Nicholls State University

STUDY ABROAD

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Alexis Dantin at Pointe Du Hoc in Normandy

The Normandy Academy was a life-changing experience for me, both for my academic career as well as my outlook on life. Observing the landings and battle zones of the Normandy campaign improved my understanding of the sacrifice of those who fought and those who experienced World War II. I also got to meet incredible people, such as Madame Collette, who shared her unique and inspiring story with us, one that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Most importantly, I learned what it means to be a historian, an American, and a human being. I will never forget the friends I have made, the lessons I have learned, and the experiences I had at the Normandy Academy.”

– Alexis Dantin

World War II Study Abroad Programs

The History Department is pleased to offer World War II study programs in partnership with The National WWII Museum. Programs will range from trips abroad to places like Normandy and intensive study in New Orleans at The National WWII Museum.

To get in on the experience, check out the steps to apply below.

And check out our partner, The National WWII Museum’s website or, more specifically, their tours’ site.

Upcoming Dates

Student Leadership Academy: June 19-24 (all days @ Higgins Hotel in New Orleans)

Normandy Academy High School Cohort 11: June 26-July 6 (June 26-28 @ Higgins Hotel in New Orleans) (June 28 Travel Day)

Normandy Academy High School Cohort 2: July 11-21 (July 11-13 @ Higgins Hotel in New Orleans) (July 13 Travel Day)

Normandy Academy College: July 19-29 (July 19-21 at Higgins Hotel in New Orleans) (July 21 Travel Day)

Contact Dr. Paul Wilson, if you are interested in apply for the Normandy Academy.

Contact Dr. Paul Wilson, if you are interested in apply for the Normandy Academy.

The National WWII Museum to the Normandy Academy here.

Students seeking college credit can include the $780.84 tuition in their payment to the National World War II Museum or pay Nicholls directly.  Current NSU students can pay tuition directly to the university.  Non-Nicholls students seeking college credit must enroll as a visitor and pay a $20.00 application fee (the application fee is waived for current NSU students).

  1. APPLY ONLINE HERE
  2. OR Download: Nicholls Application For Visitor Status Form (pdf) Print, sign and mail to: Dr. Paul Wilson
    Department of History and Geography
    P.O. Box 2089
    Nicholls State University
    Thibodaux, LA 70310
  3. Download: Hold Harmless Agreement (pdf) Please read, print, and sign the agreement. It should be included with your application and tuition payment.
  4. Notification, Username & Password:  Once applications have been processed you will receive notification by email. Students will also receive their usernames and passwords to be used to enter the Moodle site for History 290 or for History 439.  Course introductions, instructions, assignments and resource materials are located on this site.

Normandy Academy Description

Starting in New Orleans at The National WWII Museum, students get an up-close view of the weapons, gear, and materials used in Normandy. Hold an American M1 and a German MG 42, and climb inside a Sherman Tank. Review the specifications of the Higgins Boats that were crucial to the landing operations and hear from WWII veterans while touring the Museum’s immersive exhibits.

Following the New Orleans experience, continue to Normandy for the most immersive and in-depth tour specifically designed for students. Visit private chateaus that were turned into Nazi headquarters and living space for German officers. Walk on all five landing beaches and hear the stories of the heroic men who rallied the troops and pushed the Allied forces inland. Witness the rebuilding that saved historic cities such as Caen, St. Lo, and Falaise. Traverse the Falaise Gap, including the infamous “Corridor of Death,” where the Battle of Normandy was reduced to one farm lane the German Army used to flee a closing encirclement.

Along the way, students will be asked to examine, analyze, and evaluate the decisions made during the campaign. Which bridges should be taken? Were the paratroopers used effectively? What altitudes and flight paths should the bombers take? The discussions prompted by these questions are critical in the development of each student’s academic, citizenship, and leadership potential.

Normandy Academy professors:

Dr. Paul J. Wilson
Dr. Kurt Stiegler
Dr. Kevin McQueeny

Dr. Stuart Tully

 

Contact Dr. Paul Wilson for more information.

Global Leadership Lessons from a Global War

Student interested in the Global Leadership Academy contact Dr. Paul Wilson.

What Would You Do?  You are the American Naval Commander of Task Force 58. Planes from your aircraft carriers have conducted a dangerous, long-range, but successful, mission to attack a Japanese fleet. They are now returning, in the dark, to their carriers. Do you illuminate your aircraft carriers’ flight decks to guide your pilots safely in, risking attack on your entire task force by nearby Japanese submarines?  Or do you maintain your blackout, shielding your ships in darkness, but effectively blinding your returning flyers?

