Miniterm

Sponsored Miniterm Courses

  • Chicago BodyWorlds and Duke Medical School

The purpose of this Miniterm trip was to explore in depth topics in anatomy and physiology.  Students chose an area of interest and gathered information about this topic throughout the trip.  We visited the BodyWorlds exhibit held in Chicago at the Museum of Science and Industry as well as visited the Duke Medical School and Hospital.  The visit to Duke Medical School gave students an opportunity to gain further insight into their area of interest through dialogue with medical professionals and students as well as through experiencing first-hand a typical day of these individuals.

  • Mini-Medical School

This course was offered in response to the overwhelmingly positive response to the Duke Medical School portion of another miniterm I sponsored.  Students were given a behind-the-scenes look into the admissions and curricula of local medical schools (Duke, UNC, and ECU).  Students went on tours of the facilities, had one-on-one and small group interactions with current medical schools, and participated in medical school classes.

  • Explorations of Argentina

This mini-term course consisted of a trip to Argentina’s capital city, Buenos Aires, and the surrounding areas.  While there we explored the characteristics of the region that make it unique.  Not only is it a coastal city, Buenos Aires is also situated near the delta of the Paraná River, making it an excellent place to investigate estuarine ecology.  The people of Buenos Aires are also a point of attraction.  Portenos, as the multinational people of Buenos Aires are known, possess an elaborate and rich cultural identity. They value their European heritage highly--Italian and German names outnumber Spanish, and the lifestyle and architecture are markedly more European than any other in South America.  Students had the opportunity to meet and engage local people on an intimate level and were able to forged long-lasting relationships.  Additionally, students conducted water quality tests for the Paraná River and were able to contextualize their results in light of the economic and social impacts on the environment.

  • Spanish Immersion in Costa Rica

This mini-term course was an immersion experience into the language and culture of Central America, namely Costa Rica.  The language immersion was facilitated by the Pan-American Language Center where students attended half-day, small group, Spanish classes.   As a part of the language immersion program offered by the center, students stayed in the homes of families affiliated with the center.  In addition to the cultural experience afforded to the students by living with the home-stay families, this mini-term course included local community service projects.  As these volunteer opportunities were on local farms, students learned about sustainable, and organic farming in the fair trade model.  Additionally, these volunteer opportunities brought students in contact with “the everyday Costa Rican” and thus allowed the students to learn first-hand the unique aspects of the culture and to forge meaningful relationships with the people of that community.