One More Journey

Giving Tuesday 2019 is now in the record books and we are incredibly grateful for the support the AUP community has shown for AUP students. Together we raised €31,175, which means that next year approximately 125 students will receive a Coup de Pouce travel grant and will benefit from the lasting experience of a Cultural Program study trip.

This Giving Tuesday, AUP united its entire community in a push to raise €10,000 for its Coup de Pouce travel fund. Coup de pouce is French for “a little help,” and when it comes to supporting the Coup de Pouce program, a little help goes a long way – to Morocco, to India, to Iceland or to many other destinations across the globe. The Cultural Program is a hallmark of AUP’s unique approach to a global liberal arts education. Through study trips and cultural excursions to inspiring destinations, the Cultural Program takes learning beyond the classroom, encouraging global explorers to become lifelong learners. Faculty-led study trips provide students with real-world applications for the academic theory they learn in class. By experiencing diverse cultures and communities, students open themselves up to new perspectives – and equip themselves with skills and knowledge that will remain valuable long after graduation.

Coup de Pouce provides travel grants to any students taking a class with a study trip component. The money raised this Giving Tuesday will ensure that at least 40 more students can benefit from the Cultural Program with an inspiring experience, one that encourages them to be responsible actors and empowered leaders throughout their future careers. Supporting Coup de Pouce this Giving Tuesday will make a world of difference – so students can make a difference in the world. 

The Cultural Program is a hallmark of AUP’s unique approach to a global liberal arts education. By taking students out of the classroom so they can experience diverse cultures and communities, study trips and cultural excursions foster within students the spirit of lifelong learning.

By grounding academic theory in a real-world context, the Cultural Program allows students to develop critical-thinking skills and interdisciplinary approaches that will continue to inspire them as they embark on international careers. Close collaboration with faculty and their peers helps open their minds to new ideas and varied perspectives.

Many global explorers arrive at the University wanting to immerse themselves in an international setting; the Cultural Program provides a launchpad for doing so skillfully and sensitively. It’s an experience that stays with students long after graduation.

Giving to the Coup de Pouce fund means you are helping global explorers become lifelong learners, able to engage with diverse cultures around the world and apply creative thinking and responsible approaches to real-world situations.

Every year since AUP's founding, students have participated in the Cultural Program, study trips that take them beyond the borders of Paris to explore different subjects, countries, cultures, languages and ways of thinking. From Sweden to Ghana, India to Sarajevo and Belgrade, spending just one weekend abroad can be enough to change your life. What was your favorite study trip? Share your memories by clicking through to our webform. Some of the anecdotes and memories might be shared during Giving Tuesday on December 3, 2019.

Share your Cultural Program memory

The History of the Cultural Program

Study trips have always been an integral part of AUP’s unique approach to international liberal arts education. Walter Brennan was the University’s first Cultural Program Advisor, leading outings to performances, talks and exhibitions across Paris all the way back in 1962. Marie DeLamater – wife of AUP’s founder, Dr. Lloyd DeLamater – later ran cultural excursions to museums and châteaux across France as part of the University’s art history courses.

In the late 1960s, study trips to the Soviet Union, including one to East Germany, allowed students to visit otherwise inaccessible regions, immersing themselves in the complex political issues of the day. Study trips were always faculty-led and closely tied to the curriculum, providing an innovative and inspirational way for students to put theory into practice.

One of our longest-running study trips, Shakespeare in Context, which takes students to London and Stratford-upon-Avon, first ran in 1994 and has been offered annually ever since. Other notable recurring trips – including to Fez, Morocco, and Auroville, India – first appeared in the 2000s, in parallel with the introduction of AUP’s first graduate programs.

The Sustainable Development Practicum in Auroville, India, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, is today one of our flagship programs. It provides a month-long opportunity for students to work closely with NGOs in the township to gain hands-on experience of how communications and management principles work in practice.

The Cultural Program has an impact on the entire AUP community. Discover how study trips have changed students’ lives by reading the stories below.

Study trips take learning beyond the classroom and out into the world. Explore a few of the many destinations that students have visited recently.

Can't find the answer to your question here? Please don’t hesitate to contact us. Regardless of the size of the gift you have in mind, we are here to help. Contact AUP at advancementaup.edu (subject: Giving%20Tuesday%202019) .