What Would You Do?  It’s a simple question with no easy answers.  Yet thousands of similar questions beset planners, individuals, and commanders throughout WWII.  Was there a moral choice? A value choice? Did they always make the correct decision?  Was there always a correct decision?

The National WWII Museum’s Summer Leadership Academy is the ideal experience for any student looking to expand his or her historical knowledge, sharpen research and debate skills, gain leadership skills, practice decision making, and engage in an immersive summer study program with a diverse group of students.

For more information, please refer to the website located at: http://www.ww2museumtours.org/student-travel/student-leadership-academy.php

It’s your turn to make history…

The National WWII Museum in New Orleans offers rising high school sophomores, junior, and seniors a summer experience unlike any other.  The Student Leadership Academy takes students through the history of WWII with the aim of exploring leadership lessons from one of the most important periods in world history.

In the active pursuit of history, the Student Leadership Academy gives students the knowledge they need and puts them in the place of historical actors in the WWII story.  But what decisions they make and what leadership decisions and strategies they choose will spell the difference between victory and defeat.  Students will be challenged individually and as a group as they contemplate strategies large and small, encounter ethical dilemmas, and face no-win situations.  The goal is not for students to learn how to attack a defended beach or decide what types of airplanes to build, but to recognize how the leadership and decisions of individuals—good or bad, right or wrong, or somewhere in between—can affect a single life, a team, and organization, or the whole world.  Ultimately, students will recognize that they are the leaders, decision makers, and problem solvers of their futures.

What Would You Do? Research, Debate, Decision

In preparation for the trip to New Orleans, Seminar Students work throughout the spring with Museum historians, educators, and curators, delving into our world-class collections of digitized, online WWII archives and oral histories.  With the knowledge and insight gained from these explorations, students research their options and develop their arguments—pro and con—for a variety of decisions made during WWII, from generals to privates, from presidents to private citizens.

Once in New Orleans, students not only tour the Museum’s exhibits and archives, but delve into its What Would You Do?multi-media curriculum of WWII leadership dilemmas.  In role-playing advisory sessions, students offer point and counterpoint to those vital decisions that had to be made over 70 years ago.  Can they convince their fellow students to follow their decision?  Will the strongest arguments and best research win the day?   Students, in essence, become their own historians while gaining insights into leadership and character development.  Evening debriefs of the day’s debates center on how students can apply the lessons learned to their lives today.

Academic Benefits

  • ŸCollege credit
  • ŸExploration of leadership, decision-making, and problem-solving principles
  • ŸIntense study program
  • ŸAcademically rigorous study of WWII history
  • ŸInteraction with the Museum’s historians, curators, and educators
  • ŸHistorical role-playing , debate prep and presentation
  • ŸCertificate of Completion from the Museum
  • ŸCreation of a leadership portfolio suitable for college applications

Program Features

  • Five days/six nights at New Orleans 3 star rated hotel (located within a few blocks of the Museum’s downtown location)
  • Student to mentor ratio of no more than 10 to 1 throughout the program
  • Chaperoned throughout the entire program
  • Behind-the-scenes tours of the Museum’s collection vault, restoration pavilion, armored vehicle and airplane warehouse
  • Special staff ride to Chalmette Battlefield (site of 1815 Battle of New Orleans)
  • Visit to NASA Michoud Assembly Facility (WWII site of Higgins Industries)
  • Camaraderie, travel, fun learning experience

Objectives

Students will:

  • Explore the strategies and decisions that led to Allied Victory in Europe and the Pacific
  • Identify and make connections to leadership traits integral to Allied Victory in WWII that are relevant to college and career paths
  • Learn and develop leadership skills
  • Develop their research skills through both primary and secondary source research
  • Write clear and concise content for a specific audience of peers and museum professionals
  • Improve presentation and debate skills as they present to both their peers and museum professionals
  • Identify the major theaters of World War II (Europe, Pacific, Home Front)
  • Learn through the personal stories of those who were there

Nicholls Europe

Welcome to the Nicholls Europe Program

An Unforgettable Opportunity

Nicholls Europe 2020 is scheduled for June 16 to July 1, 2020.

For more information, contact James Barnidge at 985.448.4460 or 985.447.9367; Kathy Dugas at 985.448.4392; Mary Cavell at 985.859.6329 or james.barnidge@nicholls.edu or kathy.dugas@nicholls.edu.

Now celebrating 47 years of international travel and study to major sites in Europe, Nicholls Europe is the second oldest international study program in Louisiana. The 16-day summer program, held each June, provides students an opportunity to travel and study in England, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark or the Czech Republic.

