Division of Undergraduate Studies

During Spring Break, many students choose to travel; some may go to the beach and others may hit the slopes. Some students, though, participate in unique Spring Break opportunities. For example, Penn State has 17 different Alternative Spring Break destinations in 2018. Students from University Park and six Commonwealth Campuses will be traveling to places like Cleveland, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Houston to help in various ways.

Also, the University has a number of “embedded” Study Abroad Programs, which travel outside of the United States over Spring Break. Some examples this year include trips to Costa Rica, Curacao, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Students from all campuses can search available programs here: https://global.psu.edu/category/students (In the Program Search, select “Outgoing Embedded” for a complete list).

Some students also utilize Spring Break to complete a special project that they might not have time to complete during class time. One current DUS student at Penn State Behrend, Brock Schaller, will be using Spring Break to shoot an original film, which will be a dark comedy about the criminal underworld.

If you are currently exploring majors, Spring Break can also be a great time to Job Shadow or conduct Informational Interviews. Regardless of how you choose to spend Spring Break, it can be a great time to take some time to reflect on your interests, abilities and values and how that can translate into a meaningful experience for you as an individual.