Beyond the Classroom
High-impact learning means giving students direct access to the people, places, and experiences that shape real careers and broader perspectives. Through Career Discovery Tours, Career Treks, travel-based courses, faculty-led conference trips, and site visits, students step into boardrooms, courtrooms, rainforests, and cultural landmarks — all as part of their education. Whether meeting a Fortune 500 C-suite, presenting research at a national conference, or staying with a family in rural Jamaica, these experiences connect classroom learning to the wider world in ways that leave a lasting mark.
For-Credit Courses with Travel
From the civil rights history of Selma, Alabama to the rainforests of Costa Rica, several for-credit courses take learning beyond the classroom through immersive travel experiences. In SOC 210, students explore human and civil rights history by visiting Legacy Museums and historic civil rights sites in Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. PSC 100 pairs a half-semester course on cross-cultural psychology with an optional trip to rural Jamaica, where students stay with local families and engage with the community firsthand. For science students, BIO/ENV 450 offers two rotating field study options — a three-week exploration of the Great Lakes region’s flora and fauna culminating near Ely, Minnesota, and a two-week biodiversity journey through Costa Rica’s rainforests and cloud forests — each offering hands-on research in some of North America and Central America’s most remarkable natural environments.
Cross Cultural Psychology: PSC 100.01
This half-semester course provides an overview of the impacts of social norms, social cognition, and social behavior on culture and family. The impacts of these concepts on culture are examined at the local, country, and global levels. Students may gain additional credit and further experience through travel to rural Jamaica for 8 days, engaging in the culture and traditions of Jamaican families and education.
Flora and Fauna of the Great Lakes Region ENV 450
Explore natural areas in northern Minnesota and central Wisconsin! Join us in the wilderness and learn about the plants and animals of the Great Lakes region while we paddle and hike through nature. This immersive course runs for approximately three weeks in late May to early June, beginning with a week on the Ripon College campus exploring local natural areas and culminating at the Coe College Wilderness Field Station located near Ely, MN. This course will be offered Spring 2026 and Spring 2030.
Costa Rica Biodiversity and Climate Change
Travel to Costa Rica and experience its riches in biological diversity and learn about its success in conserving its natural resources. Students take guided hikes and tours in a variety of habitats ranging from lowland rainforests to montane cloud forests and mangroves. This immersive course runs for approximately two weeks in early January, and will be offered in January 2028 and January 2032.
Career Discovery Tour
Ripon College’s Career Discovery Tour takes small groups of students on multi-day immersive trips to meet alumni working across a range of industries, from pharmaceuticals and law to finance and academia. Past tours have brought students to Boston, NYC, and Colorado, and have Seattle scheduled for 2026.
Career Trek
Each year, Career Trek takes students on overnight trips to meet employers, explore industries, and connect with Ripon alumni working in the real world. Past treks have brought students to Chicago to explore urban internship opportunities and cultural experiences, to Madison to visit world-class companies like Eurofins and Epic, and most recently to Milwaukee’s American Family Field for a rare behind-the-scenes meeting with the Milwaukee Brewers’ entire C-suite. Every trek wraps up with an alumni networking event, giving students a chance to build lasting connections with Ripon graduates in each host city.
DO MORE YOUR WAY
Become the extraordinary individual you are meant to be at Ripon.