Barnard’s Faculty-led Programs offer short, focused study abroad experiences built around a single course taught by Barnard faculty. In each program, you travel with a small Barnard cohort, earn academic credit, and connect seminar work to what you see on site through visits, performances, and partnerships with local communities. It is a structured way to study abroad with faculty support while immersing yourself in a specific place, theme, and set of questions.

SUMMER 2027 WEBSITE AND APPLICATION WILL OPEN ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9

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Acting in Paris 
This program immerses students in the contemporary French theater scene while deepening acting technique in an international context. Led by Barnard faculty member Gisela Cardenas tand local practitioners, students rehearse scenes, explore physical and ensemble-based approaches to performance, and attend productions that range from classic reinterpretations to experimental work. Class sessions draw on both English and French source material, inviting students to think about translation, voice, and culture in performance. The program culminates in a final presentation that showcases the skills and perspectives students have developed while living in Paris. 

Golden Age of Versailles in Paris (DATES: JUNE 1 - JULY 3)
 This program examines the art, literature, and politics of seventeenth and eighteenth century France through the lens of Versailles and its court culture with Barnard faculty member Laurie Postlewate, a foremost practitioner. Based in Paris, students read key texts, study visual and performing arts, and visit sites such as the Château de Versailles and other historic residences that shaped ideas of power, spectacle, and privilege. Class meetings and excursions are closely integrated, so students move constantly between seminar discussion and on-site analysis. The course is ideal for students interested in French studies, history, literature, or cultural politics who want to see how ideas from the past still echo in the city today. 

Dance in Paris (DATES: JUNE 1 - JUNE 30)

Led by Barnard faculty member Colleen Thomas-Young in conjunction with USF faculty member Michael Foley, Barnard Dance in Paris is a four-week, studio-centered intensive for serious dancers who want to train and create in one of the most dynamic dance cities in the world. Students take daily technique, composition, and improvisation classes with Barnard faculty and local artists, explore Paris through site-specific movement scores, and attend live performances across the city. The course emphasizes both rigorous physical practice and critical reflection through writing, discussion, and a final showing of original work. It is designed for dancers who want to push their creative practice while building an international artistic network. 

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Sustainable Communities in Ecuador (DATES: MAY 20 - JUNE 11)
Three weeks. Four worlds. One summer you’ll talk about for years. Spend your summer in Ecuador with Barnard faculty member Maria Lozano, studying how Indigenous women organize, lead, and sustain their communities in the face of political, economic, and environmental crises. It’s an intensive, Spanish-language course that takes you from the classroom to the field, with site visits, homestays, and collaborative projects alongside local organizations. And then there’s the Galápagos. You’ll spend five days on the Santa Cruz and Isabela islands that inspired Darwin, a place most people only ever see in documentaries. Along the way, you’ll keep a reflective journal, engage closely with course readings, and complete a final project that connects your fieldwork to broader questions of social justice, gender, and sustainability.

If you have general questions about the application or general procedures, email summersession@barnard.edu.