The annual program is available to students and individuals in the community and provides an up-close and personal study of art, drama, architecture, government and history. Students of all disciplines are eligible to earn undergraduate or graduate credit in history or humanities courses.

Learn more about this year’s program by looking through our Web pages.

James Barnidge
james.barnidge@nicholls.edu
Program Director

Details

June 16: New Orleans — Prague, Czech Republic

  • Bags packed and spirits high, we depart New Orleans for our overnight flight to Prague, Czech Republic.  We arrive the next morning and board our waiting coach for the city of Prague.

June 17-18-19:  Prague, Czech Republic

  • Prague and its old world charm is the most beautiful city in Eastern Europe.  She has made the transition after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 to become one of the most popular new travel destinations in Europe, and you will see why.  Nostalgic and romantic dreams come true for millions of visitors.  The view from Charles Bridge toward Prague Castle has to be one of the most spectacular in Europe.  We will visit historic Wencelas Sqare.  You can trace a rich, aristocratic past of this art Nouveau city and mingle in cafes furnished in Eastern European versions of fabulous fifties décor.  After all, this is the country that gave the world Budweiser.
  • From viewing the Infant Jesus of Prague to the site of the Defenestration of Prague, which began the Thirty Years War in 1618, the visitor will be amazed at the art, architecture, cultural variety, culinary excellence and simple love of life Prague has to offer.

June 20:  Innsbruck, Austria

  • Innsbruck, the capital of the Tyrol area of Austria, literally means “Bridge over the Inn,” and was the site of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. A stroll down its arcaded covered streets and cobblestone passages present outstanding views of he surrounding snow-capped Alps. Among the impressive sights are the Golden Roof (2,657 gold-plated tiles), the Court Church with 28 larger-than-life bronze figures of history, and the Tyrolean Folk Museum with its fine examples of interior design, furniture and costumes of early Austrian life.

June 21-22: Verona/Venice, Italy

  • Back on the road, we travel the fertile Valley of the Po to Verona, home of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.  Verona is  enclosed in its 16th century fortifications, stands on the banks of the Adige River, and boasts that its Roman amphitheater is the third largest in the Roman world after the Colosseum in Rome.
  • Today, we coach to waterborne Venice.  If there is a more romantic spot on earth, humankind has yet to find it.  There is only one Venice–enchanted city of 117 islands, 150 canals, and 400 bridges in a crescent-shaped lagoon. We will see the gilded splendor of St. Mark’s and the Palace of the Doges, with time to enjoy the boutiques around the Square.  You may want to take a romantic gondola ride under the Bridge of Sighs or pass “Golden House” palace on the Grand Canal.

June 23-24-25:  Rome, Italy

  • All roads lead to Rome, the “City of Seven Hills.”  Ancient, yet throbbing with life, this is indeed the Eternal City. Rome presents itself to us. We will explore the famous Colosseum, where Romans gathered to watch the gladiators; the Pantheon, perfectly preserved since 125 A.D.; and The Forum, once the city’s religious, political and commercial center.  We will walk where Caesar walked.  Contrast this ancient splendor to the grand Via Veneto, lined with lively cafes and elegant shops.  Toss two coins in the Trevi Fountain and have a special wish granted.
  • Then, within the city, visit the Vatican (an independent nation) and St. Peter’s Basilica with its magnificent architecture and art treasures.  You may even be fortunate enough to see the Pope.

June 26-27:  Florence, Italy

  • We travel to Florence where we have the wonderful opportunity to feast our eyes on the treasures of this magnificent city during our tour:  Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia; the Baptistery’s intricately crafted bronze doors; Giotto’s Campanile; the Duomo; and vaulted Santa Croce Church, where Michelangelo is entombed.  Discover the Florence of Dante and the powerful Medici family.  Stroll along the Arno; visit the Uffizi Gallery, the Pitti Palace; stop for a cooling gelato (ice cream) before heading to the Ponte Vecchio, where local artisans sell their wares.   Florence, birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, offers its art and architecture as evidence of its grandeur.  A stroll through its cobblestone streets is to be transported back in time to the age of Leonard da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Dante.

June 28-29:  Swiss Alps, Switzerland

  • We board our waiting coach and travel to our Alpine destination high in the Swiss Alps. Our stay in Switzerland includes plenty of time for us to explore picturesque Alpine villages with wooden chalets surrounded by breathtaking scenery.  See for yourself the spectacular view of the snow-capped Alps from the top of the Bernese Oberland.  Yes, you will see snow in June!

