study trip definition

What is a Study Trip? Unlocking the Benefits of Educational Travel

Introduction.

In today’s interconnected world, the concept of a study trip has gained significant traction among students and educators alike. But what exactly is a study trip? This blog post aims to demystify this educational trend, highlighting its unique benefits and considerations for those looking to embark on this enriching journey.

Understanding the Concept of a Study Trip

A study trip, often referred to as a study vacation, is more than just a trip abroad; it’s an immersive educational experience. It primarily involves traveling to a country where the language of study is natively spoken. This type of educational travel offers a unique blend of learning and cultural immersion, making it distinct from traditional language courses offered in one’s home country.

Why Choose a Study Trip?

Language immersion.

At the heart of a study trip is the opportunity for language immersion. Students learn a new language not just in the classroom but in everyday life, practicing with native speakers in real-world situations.

Cultural Experience

Study trips allow students to experience the customs and traditions of new cultures firsthand. This aspect of cultural exchange is invaluable and offers insights that go beyond textbook learning.

Career Enhancement

In a globalized job market, knowledge of a foreign language and exposure to different cultures can significantly boost employment prospects.

Academic and Professional Certification

Many study trips provide certifications that are recognized globally, adding value to both academic and professional profiles.

The Structure of a Study Trip

If you are asking yourself  ‘What is a study trip?’, these trips usually range from a couple of weeks to a month or more. They include structured lessons with native-speaking teachers and are tailored to different skill levels. Class sizes are kept small to ensure effective learning. Beyond the classroom, students engage in exploratory activities, visiting local sites, and participating in cultural events.

Accommodation Options

Students can choose to stay with host families or on school campuses. Staying with a host family is often recommended for the richer language practice and cultural immersion it offers.

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Exploring Destinations for Summer 2024 Study Trips

A key aspect of understanding what is a study trip involves exploring the diverse destinations that these programs offer. For Summer 2024, our study trip programs are set to take students to an array of vibrant and culturally rich cities across the globe. These destinations have been carefully selected to provide a comprehensive educational and cultural experience, in line with the core essence of what a study trip embodies.

European and UK Escapades

In Europe and the UK, our programs include cities renowned for their educational pedigree and cultural heritage. Edinburgh and Oxford stand out with their historic universities and rich academic atmospheres. Bournemouth and London in the UK offer a mix of coastal beauty and urban vibrancy. Venturing into Ireland, Dublin, Cork, and Sligo present an opportunity to delve into the unique Irish culture and its linguistic heritage. The Spanish cities of Barcelona and Llore del Mar are perfect for those seeking a Mediterranean flair in their language and cultural immersion.

North American Adventures

Across the Atlantic, our study trips extend to North America, where students can experience the diverse cultural landscapes of cities like Toronto and Vancouver in Canada. These cities are known for their multicultural environments and high-quality education systems. In the United States, New York stands as a beacon of urban diversity and dynamism, alongside other cities that offer an unbeatable American experience.

Tailoring Your Study Trip Experience

Each destination in our Summer 2024 line-up offers a unique set of experiences and learning opportunities, integral to what a study trip aims to provide. Whether it’s the historic streets of Oxford, the bustling avenues of New York, or the scenic beauty of Vancouver, students can choose their preferred setting for an immersive educational journey. By incorporating these destinations into our study trip programs, we aim to broaden the horizons of our students, offering them a world-class educational experience wrapped in the adventure of travel. This global exposure is at the heart of what a study trip is all about – learning beyond the classroom in a way that is both enriching and transformative.

Cost Considerations

The cost of a study trip varies, depending on the destination, duration, and accommodation type. For instance, a two-week program in Europe might cost around 2,000 euros, covering all essentials except personal expenses and flights. Specific destinations like Edinburgh, offer more affordable options, around 1250 euros for two weeks.

Conclusion: What is a study trip?

