4 cities, 5 weeks, 6 credits
The Catalyst: Europe's Most Moving Classroom Honors Study Abroad is a unique study abroad program designed around the concept of portable learning. Be prepared to move yourself from city to city, and to be moved by what you see, do and learn along the way.

Your journey starts in Amsterdam, with Berlin, Paris and London as the next “classrooms” on your itinerary. As you use your Eur-Rail pass to travel between cities, you’ll experience what The Catalyst calls “Authentication Travel.” it’s about you making your own plans. Booking your own lodging. Charting a course that gets you where you need to go, learning and exploring every step of the way. Until you reconvene in another new city to continue the work of The Catalyst, learning and living each day with a gusto that will drive your five week journey and influence you long after you’re home.

For more information on student life on The Catalyst, see the FAQ

Academics
Ever have a semester when your classes all seem to work together? When what you read in your literature class actually helps you follow your history professor better? That’s everyday life on The Catalyst. Your courses share themes and a chronology, and are designed to be enmeshed. Your professors will push each other as much as they push you. Together you’ll search deeply into the heart of a continent whose people and beliefs utterly changed the world.

In Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris and London, you will use The Needle—a three-credit interdisciplinary course required of all students—to follow the gloried and horrific paths of the European idea of progress, from the Renaissance through the Holocaust.

You’ll also choose a course on The Dial, adopting its discipline specific tools to help you navigate through a topography that is simultaneously mad and civilized, beautiful and horrible, warring and peaceful, criminal and just.

For more information on academics and The Catalyst, see the FAQ

Housing and Meals
While The Catalyst is in session in Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris and London, your housing will be centrally located and included in the program price. So will your breakfasts and at least one group dinner in each of our cities. (In Amsterdam, all of your evening meals are included, helping you to save food money for later in your journey!) The Catalyst staff will help you plan your two periods of Authentication Travel, so that you can make the most of your time, budget and experience. Your housing and meals during Authentication are your own responsibility, and are considered supplemental costs beyond your The Catalyst price.

AUTHENTICATION TRAVEL
Up to this point in your life, you've probably traveled with others leading the way. If your companions were experienced travelers, chances are things went pretty smoothly. Now it’s your turn to be in charge. During Authentication Travel, you make your own plans. You could choose to travel with other The Catalyst students. Or experience the rush of freedom and excitement that comes from setting your own course to a destination you alone have selected. You will have two periods of Authentication Travel on The Catalyst, each lasting five days. As you discover Europe, your confidence and self-reliance will grow. So will your time management skills, as you’ll need to complete academic assignments in conjunction with the Needle course, which is required of all students.