Gettysburg in Bonn: Where History Meets Sustainability
A Faculty-led semester-long program in Bonn (Germany) at the Academy for International Education (AiB)
Experience a semester like no other in the heart of Europe!
Immerse yourself in Bonn, Germany – a city where Roman ruins stand alongside cutting-edge climate innovation. As the "world capital of climate protection and sustainability" and home to 20 UN institutions, Bonn offers you a front-row seat to global environmental leadership in action.
Spring 2026 Highlights:
- Personalized guidance from Gettysburg's own German Studies Professor Henning Wrage
- Custom-designed curriculum tailored to your academic goals
- Mind-expanding environmental humanities course: "Machines, Monsters, Moonscapes"
- Unforgettable field trips throughout Germany and Europe
No German language skills? No problem! This program welcomes students of all language backgrounds.
Don't just study global issues—experience them firsthand in a city that's actively shaping our sustainable future.
Applications open now!
About Bonn
Bonn was West Germany's capital from 1949 to 1990. These days, it's still home to six federal ministries: Health, Defense, Education and Research, Environment, Development, and Economic Cooperation. You'll also find Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle here, plus 20 United Nations institutions - making Bonn a truly open-minded, international hotspot.
Bonn University, ranked among Europe's top academic institutions, significantly shapes the city's character. With approximately 30,000 enrolled students, Bonn embodies the quintessential "Studentenstadt" (student city) atmosphere.
Rich in history, Bonn's first settlements date back to 12 BCE, with the city's formal founding occurring over 835 years ago. With about 335,000 people, Bonn hits a sweet spot - big enough for great culture (museums, concerts, music festivals, cool cafés, galleries, and cozy restaurants) but small enough to stay relaxed and manageable.
Nature-wise, Bonn's location is pretty spectacular. Sitting on the beautiful Rhine River, you've got many options for hiking, exploring nearby castles, boating, cycling, and more.
And talk about convenient! Bonn sits right in the heart of Europe. You can hop on a train to Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Munich, or Vienna without hassle. Need to go further? The Cologne-Bonn airport gets you to London and other major cities in less than two hours.
Resident Director
Henning Wrage is an Associate Professor of German Studies and has been teaching at Gettysburg College for 12 years. He's originally from Magdeburg in East Germany and studied at Humboldt University in Berlin. Before landing at Gettysburg, he did a Feodor-Lynen Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and spent some time at Haverford College. See here for more information: https://www.gettysburg.edu/academic-programs/german-studies/faculty/employee_detail.dot?empId=08895308620013335&pageTitle=Henning+Wrage
In Henning’s own words: "This is a truly exciting opportunity for me. It is a great extension of what I do at Gettysburg already: fostering meaningful intercultural dialogue between my home country and the country I have come to call home. As a German citizen and native speaker, my goal is to help establish the Bonn program in its inaugural semester. There, I want to serve both as an educator and a cultural bridge for our students.”
As resident director, Henning will help you find the right courses, work with AIB and the American partner institutions, support Gettysburg students while in Bonn, teach the Gettysburg Course (see below), and be your cultural navigator. Whether you are not sure how to book a train ticket or how to deal with a German instructor or how to navigate German institutions, the resident director will be there to help.
About the Program
- Students enroll in 4 courses through AiB: a German language course, the faculty director course, and 2 elective courses. The faculty director’s course for Spring 2026 is an Environmental Humanities class titled “Machines Monsters Moonscapes” (see below).
- Gettysburg will offer elective course options for the students to choose from, and it may be possible for students to enroll in electives offered through other partner schools running a program through AiB as well.
- Courses offered previously include – besides the language course offerings - STEM courses (Physics, Statistics, Differential Equations, Creative Coding), Humanities courses (Philosophy, Religious Studies, Art and Art History, Urban Architecture, Music (Beethoven and his Time), European animation, History) and Business courses (International Business, Sustainable Business)
- Hybrid/Group Programs offer students the ability to learn alongside other global study students from US institutions at international study centers. Some hybrid/group programs allow students to enroll in a couple of courses at local universities, but a majority of these programs are taught by local faculty and professionals through an affiliated study abroad provider at their program’s academic center. These programs frequently offer courses that relate to the program location including language and culture classes, and they tend to focus less on STEM courses. On a vast majority of hybrid/group programs, students live with host families/homestays, providing them a great connection to the local culture.
- Courses are highly experiential, and the program aims to incorporate excursions throughout the city. The program includes two multi-day study tours, three 1-day study trips, and one group bonding trip.
Gettysburg Course
Machines Monsters Moonscapes is an interdisciplinary Environmental Humanities course with participation from Gettysburg faculty from Economics and Environmental Studies. It will count towards MI Arts / Humanities, and fulfill additional Gettysburg Curricular Goals.
Over the course of the semester we will explore how modernity and industrialization become reflected in European, American and Asian cultures, and how climate change and environmental destruction become part of international visual culture.
We will discuss films from Godzilla to Metropolis and Modern Times, look at cartoons, such as Watchmen, read literary texts from Germany and the United States. Best part? We'll mix all this with field trips to key spots in Germany and the Netherlands where these modern environmental challenges become real and tangible.
The class will feature discussions with climate activists, filmmakers and politicians from the region.
Housing and transportation
- On a vast majority of hybrid/group programs, students live with host families/homestays, providing them a great connection to the local culture.
- AiB provides all students with a local transportation pass to cover the cost of their transport to and from the study center, and personal travel in the city as well.
Language requirement
Speaking Germany is not a requirement for taking part in the Bonn program. If you want to go above and beyond with your preparation – consider taking GER101 at Gettysburg College beforehand. With the second German course in Bonn, you will then have completed your language requirement: at a place where you can practice your German both inside and outside the classroom.
Application deadline
Please submit your application by October 1, 2025 here.
Contact
Please reach out to CGE (cge@gettysburg.edu) for more information and for setting up a personal meeting.
For more information about the 2026 program, you can reach resident director Prof. Henning Wrage at hwrage@gettysburg.edu any time.
AiB website