To answer the question ‘What is a study trip?’. A study trip is more than just an educational excursion; it’s an adventure that broadens horizons, enhances language skills, and offers a deep dive into new cultures. It’s a valuable investment in personal and professional growth. As the popularity of study trips continues to rise, more and more students worldwide are discovering the transformative experiences these journeys provide.

Q: Who can benefit from a study trip? A: Students of all ages and professionals looking to enhance their language skills and cultural understanding can benefit from a study trip.

Q: Is a study trip suitable for beginners in a language? A: Absolutely. Study trips cater to all levels, from beginners to advanced learners, providing an inclusive environment for language development.

Q: How do I choose the right study trip program? A: Consider factors like language goals, desired cultural experiences, budget, and the duration. You can contact us anytime you need our guidance. We are experts on organising study trips abroad and we will be happy to help you and your students to have an unforgettable experience.

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A step-by-step guide for planning the perfect study trip

By Kate Erskine, head of Diversity Study Trips 

Why do students learn outside the classroom?    

Educational trips can be what many students look forward to the most in their time in academia, as learning can be translated from the classroom into real life.  

Students are eager to learn outside of the classroom, but the opportunity is not available to all students. This is reflected in the increase in applications to the Turing Scheme, with almost 100 extra applications in the last year compared to the previous year.  

Following the difficult years of the pandemic, it is expected that more students will begin to travel abroad for education again as the world is opening up. However, it is imperative that these great opportunities can benefit every child, in every school, no matter what their background is.  

The study trip process can also be a stressful time for teachers and parents. Therefore, this guide should shine a light on how to make the planning process as stress-free as possible.   

Speak to the experts first  

Planning the most enriching and engaging study trip for your students, while taking into account budget and your objectives can be an overwhelming challenge. Sometimes, speaking to travel experts can take a weight off your shoulders, as you know the trip is in safe hands.  

Speaking to educational travel experts can streamline the planning process, from understanding the aims of the trip, to selecting a destination – and all of the logistics in between.  

Experts will be able to advise on location swaps to align with the school budgets, ensuring that every child will be able to take part and enrich their learning. Starting this process early sets the stage for a smoother, hassle-free, and memorable experience for everyone involved.   

Involve the students when planning   

Involving students in the planning process for a study trip is a great way to ensure they take ownership of their learning experience, and that it aligns with their academic interests and goals. Not only does this foster a sense of responsibility and teamwork prior to the trip, but it will encourage students to be engaged and involved in the trip itself.  

The planning process will also allow students to build relationships with the peers that they will be away with. The students will input ideas from their unique perspectives, perhaps refreshing a trip that has been running for a few years.   

Communication is key for safeguarding   

Schools will always prioritise the safety of its students and, with overseas trips, this becomes even more important. Alongside parental permissions, a list of emergency contacts is vital to obtain for the peace of mind of those at home. Placing any required medication in the hands of the teachers will prevent anything from going missing.   

Having a trusted travel partner could ease any concerns from students, parents, and guardians. Using the help of a specialised travel management company could make 24/7 help available to the teachers involved, helping to diffuse any issues that may arise.   

Collaborate with local experts  

By creating a solid, trusted network of suppliers and companies who work closely with the school to organise the trip, teachers can rest assured that knowledge and help will be just around the corner, no matter where they are in the world.  

Travel management companies will have national or global partnerships in all relevant sectors to help the trips run as smoothly as possible. This can be crucial to avoid a crisis when things go wrong, as a coach company could rescue a trip if the trains are cancelled. 

Make time at the end for reflection   

Following the success of a study trip, gathering feedback from students, teachers and parents is crucial. Assessing the trip in relation to your objectives, and the feedback given, can help to put steps in place to ensure the success of future trips.  

This will make the planning process more efficient the following year, and should lead to a streamlined study trip process within the school.   

Planning an educational trip can be a stressful time for teachers – but it doesn’t have to be.   

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Study trips and experiential learning: from preparation to post-trip reflection

Rebecca Wang outlines the key steps to take before, during and after a successful international field trip

Rebecca Wang

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At the heart of our master’s course in international business and management are what we term the “six Cs”. We support our students in developing:

• cross-cultural competence
• collaboration
• communication
• critical thinking
• compassion.

