Global Experience

May Experience

Art students can take advantage of study away programs during Furman University’s shorter MayX summer term. Our MayX opportunities offer students a chance to study art firsthand, traveling to see major collections beyond the Southeast.  One opportunity to note is the Art and the Science of Observation, which brings both majors and non-majors to New York City to practice visual literary, learning to look more deeply and accurately into works of art. Based on medical school programs, and with no art prerequisites required, students from across campus join together to enhance analysis and communication skills while spending 3 weeks in world-class museums and libraries in New York City.  Arts and Empires is another popular program, providing students with a glimpse into the international art world via London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.  From visiting historic monuments to being immersed in new cultures and cuisines to getting up close and personal with art in museums/galleries/churches and more, students enjoy an experience of a lifetime.  There are many other programs to choose from, and that’s what sets Furman University apart . . .we have opportunities for all and encourage our students to take advantage of them.

Arts & Empires (Munich, Vienna, Prague, Budapest)

Art & Empires combines the study of art history and drawing through group trips to major European museums, churches, and civic landmarks in Munich, Vienna, Prague and Budapest. Through on-site discussions and reflective drawing exercises in each city, students examine how collections & display practices at museums and preservation of cultural heritage have shaped national identities and global, historical narratives.

Led by Professors Michael May and Kylie Fisher

Art & the Science of Observation: New York City

This course will bring students from a variety of majors to New York City to spend time learning critical and pervasive core skills of observation and communication. The focus of this opportunity is less on art historical content and more on the experiences of introspection, mindfulness and bias recognition, metacognitive awareness of the process of drawing conclusions and more effective means of communicating with others. Students will learn techniques of visual analysis based on art history practices while also learning observation and communication skills by studying depictions of the human body.

Led by Professors Sarah Archino and Carmela Epright

Nature in Art: Botanical Form & Function in Clay, May 2025

This May Experience brings together interdisciplinary approaches in understanding and comprehending the natural world through the fields of biology and visual art. Students develop an awareness and appreciation of botanical forms through the study of local and regional plant life, field observations, and creation of ceramic work that engages in a formal and functional dialogue with the natural world.

Led by Professor Kevin Kao and Ashley Morris

Arts & Empires (London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam)

Art & Empires combines the study of art history and drawing through group trips to major European museums, churches, and civic landmarks in London, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam. Through on-site discussions and reflective drawing exercises in each city, students examine how collection and display practices at museums, building campaigns, and the preservation of cultural heritage shape national identities and historical narratives about global societies.

Led by Professors Michael May and Kylie Fisher

Art & the Science of Observation: New York City

This course will bring students from a variety of majors to New York City to spend time learning critical and pervasive core skills of observation and communication. Dr. Archino’s expresses a strong desire to make art history relevant to other courses of study, thus supporting the liberal arts ideal. The focus of this opportunity is less on art historical content and more on the experiences of introspection, mindfulness and bias recognition, metacognitive awareness of the process of drawing conclusions and more effective means of communicating with others.

Led by Professors Sarah Archino and Carmela Epright

Religion & Art in Turkey

This program will examine the relation between the aesthetic and religious dimensions of human experience through visits to Christian and Islamic sites in central and western Turkey. There will be an emphasis on  the architecture of churches and mosques, as well as Christian icons and Islamic calligraphy. The program will highlight how these aesthetic expressions embody and convey religious meaning. The program includes visits to famous churches of Turkey (Hagia Sophia), archaeological sites (Ephesus and Pergamum), mosques (the Blue Mosque and the Sulemaniye Mosque), the volcanic landscape of Cappadocia with its rock-cut churches and underground cities, and historic museums. The program concludes with 4 nights on a gulet, a traditional wooden Turkish sailing ship, which will allow students to visit sites not accessible by land.

Led by Professors Terri Bright and Claude Stulting

Arts & Empires (London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam)

Art & Empires combines the study of art history and drawing through group trips to major European museums, churches, and civic landmarks in London, Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam. Through on-site discussions and reflective drawing exercises in each city, students examine how collection and display practices at museums, building campaigns, and the preservation of cultural heritage shape national identities and historical narratives about global societies.

Led by Professors Michael May and Kylie Fisher

Nature in Art: Botanical Form & Function in Clay, May 2023

This May Experience brings together interdisciplinary approaches in understanding and comprehending
the natural world through the fields of biology and visual art. Students develop an awareness and
appreciation of botanical forms through the study of local and regional plant life, field observations, and
creation of ceramic work that engages in a formal and functional dialogue with the natural world.

Led by Professor Kevin Kao and Ashley Morris

Furman’s Semester-long African Study-Away Program

Furman offers many opportunities to travel abroad, but few wash away comfort zones as thoroughly as this biannual trip to the second-largest continent in the world. For nine weeks, selected students are immersed in the countries of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and, briefly, Zimbabwe. Air-conditioned cars on smooth roads replaced by hot feet and dirt; squirrels foraging below stately oaks giving way to elephants ambling on vast, shaggy plains. Maher led the latest edition with psychology professor Erin Hahn, Ph.D., history professor Erik Ching, Ph.D., and art professor Terri Bright, who landed on Feb. 3 in South Africa with 20 students. Their first stop the next day was the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, which marked the beginning of a dedicated attempt to expose the group to as much of Africa’s geographical vastness and cultural complexity as possible.

Led by Professors Terri Bright, Kristy Maher, Erik Ching and Erin Hahn