First Year Experience Abroad
The College of Charleston’s First Year Experience Abroad is designed to challenge students to explore a topic through cultural immersion. These academic programs will broaden the student's initial experience in a subject and allow them to explore an area of strong interest early in their college career.
The programs aim to demonstrate the benefits of study abroad experiential learning and encourage students to make plans early to undertake a more extensive study abroad experience later in their college career. FYE Abroad is an optional course experience for students during the spring semester of their first year. These one-credit courses are meant to introduce students to their study abroad options.
First-year students are eligible for these courses regardless of whether they choose to complete their FYE requirement in the fall or spring semester.
Go abroad during your first year!
FYE Abroad students visit Nyhavn Harbour in Copenhagen, Denmark during Spring Break 2024
Watch a short video of FYE Denmark
FYE Abroad 2026 Opportunities
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Happiness & Sustainability in Denmark
FYET 132: Happiness & Sustainability in Denmark
In a major cross-cultural study of happiness, Denmark consistently rates in the top 5 happiest countries in the world. Why are the Danes so happy? How does one’s life satisfaction relate to cultural factors in particular? In 2021 Denmark was ranked as the second-highest nation for sustainability, and Copenhagen in particular has transformed itself in the past 4 decades. We will explore these issues in the city of Copenhagen and on the Danish Island of Bornholm. We will meet weekly in January and February to discuss book chapters and readings. We will learn more about hygge (a Danish sense of coziness/belonging), and the traps of materialism (gaining pleasure from material objects), both in terms of the health of the planet and our personal mental health. There will be two or three short writing assignments.
Program Directors: Lisa Ross and Jen Wright
Learn more about the Denmark first-year experience in the Summer 2024 issue of CofC Magazine!
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Shakespeare in Scotland: Macbeth and History
FYET 139: Shakespeare in Scotland: Macbeth and History
Explore the city of Edinburgh and tour Macbeth country and the Highlands. We will study and compare Shakespeare's imagined Scotland and the historical Scotland of the 11th century ruler known as the Red King. Learn how the play has influenced tourism in Scotland and experience the magic of them both.
Program Directors: Susan Kattwinkel and Alison Smith
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United Kingdom: Soccer Experience
FYET 169: UK Soccer Experience
An examination of the role of football in English society provides unique opportunities to investigate the complexities of contemporary England. The course examines historical and philosophical meanings associated with the sport of football as well as the role of football within English culture, politics, social conflict, and social change. The main goal of the course is to understand the socio-cultural dynamics of the relationship between football and English society. The course is designed around four main tenets: League Structure & Divisions; History & Culture; Geography; Stadiums & Grounds.
Program Directors: Bruce Fleming and Cam Saleeby