To foster the six Cs, we place emphasis on integrating students from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds and encourage them to develop these competencies through experiential learning. To achieve this, we organise international and domestic study trips. A key feature of these trips is linking a genuine business challenge with a specific module’s authentic assessment. The tasks require students to work within multicultural teams and apply their knowledge to real-world challenges.

I will use a field trip to Tashkent, in Uzbekistan, to illustrate how best to prepare and engage students with authentic business assignments overseas. The task was to answer the question: “What would be the predicted proportion of online and offline shopping, specifically in the grocery sector, in retailing businesses in Uzbekistan in five years, 10 years etc, based on the experience of developed countries such as the UK, the US and Japan?”

This is what we learned:

Promote the aims of the trip early

To support students in understanding the learning outcomes and objectives of the study trip, start your promotion as early as possible – ideally when students enrol on the course. Provide a briefing focusing on the aims and desired learning outcomes of the field trip, as well as outlining the nature of the business challenge they will be handling. It is worth familiarising students with travel procedures for the intended destination, so they know what to expect.

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Establish industry partners

Establish partnerships with local businesses or organisations that are willing to jointly set up authentic business challenges that students can work on in a professional consulting manner to enhance their learning. A partner university in situ is likely to have an extensive network of local business contacts.

With the support of our partner university, Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT), we were connected with an industry partner in a relevant sector.

The three main criteria for choosing a business partner were:

• The authentic business challenge should have impact on the local economic development.
• It should be a win-win situation for students and the partner organisation.
• The study trip should play a crucial role in enhancing transnational education and cooperation.

How to prepare for a study trip

• Team building: Guide students to self-select teams that are balanced in terms of numbers and nationalities. To support students in developing teamwork skills, assign pre-study trip activities. For example, we asked our student teams to find reports, journal articles and news about Uzbekistan’s economic and business environment in the relevant sectors, and to research the client company.
• Knowledge-input workshop: Organise a workshop or training sessions to help students develop the knowledge and skills they will need during the field trip. For our students, these skills included designing surveys, interviewing, analysing data and presenting. Ensure that any fieldwork or real-world challenge is related to the contents of your core module.
• Consultancy and research skills workshop: Invite industry professionals to deliver intensive skills workshops that equip students with relevant professional skills. In our case, an international business consultant was invited to train students in workplace skills, such as consultancy principles, consultancy style, professional behaviour and communication, and key tools for planning and executing a consultancy assignment.

If you partner with a local institution ahead of a study trip, involve their staff and students in working with your students on the project, as we did with WIUT. Each team should be given significant free rein in how they direct their projects, such as choosing methods for collecting data. But make sure their lecturers or tutors are on hand to check their progress and provide guidance when needed.

It’s important to keep the focus and pace throughout the trip. Students’ progress was moderated and checked through daily briefings and summary meetings. Our students had two days for data collection, analysis and presentation preparation. On the fourth day, students presented their findings to a panel that included the CEO of the client company, WIUT lecturers and students.

Post-study-trip phase

Ask each team to produce a reflective diary, in which they consider and feed back on the study trip process, what went well, what they achieved and learned and how they could do it better next time. Students’ feedback and our own reflections on everything from preparation workshops to post-trip reflection helped refine the second study trip.

Four key pieces of advice for organising a successful study trip

Get management and administrative support.

From planning, organising and coordinating to implementing the trip, seek support from other teams within the university, drawing on your institution’s expertise and resources. Find others to help with travel itineraries, transport and accommodation so you have the time to teach, liaise with partner companies and plan workshops and learning activities.

Engage and support students with targeted workshops

Workshops helped equip students with knowledge of the specific subject area, as well as hard and soft skills. Ask students to consider how to resolve practical difficulties they may come across in an unfamiliar country, such as language barriers and cultural differences. Lecturers met regularly with each team to monitor students’ progress throughout the project. This helped identify teams or students in need of support or a nudge.

