FHSU Alnwick
Home to the 12th Duke and Duchess of Northumberland, England, Alnwick Castle is full of history and importance. Built following the Norman conquest, the castle has been renovated and remodeled to accommodate educational residence programs and public visitors year-round, hosting as many as 600,000 visitors per year. Popular for its use in many famous movies, such as Harry Potter and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as well as Transformers: The Last Knight, to name a few, the castle sits along the River Aln just 5 miles inland from the North Sea, 32 miles south of the Scottish border, and 34 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Complimenting the castle is the contemporary Alnwick Gardens, inspired by the Duchess of Northumberland in 2001 and situated next to the castle, it boasts a mysterious bamboo labyrinth, a Poison Garden, the Grand Cascade, the traditional Ornamental Garden, and a mesmerizing Rose Garden.
Alnwick Village is a market town in Northumberland with a population of about 8,000. The town dates back to around AD 600 when it was most known as an agricultural center. Today, the town center has changed very little from its time as a staging post between Edinburgh and London. Walking through the village, you will find many quaint pubs, restaurants, boutiques, and the ever-famous Barter Books, home to the original, “Stay Calm and Carry On” poster.
FHSU Alnwick is a 3-week short-term faculty-led study abroad program which takes place onsite at Alnwick Castle in Alnwick, England, Northumberland.
Open to all FHSU undergraduate and graduate students with any major, the program includes a 4-week online summer course with the latter 3 weeks of the course being taught onsite at Alnwick Castle.
The program will include lodging at Alnwick Castle, daily breakfast and lunches, day and weekend excursions, and extended travel opportunities.
Students will attend class each week Monday through Thursday onsite at Alnwick Castle. Other onsite activities include film tours to see where popular movies were filmed at the castle, stateroom tours, historical grounds tours, museum visits in the castle towers, medieval craft demonstrations, Harry Potter broomstick flying lessons, archery lessons, unlimited access to the Alnwick Castle Gardens, and more.
The program will include two overnight weekend excursions: Hadrian’s Wall and the Lake District and Edinburgh, Scotland. One optional open-travel weekend will be offered during the middle of the program. The optional open-travel weekend will give students the opportunity to explore areas in the United Kingdom. Students will receive travel guidance and support from onsite program coordinators.
The 2025 FHSU summer term will run from Monday, June 2 to Monday, June 30. The first week of the course will be taught online while the latter three weeks will be taught onsite at Alnwick Castle. The FHSU Alnwick summer program will run from Saturday, June 7 to Sunday, June 29.
Week 1
- June 7: Departure from the USA and arrival to Edinburgh, Scotland
- June 8: Arrival to Alnwick Castle with orientation and welcome dinner
- June 9 -12: Onsite classes begin
- Day excursion to York (TBD)
- June 13-15: Weekend excursion to Hadrian’s Wall and the Lake District (2 overnights)
Week 2
- June 16-19: Onsite classes
- June 20-22: Open-travel weekend
- June 23: No Class
- Day excursion to the Coastal Castles (TBD)
Week 3
- June 23-26: Onsite classes
- June 28: Day excursion and final overnight in Edinburgh, Scotland
- June 29: Departure from Edinburgh airport and return to the USA
Each course offered for the FHSU Alnwick program is a 4-week FHSU Online summer course with the latter 3 weeks of the course being taught onsite at Alnwick Castle. Students can obtain the syllabus and course information from the course brochure on Tiger Travel.
There may be 2-4 separate FHSU courses being taught at Alnwick Castle at the same time. Each course will have a different faculty leader and a different cohort of students taking each course.
Courses will be added to Workday for the respective summer term where students will register and pay their tuition. Courses will be taught in a traditional classroom which includes Wi-Fi, a projector, a screen, and theater-style seating for students.
Summer 2025 Courses
Search for these FHSU Alnwick course brochures in the Tiger Travel Program Directory. Go to your Tiger Travel dashboard and find Explore Programs. Use the search bar to search “fort hays” to locate your FHSU Alnwick course application. All syllabi are located under Resources in the course brochure on Tiger Travel.
|
COURSE NAME |
DEPARTMENT |
INSTRUCTOR |
CREDITS |
|
Outlaws Through the Ages |
Department of English |
Dr. Perry Harrison |
3 credits, undergraduate or graduate |
|
Topics in Writing: Exploring the World through Travel Writing |
Department of English |
Lisa Bell |
3 credits, undergraduate or graduate |
|
The Liberal Tradition: Theories of Politics, Law, and Economics |
Communication Studies, Law, and Political Science |
Dr. Jay Steinmetz |
3 credits, undergraduate or graduate |