Our Crowdfunding Groups
Thank you for supporting Michigan Tech students!
This crowdfunding endeavor will raise money for student study abroad opportunities in arts, humanities, and social sciences at Michigan Tech. Funds raised will be used to lower the cost for all students, regardless of major, so that more students can participate in national and international programs developed and led by Michigan Tech faculty.
Studying abroad provides unique experiences and relevant skill sets for today’s global economy - increasing cultural awareness, creative capacity, and tolerance for ambiguity - real-world, marketable skills for job applicants and engaged citizens. This program makes studying abroad affordable so that financial barriers do not limit Michigan Tech students from valuable educational experiences.
Your gift will support students across these programs:
Imagination. Creativity. Local and world histories. Art. Theatre. Music. Design. Vienna-Prague-Dresden is an immersive arts-based experience. The focus of this trip is The Prague Quadrennial ("PQ23") - one of the largest international festivals of theatre, design, and architecture in the world. This year's PQ calls on people to re-envision what life and creativity look like in a post-pandemic world. During the trip, students will explore world heritage sites, study works of art in museums and galleries, attend performances, and reflect on local/global history, culture, and connection. The trip is open to all majors and is designed for students whose interests benefit from creativity and new perspectives - in other words, everyone.
We will begin our study abroad in Sächsische Schweiz National Park. From our hotel in Kurort Rathen, students will hike portions of the Malerweg through unique sandstone landforms, visit Festung Königstein, the DDR Museum, and the Sonnenstein T4 Memorial in Pirna, explore historical sites in Dresden, and independently explore nearby areas.
Our second home base will be Leipzig. From here, we will do day excursions to Weimar and Berlin. Students will visit transportation and pharmacy museums, the birthplace of Bauhaus, learn about the freedom movement in the former DDR, visit Auerbachs Keller, and work on their independent projects.
Students will examine the influence of central European history on modern-day German society and the broader world. As students traverse landscapes and cityscapes, they will grow in their awareness of the layers of history over time and place and reimagine how we live in the world and how we address challenges.
Amtrak Tourism is a 20-day program across the western US aboard Amtrak. Stopping in six locations, Red Wing, MN, Glacier National Park, Portland, OR, Sacramento, CA, Glenwood Springs, CO, and Galesburg, IL, students practice sustainable tourism by traveling solely via public transit, staying in and eating at locally-owned establishments, and learning about and respecting local cultures.
All students take Reading the Landscape, which provides them with tools to better understand the unique spaces and places they visit and the ongoing political, economic, cultural, and environmental transformations. Students choose other courses to sharpen their skills in the areas of tourism planning or civic communications. In each location, we visit with city councils, tourism bureaus, local colleges, and business owners while also experiencing the unique cultures of each place, from the Dakota Nation in Red Wing to the farm-to-fork folks in Sacramento. Students return to Houghton and organize and host a sustainable tourism event for the Keweenaw Peninsula as their final project.
The Crossing Borders study abroad program explores the history and archaeology of Cumbria, an ancient region encompassing parts of Northwestern England and neighboring Scotland. Today, a primarily rural region featuring the world-famous Lake District National Park, Cumbria was once a key political and economic hub with a history of occupation stretching back many millennia. In the 19th century, Cumbria became famous as the creative inspiration for poets such as William Wordsworth, but also a cradle of England's nascent Industrial Revolution.
Crossing Borders is a four-week program based in the city of Carlisle. From our base, we explore the region through day trips to sites including Hadrian's Wall, Wordsworth's cottage, and a series of medieval castles and museums. One week will be devoted to travel further afield, taking in the medieval towns of Durham and York, nearby abbeys and castles, and the Scottish city of Edinburgh.
Participants will take two courses during the program: a Cultural Immersion course within which we explore the contemporary culture of the UK, our host nation; and a Topics in Archaeology course focused on the archaeology of Cumbria and Northwestern England, placing our cultural experience in a rich historical/archaeological context.
All donors will receive a personal thank you email from a student while they are traveling, and a social media shout-out from the program group while the students are on their trip.
Donors with a gift of $50 or more will receive a handwritten thank-you postcard from a student during their travels.
Donors who gift $200 or more will receive a thank-you poster with travel photos from the program of their choice, signed by students.
Donors giving $500 or more will receive a canvas tote featuring artwork by a Michigan Tech Visual & Performing Arts student.
