Chishang, Taiwan
When people mention travel experiences during college, it tends to be purely associated with studying away. And although that is a great experience, not everyone will end up studying away for a variety of reasons. Luckily, international experiences at NYU are not only limited to the traditional semestral exchanges. And rather, they do try and include different types of experiential learning experiences. Gallatin for instance, has its own global office fully dedicated to creating global experiences for its students. I was very fortunate enough to be a part of the Dean’s Honors Society. A year long program focused on a part of the world and theme that comes with an international trip to that place, essentially paid for by Gallatin. But how does this exactly work?
What is Gallatin’s Dean’s Honors Society?
Gallatin’s Dean’s Honors Society invites Gallatin Sophomores, Junior, and Seniors that have excelled academically to bi-weekly meetings, exploring a theme with a Gallatin faculty mentor for an academic year. The theme is usually linked to a place in the world, and the program includes a trip to that country during the Spring semeter. This year’s theme was Taiwan: Land of Contrasts with Professor Ethan Harkness. During our bi-weekly meetings we were able to learn about Taiwan’s history, politics, even economics; giving us a good baseline for when we actually went to Taiwan.
Eligibility for the program:
- GPA: 3.85 or higher
- Register for the DHS Seminar
- Co-pay for travel expenses (the rest of the trip is fully covered by Gallatin, minus some meals)
Past DHS trips have included: Senegal, Cyprus, Austria, Prague, Iceland, New Zealand, to name a few.
Let's go to Taiwan
The dates of the program ran from March 20th to March 30th, 2025 (which was Spring Break this year). My program consisted of 20 Gallatin Students, Professor Ethan Harkness (Director of Global Programs at Gallatin), Conor Brady (Assistant Director of Communications at Gallatin), Tricia Savino, and the most incredible Tour Guide Ting.
We spent four days in Taipei , three days in Chishang, and three days in Tainan. Some of my favorite activities that we did included: night Markets, biking on rice fields, taking a gondola to tea farms, visiting an indigenous tribe’s lands, checking out local museums, exploring temples–and eating some incredible local foods!
This was an opportunity I did not know existed, but has become one of my most treasured memories of my time at NYU. I would really recommend students to take advantage of things like the Dean’s Honors Society. It not only provides very unique experiences but I was able to meet incredible people that now have became friends. And through it all, also visited a new incredible place in Taiwan, that I probably would have not had the privilege of visiting and truly getting to know otherwise.
Related
What They Don’t Tell You About Study Abroad
Studying abroad is an exciting experience for many students but you need to make sure you’re ready. Heidi shares her experience and advice on what to expect before you go abroad.
How the Gilman Scholarship Helped Me Study Abroad
Funding opportunities like the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship can help make your study away dreams a reality!
Meet NYU Gallatin
The NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study empowers students to create a multidisciplinary curriculum. Small class sizes create an intimate college experience while still tapping into all the resources NYU has to offer.