Collaborate with a partner institution

The course team benefited from our partner institution when organising study trips to Tashkent. Through its contacts, we sourced the companies that participated. Our partner institution helped us find local students who volunteered to be interviewed, and who acted as interpreters when our students interviewed local people.

Build in a self-reflection activity

After the trip, as a round-up exercise, we asked students to apply Gibbs’ reflective cycle to think about what they had learned, and how to further their competencies and learn from intercultural dialogues, both in and out of the classroom. The study trip provided meaningful opportunities for students to develop their six Cs.

By arranging the field trip in the first semester of the course, we helped students build strong foundations in these six key competencies, as well as aiding strong course bonding. The success of the study trip reflects the collective efforts of a wide range of faculty at the University of Westminster and WIUT and the commitment and enthusiasm of a diverse group of students.

Rebecca Wang is principal lecturer in international business and management at Westminster Business School .

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Meaning of field trip in English

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• break-journey
• circumnavigation

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field trip | Intermediate English

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Definition of field trip noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• We went on a geology field trip.
• Delegates at the conference were taken on field trips to see the devastation.

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Experience a new country, learn a new language and build your own unique adventure, with a study trip.

Whether it’s culture, cool or quirky you’re looking for, we have a trip for you. Maybe you want to ride the wave of K-culture in South Korea, or embrace your Otaku in Japan. Take your pick, book your flights and go, we’ll sort the rest for you!

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Definition of 'study tour'

Study tour in british english.

Examples of 'study tour' in a sentence study tour

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Definition of trip

 (Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

transitive verb

Definition of trip  (Entry 2 of 2)

• peregrination

Examples of trip in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'trip.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Middle English trippen , from Anglo-French treper, triper , of Germanic origin; akin to Old English treppan to tread — more at trap

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 3a

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 5

Phrases Containing trip

• business trip
• lay / put a guilt trip on
• on a power trip
• roll / trip off the tongue
• round - trip ticket
• trip - hammer
• trip the light fantastic

Dictionary Entries Near trip

trioxymethylene

Cite this Entry

“Trip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trip. Accessed 11 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of trip.

Kids Definition of trip  (Entry 2 of 2)

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I'm a college student studying abroad. I'm shocked at how many luxury trips my classmates take.

• I was excited to study abroad in Florence and to take small, cheap trips while abroad.
• My classmates are not traveling cheaply; they are flying to luxury places like Dubai and the Alps.
• I wonder if they are just doing it for social media, but I'm still enjoying my time abroad.

As a third-year college student attending Colorado State University in Fort Collins, I jumped at the chance to study abroad . Trading in a semester of snow and freezing temperatures for beautiful architecture and centuries-old art was a no-brainer.

I was so excited that I filled out the application to study in Florence nearly a year before the day I would depart. Four months in Florence, Italy, was comparable to the cost of a semester at my state school . After talking to my parents and counselor, I believed the cultural experience and travel opportunities were worth it.

I knew that when I arrived, I would have to budget when traveling —doing so through communal hostel stays and low-cost airlines. I was prepared for overstuffed backpacks and bus tickets; upon arrival, though, it became clear that pinching pennies was not on everyone's agenda.

The other students are jet-setting every weekend to expensive locations

The first few days in Florence were comparable to a freshman welcome week. The time was full of activities, including hikes, dinners, and other various ventures to get students to meet one another. My roommates and I attended one of the dinners to make connections before classes began.

Standing among groups of strangers , I expected to converse about majors and hometowns; however, I witnessed a quiet competition between students on who would be going to the most places in the coming months.

Comments such as "I have every weekend planned and booked" or "I would go, but I've already been" were stacked on top of one another as my peers attempted to one-up each other. At this time, I had a total of zero trips planned. When caught in these conversations, I felt oddly pressured to also fill my calendar each weekend, accompanied by the feeling of stress due to not being able to afford travel every five days. I feared I would be left behind.

