Travel is an integral part of a TASIS education. Whether it is Academic or independent travel, students have an exceptional opportunity to take advantage of their location right in the middle of Europe - and they do! Interested in finding out more about Academic Travel? Send an email to theAcademic Travel Director.
Academic travel is part of the Middle and High School curriculum, required for all students and included within the tuition fees. Some groups are related to courses of study, some to particular student interests and some are assigned by grade level.
Past Fall Academic Travel trips have included: • The seventh and eighth graders have visited Lausanne and the surrounding area in Switzerland others have explored southern France, or have gone sailing in Sardegna. • The ninth grade traditionally participates in outdoor activities including rock-climbing, body-flying, caving and map work, in Central Switzerland. • The senior Art History classes have traveled to Rome. • The Honors Biology class has pursued field studies on an organic farm near Milan and in Switzerland • Tenth & eleventh grade students have explored Venice (Italy), Lyon (France), Basel (Switzerland), and Florence (Italy). • Seniors have traveled to Strasbourg and Colmar in the Alsace region of France, and Munich, Germany.
Past Spring Academic Travel trips have included: • All tenth grade students take an Outward Bound course in Schwangau, Germany, focusing on the development of leadership, teamwork and communication skills. • The Middle School has traveled to the Amalfi Coast, Malta, Portugal, or Spain. • Other trips have included: ninth graders to Greece, eleventh grade students to Athens, Naples, or Barcelona, and the seniors to Istanbul, Morocco, or visiting universities in the United Kingdom. • Service trips have found students working in Kenya with the WISER organization, working with agencies in Bosnia, and building homes in Portugal with Habitat for Humanity.
Weekend Trips: Many weekends, faculty members offer weekend trips on a sign-up basis, usually making use of the school's fleet of minibuses. The School subsidizes these trips, but students have to meet some of the cost out of their own spending allowance. In addition to visiting major cultural centers such as Florence, Venice, Rome, and Zurich to name a few, there have been outdoor trips including river-rafting or canyoning, camping, hiking or rock-climbing.
Winter vacation: The School is closed at this time and students must leave campus. An alternative travel program is not offered.
Spring Vacation: The school is closed at this time and students must leave campus. Optional trips (two weeks in length) are usually offered to students. In 2010 trips to Brazil and Kenya are being offered. In past years, students and faculty have explored Australia, Japan, and in 2009 a service trip to Cambodia was offered. The cost of these trips is separate from the School fees.
Independent Travel: Juniors, seniors and post graduates in good academic standing may travel independently on weekends (at their own expense) to take advantage of the cultural diversity of Europe.
Many photographs of from the 2009 - 2010 Academic Travel trips are located in the website's Media Gallery or on the TASIS Smugmug Photo Galleries. An assignment in the 2009-2010 Advanced Digital Photography class include the online magazine included below. Click on the graphic and enjoy some short stories and photographs from Academic Travel.
