Ireland in Focus: Interdisciplinary Study Abroad and the Benefits of Collaboration

Beginning in 2015, New Mexico State University's Office of Study Abroad, Faculty-Led International Program (FLIP) encouraged teachers to create a two-course/cross-disciplinary experience for students. During the summers of 2016 and 2018 the teachers conducted two-week FLIP trips to locations in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The course was open to all majors, but the majority were from geography and communications. The combined course approach provided a fruitful avenue for transformative experiential student learning objectives, while joint participation within the disciplines of Communication Studies and Geography created a richer international study abroad student experience. The purpose of this article is to outline the structure of the study abroad learning experience design as well as to identify and discuss the learning objectives.