Global & Community Engagement
Global Engagement Office
Bethel offers three ways to enhance your learning through travel: Semester Abroad, Summer Study Travel and Task Force. Additionally, we also love helping students find internships and practicums abroad.
Travel to Greece & Turkey in 2025
Trip Dates: May 26 – June 11, 2025
Application Deadline: Nov. 20, 2024
Explore the origins of the church in Greece and Turkey being led by Professors David McCabe and Cristian Mihut.
Semester Abroad
Study abroad for an entire semester gaining a new perspective in a different culture, while also earning academic credit.
Summer Study and Travel
Spend the summer earning academic credit while exploring a new part of the world. Examples include Spain, Israel, Greece and more. Trip lengths range from 2 to 6 weeks, and each offers a unique opportunity to be a student abroad.
Summer in Spain
- MAY-JULY 2025
- MAY-JULY 2027
Program highlights:
- Earn 9 credits in 6 weeks
- One-month residence in Salamanca (4 weeks of courses at a language institute)
- Satisfy your Bethel language requirement
- Trip is 6.7 weeks long
- Predicted cost: $6,500* (financial aid available)
* Includes tuition, room and board, airfare, transportation, entry fees to sites.
Trip includes:
- 4 hours per day, 5 days/week formal language study (during the first 4 weeks)
- 4-week homestay
- 4-star hotels on the road
- Chartered bus and experienced driver
- Meals
- Admission fees to museums, cathedrals, cultural exhibits, etc.
Cities and sites visited include:
- Salamanca
- Barcelona
- Madrid
- Burgos
- Toledo
- La Coruña
- Avila
- Alba de Tormes
- Segovia
- Bilbao
There is one long (three- to four-day) weekend during our time in Salamanca in which students are welcome to travel at their own cost.
In the past, students have gone to France, Italy, Portugal, Germany and southern Spain, including some of the resort islands.
Classes
- Elementary Spanish I (SPAN 161)
- Elementary Spanish II (SPAN 162)
- lnternational Spanish Experience (SPAN 163)
- lntermediate Spanish I (SPAN 261)
- Textual Proficiency in Spanish (SPAN 265)
- Civilization & Cultures of Spain (SPAN 352)
- Advanced Grammar & Composition (SPAN 360)
- Spanish Conversation (SPAN 361)
- Spanish Art (SPAN 352)
- Survey of Spanish Literature (SPAN 363)
Israel
Task Force
These short-term trips focus on learning through service, cultural immersion, and spiritual formation. Each year Bethel offers a variety of trips ranging from one to three weeks that serve in the United States as well as around the world. Depending on the year, students may be experiencing life and ministry in a remote Alaskan village, practice pilgrimage on the Camino in Spain, staffing a clinic in Guatemala, working with missionaries in Thailand. Each year brings new opportunities that are publicized in the fall to make sure students know what’s coming. Bethel also supports students’ fundraising to make these dreams become reality.
Task Force FAQ’s
What is a Task Force?
A Task Force team is a group of Bethel University students that travels outside the walls of Bethel University (typically internationally) for the purpose of serving in a short-term mission capacity.
What is the cost of a Task Force trip?
The cost of a Task Force trip varies depending on the location and year. Typically, a trip will range from $1,000-$3,000 per student.
How are Task Force locations selected?
Task Force locations are chosen in various ways. Whether based on an established relationship that Bethel University has with a short-term mission organization or a missionary known by the university, we try to select locations that are not only of interest to students, but that also provide opportunities for high levels of service and impact for participants and for those we serve.
Who can participate in a Task Force?
Any Bethel student is eligible to apply to be part of a Task Force team. Final approval will be given based on the student’s application, interview and standing with the Student Development Office (inclusive of residential and disciplinary issues, chapel attendance, and health concerns).
How does fundraising work for a Task Force team?
Global Engagement staff actively help students with fundraising strategy. One way fundraising can be done is by sending out support letters. We provide official letterhead, envelopes and helpful instructions on how to effectively raise support. You are responsible for all postage and actually mailing your support letters. Fundraising can also be more informal by asking family members or friends on social media or in person. Another option would be to organize your own fundraiser to help get support for your trip. How you fundraise is up to you, but it can be as personal or creative as you would like. Gifts given toward your Task Force trip by donors are tax deductible.
Are gifts given toward my Task Force tax deductible?
Yes. Any gifts made directly to Bethel University and designated for your team will be tax deductible for the year in which they are given.
Can I pay for a Task Force on my school bill?
Trip costs cannot be put on student bill, but if there are course credits with the trip, those could be. Typically, trips for Semester Abroad or Summer in Spain can be paid on a student’s bill.
How do I apply for a Task Force?
Links to the Formstack application are found on My Bethel, department posters, emails, social media and more.
Can I earn credit for a Task Force?
Most Task Force teams do not earn credit because the nature of the program is service. However, there may be credit options offered in conjunction with some Task Force teams. In some cases, it may also qualify for internship or practicum credits.
Contact the Global Engagement Office
To reach our department, email GEO@betheluniversity.edu, call us at 574.807.7116 or visit us in the Academic Center, Room 346.
Service Learning Office
The main goal of Bethel University’s Service Learning program is to provide opportunities for students to experience a life of service and to find what they are passionate about through serving in different roles.
In addition to different types of service events each semester, students are welcome to email us at ServiceLearning@BethelUniversity.edu to help them find a regular place of service in the South Bend/Mishawaka area that would be a good match for both the organization and the student.
Bethel University’s Service Learning Office exists to promote the integration of service with education. By forming partnerships with local nonprofit organizations, we provide students with the chance to engage with those in our community and to learn the importance of service as taught by Jesus. Some regular opportunities include but are not limited to:
- Campus-wide service day
- Packing Christmas boxes for local children
- Food drive
- Labor for Your Neighbor project
- Short-term domestic disaster relief trips
Contact the Service Learning Office
Email us at ServiceLearning@BethelUniversity.edu, call us at 574.807.7116 or visit us in the Academic Center, Room 346.