Study Abroad Programs
Summer and Winter Study Abroad in Europe and Latin AmericaMulti-city, faculty-led programs that combine academic credit with real-world exploration of business, innovation, culture, and society.
Business and Innovation Across Europe and Brazil
Summit programs move students and professors through several cities in Europe and Brazil. Each city is part of the course. Students earn academic credit through classes, company and institutional visits, cultural study, and faculty-led discussion.
Programs begin with coursework at a partner university. Professors introduce the region’s history, institutions, and business environment. Students use that background as they consider how companies make decisions, how markets develop, and how local conditions affect new ideas and established organizations.
Students and professors then travel together from city to city. They visit companies, startups, public institutions, and cultural organizations. These visits show how organizations respond to the economic, political, and cultural conditions around them.
Professors lead daily debriefs after visits and cultural activities. Students connect what they saw to assigned readings, class discussions, and written work. These conversations make the visits part of the assessed course.
Students finish each program with academic credit and material they can use in their coursework. They leave with a better understanding of business and innovation in Europe and Brazil, including how local history, markets, and institutions shape organizations.
A Study Abroad Model Designed with Traveling as Part of the Curriculum
Summit programs are built on a simple idea: to understand business, culture, and society in a global context, students must compare how they operate from one place to the next. Remaining in a single city offers only a partial view. Traveling through multiple locations allows students to observe variation, identify patterns, and understand why practices and institutions differ across contexts.
Why travel matters in our model:
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Comparative perspective — Moving across cities highlights how history, policy, and culture shape business and social systems in distinct ways.
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Layered learning — each destination builds on the last, deepening academic themes rather than repeating them.
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Context in motion — students see how global challenges take on local forms, preparing them to adapt in diverse environments.
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Reflection through contrast — faculty-led debriefs help students connect observations across locations, turning travel into structured analysis.
By weaving travel into the curriculum, Summit turns mobility into a deliberate academic tool, ensuring students gain not just exposure abroad, but a framework for understanding how ideas, companies, and cultures operate across borders.
Earn Academic Credits
Summit programs are credit-bearing and academically rigorous, offering up to 6 U.S. semester credits through our accredited university partners in Europe and Latin America. Courses are designed in collaboration with international faculty and structured to meet the academic standards of U.S. institutions. Each course integrates real-world learning experiences—such as company visits, expert guest lectures, and faculty-led fieldwork—ensuring students engage with both theory and practice throughout the program.
Courses That Combine Academic Rigor with Global Perspectives
Our interdisciplinary curriculum blends academic theory with real-world engagement, allowing students to analyze global systems while seeing how they operate in practice. Students explore frameworks for cross-cultural understanding, international business, and innovation — and then apply those concepts through professional site visits, case studies, and immersive cultural experiences.
Course topics include:
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Introduction to (Region)
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Cross-Cultural Management
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Cross-Cultural Communication
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Leadership Across Borders
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International Business Strategy
Each course connects classroom learning with professional visits and cultural immersion, ensuring your studies are relevant and transferable.
Professional and Cultural Visits
Professional and cultural visits are central to every Summit program. They are not optional excursions. They are scheduled, prepared for, and debriefed as integral parts of the academic curriculum.
In the professional component, students may tour a company workspace in Berlin, meet with a management or product team in Barcelona, or visit a policy institute in Athens discussing regional economic and social initiatives. These encounters give students the opportunity to ask informed questions, observe workplace dynamics, and examine how local conditions shape organizational decision-making.
Cultural visits provide historical and social context for those professional experiences. Exploring a neighborhood market in São Paulo, walking through a district in Paris, or attending a performance in Athens helps students understand the local culture and everyday life that influence how people work and collaborate.
Each visit is integrated into coursework through preparatory briefings and post-visit discussions. Students connect what they observe to course readings, assignments, and case material, using their experiences in the field as evidence for academic work.
Together, these experiences help students understand how business and innovation take shape within different cultural, economic, and institutional settings.
Studying abroad sharpens your critical thinking, fosters adaptability, and ingrains cross-cultural competencies. This educational journey equips you with the knowledge, skills, and mindset to thrive in an interconnected and rapidly evolving world. Learn more
“There is no doubt that I would recommend the Summit Program. I thought the flow of the program as perfect, not too overwhelming but always something to do. It’s important to find that balance in a study abroad program and I think Summit has managed to do so. I truly believe this is one of the best programs out there. Thanks again!”
William Croghan, Miami University
“I would recommend this program to other students. I really liked the structure and how well we were able to view and capture all aspects of the country of Brazil. Something that surprised me were how nice Brazilians were. Everyone was really patient and willing to go the extra mile for us. These past three weeks have been amazing!”
Kelly Marin, Seton Hall University
“I would 100% recommend this program to other Iowa students. I have learned so much about Brazil and will carry that with me for the rest of my life. Brian and Leo, my professors, are nothing but professional in the classroom and make for a great learning atmosphere. Outside of the classroom, they are fun and friendly; The perfect mix!”
Ryan Burton, University of Iowa
Recent University Partnerships & Course Locations:
Courses have been hosted at leading institutions across Europe and Latin America, including:
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Contact Summit:
- info @ summitglobaleducation com
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Summit Global Education runs multi-city, professor-led study abroad programs across Europe and Brazil. Students earn academic credit while exploring how business, culture, and society intersect across different global contexts.