Global Willamette

06/12/2026

The first Summer Iceland study abroad program is a success!

The inaugural session of ENVS 282 - Icelandic Environments recently wrapped up! The course led students through an interdisciplinary look at environmental issues in Iceland from natural science, social science, and environmental humanities perspectives with Professors Butterworth, Hulbert, and Meyer. Through their excursions around the country students learned about glaciers, volcanoes, fjords and fisheries, forestry efforts, climate adaptation and resilience, swimming & bathing culture, historical writing, folktales, and even visited a CO2 direct air capture and carbon sequestration site! Here are a few pictures of the group’s travels and “classrooms” as they earned academic credit while having a terrific, field school experience abroad.

We’re so grateful to have had such a wonderful group of students, and can’t wait to return next year. Are you interested in summer 2027? If so, be on the lookout for info sessions this fall! Open to students in Salem and at PNCA.

06/12/2026

Yay Emily.

05/25/2026

Our little OIE garden in Salem is coming right along. Happy Memorial Day.

05/11/2026

It was a glorious day of celebrations. Commencement day is everything you want. Three lovely celebrations in Salem (Atkinson Graduate School of Management, Graduate Law, and the undergraduate program) and one for PNCA, this year at the Portland Art Museum. We in the OIE are so proud of the tenacity and guts demonstrated by our international students and those students who study abroad.

Well done everyone!!

04/28/2026

Summer is nearly here! Let's celebrate the end of the semester at a special
drop-in WU-Hoo Wednesday between 2-5 pm at the OIE. We hope EVERYONE can stop by before the summer arrives.

** EXTRA: If your exchange is ending OR you're walking in Commencement on May 10th (both international students and past study abroad participants!), we also have a little gift to give you. We will have it waiting for you at the OIE on Wednesday afternoon. **

See you tomorrow!

04/16/2026

Congratulations to all of the students who presented today for SSRD. We love seeing all of the research you've been doing and the projects you've completed.

04/09/2026

Good job JSSL and congratulations on a successful Sakura Matsuri!!

04/08/2026

Coming. Going. Gone Abroad. More today from Zelda who is studying in the UK for the full year. As a junior Musical Theatre major and a person who has lived abroad before, Zelda shares some of the extra benefits of her time abroad.

A year is a long time to be away from home, and missing my friends and theater department at Willamette has been hard. But I’ve met the loveliest people here, and they’ve helped me build a home for myself here in York! Being a third-culture kid, I’ve found that transitioning to living to a new place for an extended amount of time will never be easy, but the shift becomes a lot less difficult, which I think comes naturally from our background of growing up in a culture that is different to where we might've been born, and everywhere being "home". The other exchange students here have also been an immense sense of comfort for me, which I believe is mostly because all of us are sharing in this exchange experience, and I feel less isolated as the only exchange student in my course at YSJ.

I also love traveling during my spare time, and I’ve gotten to tour around so many places in the UK like Scotland, the coast, and the Lake District. Solo travel can be scary, but the train system and friendly attitude from others have made my journeys feel safer and easier.

Fun Fact: Seeing being in York, I've seen 9 foxes wandering around, 1 hedgehog, and so many sheep!

Studying here has taught me so much about myself as a person, helped me develop in my course of study, and has given me the chance to make new friends and learn more about the world. I am so excited to come back to Willamette stronger and more capable than before and ready to take on senior year!

Thanks Zelda!!

04/07/2026

Coming. Going. Gone Abroad. Today Zelda, a junior Musical Theatre major studying in the UK shares her thoughts after nearly a year abroad at York St. John University in the UK.

I’ve been abroad for almost a whole school year studying musical theater! It’s been so much fun and I’ve gotten to do more than I ever could’ve imagined. A highlight for me was being part of a workshop and curtain raiser performance for the Shobana Jeyasingh Company as part of my Physical Theater module.

In York I have been given many opportunities to challenge myself as a performer. As part of the curriculum, I am taking modules in dance, acting, and singing, and the consistent practice has helped me develop. I’ve also gotten to do all types of performances both inside and outside of class, like guitar sets, vocal technical performances like opera and acting through song, ballet and musical theater dance, and more.

I've also gotten to do so many other incredible things like going to concerts, getting a tattoo, watching theater in London and local performances, karaoke nights at the Student Union, singing with a choir in the Minster, and meeting up with my Willamette friends in the UK.

YSJ offers so many fantastic societies or clubs that you can join! I joined the Run Society, and it has so wonderfully impacted my study abroad experience. It has given me a community outside of class that I look forward to spending time with and a great outlet for exercise. They have also challenged me, and because of them, I recently ran my first half marathon! I’ve never felt more capable.

Come back tomorrow for more from Zelda!!

04/02/2026

We're very proud of all of the students who have contributed to the work that was done at the Ness along with Prof. Scott Pike!

Willamette students and faculty analyzing data from the Ness of Brodgar site show that working closely across disciplines yield exciting advancements in both fields.