June 30: Zurich, Switzerland

  • We travel by motor coach back to Zurich stopping by Lucerne along the way.

July 1:  Zurich, Switzerland to New Orleans

  • We transfer to the airport for our return flight to New Orleans, arriving that same day.

The 16-day trip, which takes place June 4-19, 2017 costs $4,195.

Included in the cost:

  • Round-trip air transportation via scheduled international air carrier.
  • Hotel accommodations in twin-bedded rooms with private bath (three- or four-star hotels).
  • Pre-registration in all hotels.
  • Meals.
  • All transportation and transfers as specified in itinerary.
  • Air-conditioned motor coaches in Europe.
  • Numerous sightseeing tours.
  • All customary group admission fees and service charges for included tours.
  • Locally hosted English-speaking guides.
  • Porterage for one piece of luggage.
  • Administrative fees.
  • Information materials pursuant to destination.

The Nicholls Europe program provides opportunities to earn credit through two programs:

  • Undergraduate Program (for high schools students who have completed their junior year, high school seniors and college students)
  • Upper Division Program (for participating advisers, teachers or administrators)
 
 

ELIGIBILITY

Students who have completed their junior year of high school, high school seniors, as well as college students, may earn credit during the foreign study abroad program. Credit earned may be transferred to other accredited institutions of higher learning in the United States.

CREDIT

Students may earn either three or six hours (units) of credit.

COURSES

  • Humanities 260. European Humanities. (3 semester hours) — An introduction to the history and culture of Europe with emphasis on the humanistic achievements of Western man.
  • Humanities 204. International Humanities. (3 semester hours) — The humanistic study of a selected country or countries; the course normally requires travel to a non-English speaking country.

CLASS REGISTRATION

The completed registration form should be sent to:

Nicholls Europe
Nicholls State University
Thibodaux, LA 70310

A check made out to Nicholls State University for $800.84 for three hours or $1,581.68 for six hours should be included.

Registration must be completed by June 1, 2020. No registration forms will be accepted after this date. There are no other documents other than the completed application and fees needed for registration. If undergraduate students wish to enroll at Nicholls State University for the fall 2020 semester, they will need to reapply.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS, GRADING AND TRANSCRIPTS

Summer study and travel residence in Europe is required. Class attendance is required with a final examination to determine the student’s grade. Grades earned will be awarded and will appear on the student’s official transcript.

For an official transcript, contact the Office of Records and Registration. Indicate the institution of higher learning to receive the transcript, your official name, social security number and date of birth. Nicholls State University does not charge a fee for transcripts.

Grades are due before August 5. However, some foreign study itineraries will make this impossible. In these cases, an incomplete grade (“I”) will be issued.

 

ELIGIBILITY

Course credit is available for any qualified participants, advisers, teachers or administrators traveling with foreign study programs. Credit earned may be transferred to other accredited institutions of higher learning in the United States.

CREDIT

Students may earn either three or six hours (units) of credit.

COURSES

  • History 490. Problems in History. (3 semester hours) — Interdisciplinary study of selected problems in history.
  • Humanities 405. Topics in International Humanities. (3 semester hours) — Intensive study of the humanistic contributions of a selected country or area.

CLASS REGISTRATION

The completed registration form should be sent to:

Nicholls Europe
Nicholls State University
Thibodaux, LA 70310

A check made out to Nicholls State University for $800.84 for three hours or $1,581.68 for six hours should be included.

Registration must be completed by June 1, 2020. No registration forms will be accepted after this date. There are no other documents other than the completed application and fees needed for registration. If undergraduate students wish to enroll at Nicholls State University for the Fall 2020 semester, they will need to reapply.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS, GRADING AND TRANSCRIPTS

The principal requirement for the listed courses is the preparation of an in-depth paper relative to the scope of the course. Proper academic standards are required in the preparation of this report. Individual research and field trip work is emphasized with summer study and travel residence in Europe where required.

Grades earned will be awarded and will appear on the student’s official transcript. For an official transcript, contact the Office of Records and Registration. Indicate the institution of higher learning to receive the transcript, your official name, social security number and date of birth. Nicholls State University does not charge a fee for transcripts.

Reports should carry proper source documentation and should be submitted according to the syllabus. However, some foreign study itineraries will make this impossible. In these cases, an incomplete grade (“I”) will be issued. Students have until the last day of school of the next full semester to complete the required report and remove the (“I”).

Application for Nicholls Europe

Download the application and mail to the address at the top of the page with your deposit.

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