Skip to main content
search

Study Abroad

Every summer, students from the USC Leonard Davis School and across the university will travel across the world to explore aging! Course topics range from how nutrition and food culture affect longevity to how psychology changes with aging and how death customs and ceremonies vary throughout ancient and modern societies. Want to join students on these exciting and educational adventures? Courses are available to outside individuals (requires enrolling as a limited-status student).

Contact Sara Robinson at sararobi@usc.edu to learn more!

GERO 493: Longevity and Death among Ancient and Modern European Populations

Maymester | Italy

Dates:
May 15 – May 17, 2023 (On Campus)
May 21 – June 2, 2023 (in Italy)

This course is led by USC Leonard Davis School Associate Professor Susan Enguídanos and explores the discoveries of ancient humans and bodies that have been preserved to illuminate the connection between diet, health, and disease. The class will travel through Italy and Germany and explore the role of religion and culture in determining and defining death practices, ceremonies, and other customs. Class discussions and field trips will demonstrate the strong connection between religious and afterlife beliefs and body disposal practices. Cities on the itinerary include Milan, Bolzano, Florence, Volterra, Rome, Munich, and more.

GERO 494: How do our brains make us happy or miserable throughout our lives?

Maymester | Herzliya, Israel

Dates:
May 15 – May 19, 2023 (On Campus)
May 21 – June 3, 2023 (in Israel)

This course, led by USC Leonard Davis School Professor Mara Mather and presented in conjunction with IDC Herzliya, examines how psychologists study thinking, memory, emotions, personality, and behavior and how people change throughout the adult lifespan. Students will learn about research and theory bearing on cognitive, personality, adaptive, and social processes throughout the adult life span and about applications of current research and theory to practical matters in the field of gerontology.

GERO 498: Nutrition, Genes, Longevity and Disease

Maymester | Genoa, Italy

Dates:
May 16 – May 19, 2023 (On Campus)
May 21 – June 10, 2023 (in Italy)

This course examines the role of nutrition and genes and the impact each has on longevity and diseases, particularly diseases related to aging. It provides the opportunity to learn directly from internationally renowned expert and USC Leonard Davis School Professor Valter Longo, gain a global perspective on genetics and cultural attitudes toward aging, and experience a month-long immersion in the Mediterranean lifestyle.

GERO 486: Aging and Older Adults in Latin America

Julymester | Medellín, Colombia

Dates:
July 31 – August 4 2023 (via Zoom)
August 5 – 11, 2023 (in Columbia)

Travel to Colombia to volunteer with a program that provides opportunities to optimize the quality of life of older adults in the area through health promotion, disease prevention, social activities, and daily assistance and rehabilitation. This service-learning course provides students with a multifaceted perspective on the social, economic, health care, and environmental contexts experienced by older adults in Colombia, a Latin American country with a rapidly aging population.

GERO 489: Finding the Key to a Long, Happy Life in Nicoya, Costa Rica’s Blue Zone

Maymester | Nicoya, Costa Rica

Dates:
May 15 – 19, 2023 (On Campus)
May 22 – June 3, 2023 (in Costa Rica)

This course will immerse students into lifestyles shown to improve the quality of life and extend the lifespan by studying populations that live in communities referred to as “Blue Zones”throughout the world. Students will have the opportunity to visit two of the world’s five Blue Zones: Loma Linda, California, and Nicoya, Costa Rica.

GERO 499: South Korea’s Rapid Population Aging: How to Turn Challenges into Opportunities

Maymester | Seoul, Andong and Jeju Island | South Korea

Dates:
May 15-19, 2023 (On Campus)
May 22-June 3, 2023 (in South Korea)

Explore aging in the context of Korean policy, culture, interventions and technology. Students will be introduced to Korean culture, values, demographic trends, and aging-related policies in order to explore diverse challenges faced by older adults, including poverty, social isolation, employment, and physical and mental health.

GERO 499: Genetics of Aging in England, Ireland and the United States

Julymester | England and Ireland

Dates:
July 17-20, 2023 (On Campus or via Zoom)
July 21-August 4, 2023 (in England and Ireland)

  • Learn the fundamentals of genetics and the role the environment plays in longevity and health outcomes
  • Use the frameworks of local folklore and fiction as the basis of understanding the history of genetic studies and what ignites the gerontological imagination in the development of the science of senescence.
  • Explore three distinct longitudinal studies of specific populations while considering the broader cultural aspects of age and aging.