Many courses offered within JMU’s Study Abroad programs fulfill General Education requirements! In the following sections, we've highlighted several programs that are routinely offered and incorporate courses that fulfill General Education requirements.

Please note that course offerings can vary between fall/spring semester and summer (this is usually the case for semester-long programs) and can also differ from summer to summer.

Students considering studying abroad can find a complete list of JMU programs, scholarship opportunities, answers to frequently asked questions, and more at the Center for Global Engagement's website!

Note: This page is still being updated for Academic Year 2025-26. 

Program Director: Bill Grant (grantwc@jmu.edu)

Four General Education courses (13 credits) are offered during this eight week-long program in Scotland! Students will be able to complete one course each from the following General Education areas:

• Arts and Humanities 
• The Natural World 
• American and Global Experiences
• Sociocultural and Wellness Area 

Visit the Semester in Scotland page

Program Director: Tomás Regalado López (regalatx@jmu.edu).

Walk-in Office Hours: Tu/Th 1:00-3:00pm, Keezell 425. Email to schedule a Zoom meeting. 

Location: Salamanca, Spain

Fall 2026 in Salamanca is a special term designed for first-year students and sophomores looking to complete general education requirements, but any JMU student can apply. Students select 4 of the 6 Gen Ed courses offered, plus an elementary or intermediate Spanish course, and a 1-credit UNST 390 reflection course, for a total of 16 credits. Gen Ed courses are taught in English, and there is not a language requirement. The program includes 6 weekend excursions in Spain and Portugal. Students live in an award-winning dorm in Salamanca, Spain, in individual bedrooms.

General Education courses offered:

• PHIL 150 Ethical Reasoning (Madison Foundations)
• SCOM 122 Fundamental Human Communication: Individual Presentations (Madison Foundations)
• WRTC 103 Rhetorical Reading and Writing (Madison Foundations)
• HTH 100 Personal Wellness (Sociocultural and Wellness)
• SOCI 140 Microsociology: the Individual in Society (Sociocultural and Wellness)
• ART 200 Art in General Culture (Arts and Humanities)
• HUM 200 Great Works (Arts and Humanities)
• POSC 200 Global Politics (American and Global Perspectives)
• GEOL 102: Environment: Earth (The Natural World)

Please email the program director for information about the program and scholarship opportunities. 

Visit the Semester in Salamanca page 

Program Directors: Charles H. Blake (blakech@jmu.edu) & Kristen McCleary (mccleakl@jmu.edu)

Location: Buenos Aires & Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

General Education course offered:

• HUM 200: Great Works: Argentine Literature (3 credits)

Visit the JMU in Argentina page

Program Director: Charles Dotas (dotascj@jmu.edu)

Location: Montréal & Quebec City, Canada

General Education courses offered:

• HUM 251: Modern Perspectives: The Culture of Montreal (3 credits)
• MUS 200M: Music in General Culture (3 credits)
• MUS 206: Introduction to Global Music (3 credits)
• ENG 222: Genres (3 credits)

Visit the Arts and Culture of Montreal page

Program Director: Dorothée Polanz (polanzdx@jmu.edu) 

Location: Nice, France

General Education course offered:

• HUM 251: Birth of the Modern in France (1880-1936): Innovation, Resistance, and Paradox (3 credits)

Visit the Art and Food on the French Rivera program page

Program Director: David Owusu-Ansah (owusuadx@jmu.edu) & Ogundipe Adebayo (ogundiaa@jmu.edu)

Location: Accra, Kumasi, Winneba, Cape Coast, Elmina, Ghana

General Education course offered:

• ART 200: Art in General Culture (3 credits)
• HUM 252: Cross Cultural Perspectives: JMU Summer in Ghana (3 credits)

Visit the JMU Summer in Ghana program page

Program Director: Beth Hinderliter (hindersb@jmu.edu) 

Location: Athens, Greece; Rome & Venice, Italy; Nice, France

General Education course offered:

• HUM 250: Foundations of Western Civilization (3 credits)

Visit the Mediterranean Marvels program page

Program Director: Jessica Stewart (stewa2jl@jmu.edu) 

Location: Florence & Rome, Italy

General Education courses offered:

• ARTH 205: Survey of World Art: Prehistoric to Renaissance (3 credits)
• HUM 250: Foundations of Western Culture: Ancient & Renaissance Italy (3 credits)

Visit the Michelangelo's Italy program page

Program Director: Virginia Soenksen (soenksvm@jmu.edu) & Amy Strunk (strunkal@jmu.edu)

Location: Hiroshima, Kyoto & Tokyo, Japan

General Education courses offered:

• BUS 160: Japanese Business Practices (3 credits)
• HUM 252: Japanese Humanities (3 credits)

Visit the Arts and Culture of Japan page

Program Director: Aram Shahin (shahinax@jmu.edu) & Yuho Nemoto (nemotoyx@jmu.edu)

Location: Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Himeji, Yokohama & Tokyo, Japan

General Education course offered:

• HUM 200: Great Works: Introduction to Japanese Literature (3 credits)

Visit the JMU in Kyoto and Tokyo page

Program Director: Samuel Hernandez (hernansx@jmu.edu) & Ayami Makino (makinoax@jmu.edu)

Location: Nagano & Ueda, Japan

General Education courses offered:

• HUM 252: Japanese Culture Past and Present (3 credits)

Visit the Culture of the Japanese Alps program page

Program Director: David Hardy (hardydl@jmu.edu) & Molly O'Donnell (odonnemc@jmu.edu)

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

General Education course offered:

• HUM 251: Modern Perspectives: Dutch and Flemish Modernity in the Humanities: 17th Century-present (3 credits)

Visit the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Studies program page