also stressed how these study away opportunities highlight how people across the world are not that different.
“Human beings love and care about and work for and worry about the same things everywhere you go — the world is big but it’s also small, and we all share it,” Weldon said.
Outside of J-Term classes, the CGL also hosts semester and year-long study away opportunities. First-year student and Art major Brynn Larson (‘28) is excited to learn more about these study away opportunities.
“Studying abroad would be an opportunity to explore my interests in education and traveling,” Larson said. “I want to be able to experience an extended amount of time in a new place and learn more about the world.”
Studying away is an opportunity provided to all Luther students, and the costs of these opportunities vary both by course and by year. The price range of the 2026 J-Term study away courses are available on the CGL’s website. First-round priority applications for these courses open on April 1, 2025 at 8:00 AM, and close April 25, 2025. Second-round applications for remaining openings will open on August 18, 2025, and close on September 14, 2025. According to the website, students must have a 2.0+ GPA in order to apply. See the CGL website for more information on the application process, deadlines and instructions for applying.