Related stories

I've been here for over two months, and this conversation hasn't ended. Every Monday, I hear whispers about where my peers had jet-setted to days before. Places like Dubai and Morocco have been mentioned, leaving me just as shocked as that first dinner. I knew studying abroad was a privilege before getting here, but "a weekend in Dubai " was not what I expected.

Nobody is 'roughing it' like I thought they would be

My spring break was only three weeks into the start of the semester, and this was when I decided to take my first trip. When booking, I scoured sites, such as KAYAK and Skyscanner, but plane tickets and hotels were still extremely pricey. Eventually, my roommates and I decided to spend five days in Prague after finding affordable tickets on Ryanair. One of the greatest appeals of Prague was it was walkable, cheap, and had a good nightlife — my top three requirements as a traveling college student.

My three roommates and I booked a studio apartment for around $100 each for a total of five nights. It took us two trains, one bus, a plane, and some walking to get there, but the price was right. I was excited for the following week and felt satisfied with our trip and housing accommodations.

That was until I scrolled through Instagram to see my peers skiing in the Alps and skydiving in Copenhagen. It was almost unbelievable that the people I attend classes with could afford this style of travel while my school backpack was stuffed with a week's worth of clothes cause I opted out of the carry-on baggage fee Ryanair required.

I thought everyone at this stage made sacrifices when traveling, but I was mostly wrong.

I'm convinced people are traveling for the sake of their Instagram

I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that anyone can experience a new country in the span of 48 hours.

I do know, however, that people are really good at making their time away look like the best time ever on my Instagram feed . It's as if they're collecting comments like postcards or putting another notch in their belts by showing one another how many stamps they have accumulated in their passports.

Traveling while studying abroad is a competitive sport with a large price tag that no one told me to train for.

I've learned that such comparisons defeat the purpose of traveling. Maybe I haven't flown on the best airlines or stayed in an oceanfront villa, but my experiences abroad have been enriching and allowed me to engage with other cultures. Best of all? I didn't have to spend much money, and my Instagram still looks good.

Watch: Marriott International's Tina Edmundson tells Insider that the travel mindset has changed since the pandemic

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A Peek Inside the Brains of ‘Super-Agers’

New research explores why some octogenarians have exceptional memories.

By Dana G. Smith

When it comes to aging, we tend to assume that cognition gets worse as we get older. Our thoughts may slow down or become confused, or we may start to forget things, like the name of our high school English teacher or what we meant to buy at the grocery store.

But that’s not the case for everyone.

For a little over a decade, scientists have been studying a subset of people they call “super-agers.” These individuals are age 80 and up, but they have the memory ability of a person 20 to 30 years younger.

Most research on aging and memory focuses on the other side of the equation — people who develop dementia in their later years. But, “if we’re constantly talking about what’s going wrong in aging, it’s not capturing the full spectrum of what’s happening in the older adult population,” said Emily Rogalski, a professor of neurology at the University of Chicago, who published one of the first studies on super-agers in 2012.

A paper published Monday in the Journal of Neuroscience helps shed light on what’s so special about the brains of super-agers. The biggest takeaway, in combination with a companion study that came out last year on the same group of individuals, is that their brains have less atrophy than their peers’ do.

The research was conducted on 119 octogenarians from Spain: 64 super-agers and 55 older adults with normal memory abilities for their age. The participants completed multiple tests assessing their memory, motor and verbal skills; underwent brain scans and blood draws; and answered questions about their lifestyle and behaviors.

The scientists found that the super-agers had more volume in areas of the brain important for memory, most notably the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. They also had better preserved connectivity between regions in the front of the brain that are involved in cognition. Both the super-agers and the control group showed minimal signs of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains.

“By having two groups that have low levels of Alzheimer’s markers, but striking cognitive differences and striking differences in their brain, then we’re really speaking to a resistance to age-related decline,” said Dr. Bryan Strange, a professor of clinical neuroscience at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, who led the studies.

