Students study abroad for many different reasons. For those who are passionate about social justice, Augsburg’s Center for Global Education and Experience (CGEE) has long offered unparalleled engagement with local communities in Mexico, Central America, and Southern Africa.
Now that portfolio includes a fourth global site in Northern Ireland.
In Spring 2023, CGEE will welcome its first cohort of students to a new semester program in the vibrant city of Derry–Londonderry. Based at Ulster University, the Conflict, Peace, and Transition program will critically examine the work of justice, reconciliation, and repair in relation to the history and legacy of the Troubles.
“This program will give students a unique opportunity to wrestle with the question of building a shared future from a divided past and to witness the hard work of reconciliation after conflict,” said Patrick Mulvihill, assistant provost for global education. Coursework will focus on understanding the politics of the Northern Ireland conflict and the transition to a sustainable democracy. Students will also participate in internships at local peacebuilding organizations and engage in field visits to Belfast, the Antrim Coast, and the border counties of Fermanagh, Tyrone, and Armagh.
Augsburg CGEE programs are open to students from any undergraduate institution. Prior to its transition to CGEE, the Conflict, Peace, and Transition in Northern Ireland program—formerly known as Democracy and Social Change in Northern Ireland–was delivered through the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA), with the first group of students participating in 2002.
“After the disruptions to study abroad over the past two years, we’re thrilled to be in a position now to expand our offerings,” said Mulvihill. “We’re particularly grateful to our program partners in Northern Ireland, whose commitment to experiential learning reinforces everything we’re about here at Augsburg.”
To learn more, request information, or apply for the spring semester, visit go.augsburg.edu/northernireland.
Erica Lippitt ’13, international business major, returns to our CGE Mexico campus for the second time to study abroad.
During the winter break, several students and faculty were busy learning abroad on short-term faculty-led programs through Augsburg Abroad and the Center for Global Education.
Katelyn Danelski ’12 [right] spent the fall semester studying at the Center for Global Education center in Windhoek, Namibia. The following is her reflection on the experience, written after her return to Minnesota.
In the months preceding my anxiously awaited departure to Bad Mergentheim, Germany I made a few personal preparations. About three months prior to leaving, I began learning the German language and reading all the books I could find on German history and tourist highlights that I wanted to be sure not to miss. Regardless, no amount of studying or research could have prepared me for the shock of landing in Frankfurt among a crowd of German speaking Deutschlanders. Soon after arriving, I took my first ride on the Bahn and made it to the scenic little town of Bad Mergentheim, in which I have spent the last two months studying. 
It’s not too late to study abroad next fall! Augsburg Abroad is accepting applications for Center for Global Education summer and fall study abroad programs in Central America, Mexico, Namibia until April 1. Augsburg Abroad is also accepting applications for summer and fall International/Exchange Partners Programs in Norway, Germany, Finland, Slovenia, and China. Please note that the deadline for programs other than those coordinated by CGE and IP has passed.
In her three years as an Auggie, Annika Gunderson ’11 has almost spent more time away from Augsburg than on campus. This international relations and Spanish major from Winona, Minn. has studied abroad three times, spending five weeks in Cuernavaca, Mexico, a semester in Central America, and another semester in Brazil.
Until a few weeks ago, Grant Rostad had never traveled outside North America and had never lived more than lived 20 miles from his parents’ home. Now the Augsburg senior is “across the pond” doing an internship with Ernst & Young in London.