These findings are backed up by Dr. Rogalski’s research , initially conducted when she was at Northwestern University, which showed that super-agers’ brains looked more like 50- or 60-year-olds’ brains than their 80-year-old peers. When followed over several years, the super-agers’ brains atrophied at a slower rate than average.

No precise numbers exist on how many super-agers there are among us, but Dr. Rogalski said they’re “relatively rare,” noting that “far less than 10 percent” of the people she sees end up meeting the criteria.

But when you meet a super-ager, you know it, Dr. Strange said. “They are really quite energetic people, you can see. Motivated, on the ball, elderly individuals.”

Experts don’t know how someone becomes a super-ager, though there were a few differences in health and lifestyle behaviors between the two groups in the Spanish study. Most notably, the super-agers had slightly better physical health, both in terms of blood pressure and glucose metabolism, and they performed better on a test of mobility . The super-agers didn’t report doing more exercise at their current age than the typical older adults, but they were more active in middle age. They also reported better mental health .

But overall, Dr. Strange said, there were a lot of similarities between the super-agers and the regular agers. “There are a lot of things that are not particularly striking about them,” he said. And, he added, “we see some surprising omissions, things that you would expect to be associated with super-agers that weren’t really there.” For example, there were no differences between the groups in terms of their diets, the amount of sleep they got, their professional backgrounds or their alcohol and tobacco use.

The behaviors of some of the Chicago super-agers were similarly a surprise. Some exercised regularly, but some never had; some stuck to a Mediterranean diet, others subsisted off TV dinners; and a few of them still smoked cigarettes. However, one consistency among the group was that they tended to have strong social relationships , Dr. Rogalski said.

“In an ideal world, you’d find out that, like, all the super-agers, you know, ate six tomatoes every day and that was the key,” said Tessa Harrison, an assistant project scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, who collaborated with Dr. Rogalski on the first Chicago super-ager study.

Instead, Dr. Harrison continued, super-agers probably have “some sort of lucky predisposition or some resistance mechanism in the brain that’s on the molecular level that we don’t understand yet,” possibly related to their genes.

While there isn’t a recipe for becoming a super-ager, scientists do know that, in general , eating healthily, staying physically active, getting enough sleep and maintaining social connections are important for healthy brain aging.

Dana G. Smith is a Times reporter covering personal health, particularly aging and brain health. More about Dana G. Smith

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Study shows whiskey brings billions of dollars to Tennessee's economy

F or the first time, the Southern Skies Festival will be adding the Tennessee Whiskey Experience to its lineup. It is a collaboration with the Tennessee Distillers Guild to bring the top distilleries from across the state to Knoxville.

This move comes as a study by the Tennessee Whiskey Trail mentions whiskey makes a $3.45 billion impact on the state economy.

"That is huge," said Kim Mitchell, director of tourism with Blount Partnership.

The study also said whiskey tourism and sales supported 30,000 jobs in Tennessee. It is an impact that staff at Company Distilling in Townsend have seen firsthand.

"It is a very tourist-driven community," said Hannah Sabo, the regional manager. "We get a lot of enthusiasts from Jack Daniels because their master distiller, Jeff Arnett, came from Jack Daniels and they want to see his legacy."

Tourism officials say whiskey brings around 8 million tourists to Tennessee every year. 10News visited Company Distilling, the only whiskey distillery in Townsend, on Friday and saw license plates from states like Kentucky, South Carolina and Iowa.

"Lots of people travel to the area to camp," Sabo said. "We are surrounded by campgrounds in Townsend."

Mitchell, on the other hand, explained they spend a lot of time encouraging people to visit local distilleries, not only because whiskey brings millions of dollars in tax revenue, but because it also builds connections.

"It is like bringing together your friends, having a good glass of bourbon or whiskey and just sitting around a fire and just, you know, having meaningful conversations with people," she said.

May marks Whiskey Month across Tennessee and East Tennessee in particular celebrates Whiskey Week from May 3 through May 11.