Global Travel Program

We are excited to be offering four amazing global travel programs in the upcoming 2023-2024 school year! Students must apply for each trip they’re interested in, and the application is open until October 19, 2023. The application is an opportunity to express interest and is not binding. More information about the trips including cost and financial aid opportunities will be provided soon. Email Ms. Kamen with any questions.

Istanbul, Turkey
Urban Palimpsest: Exploring Cities Real and Imagined: March 9-17, 2024

To roam the seven hills of Istanbul and to traverse its ancient waterways is to experience the accretions of history — from the founding of Byzantium in classical antiquity, through two global empires, Byzantine and Ottoman, to the cosmopolitan, contemporary city of today. On our March 2024 trip to Istanbul, Turkey, drawing on BUA’s history, classics, and math curriculums, we will uncover the many layers of history, culture, and religion discernible right beneath the surface of this bustling modern metropolis. Through visits to archaeological sites in Assos (once home to Aristotle) and in Troy, we’ll explore cities both real and imaginary: ideal cities, literary cities, reconstructed cities, remembered cities.

This trip is open to students in all grades, with preference given to older students.

Cost: $4,601

Paris, France
Americans Abroad: The Expatriate Experience in Paris: March 10-16, 2024

On our trip to Paris, our goal will be to explore the expatriate experience and to learn how this historical city functioned as a haven and inspiration for many American writers. Seeking refuge in Europe from conditions that made their lives in America difficult, these writers produced new, groundbreaking subject matter and style that effectively broadened the American literary landscape. Following in their footsteps, we will set out to see what muse the great city has to offer us. While we will, of course, be visiting famous and important locations, the focus of the trip will be on developing our own writing. Each day at breakfast, we will generate and craft location-specific writing prompts that we will use to produce our daily writing, such as a poem, a short story, an essay, or any written form we each choose to use. We will then set out to explore the city with a guide who will provide context for what we will be seeing. After visiting the locations, we will use the late afternoon to continue our exploration, in pairs or in groups, and to write. We will then convene for dinner and to have the opportunity, should you choose, to share out what we created. As you complete the application, please tell us something about how you hope to use the trip to develop your own writing. Remember that you do not need to be an experienced writer to qualify for this trip. A mere desire to write is all that is needed. We are excited to read about how you will embrace this opportunity.

This trip is open to 11th and 12th graders only.

Cost: $3,789

New York City, New York
Take the A-Train: The Arts in New York City: March 9-14, 2024 

New York City is a vibrant hub of visual and performing arts, making it a global cultural epicenter. This trip aims to provide students with an immersive experience in the city’s rich artistic influences and history. Students will have the opportunity to attend performances at renowned music venues including the Metropolitan Opera and the Village Vanguard, visit world-class museums such as the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as downtown contemporary art galleries, and enjoy musicals and plays both on and off Broadway. Led by the BUA Arts Department, this interdisciplinary experience will allow students to explore the vast array of cultural offerings in New York City.

This trip is open to students in all grades.

Cost: $1,995

Berkshires, Massachusetts
En Plein Air: Art & Adventure in the Berkshire Mountains: June 17-22, 2024

How does the landscape influence art, and art influence the landscape of the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts? “En Plein Air,” means outside, referring to artists who paint their landscape while immersed in it. We will do the same, exploring museums, mountainous trails, rivers, and farmlands, while documenting the experience through artmaking.

This program will visit the Clark Art Institute, the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art  (Mass MoCA), meeting with curators and museum leaders while getting behind-the-scenes access to the inner workings of the art world. We will hike on some of the most breathtaking trails in Massachusetts, including Mount Greylock, the tallest mountain in the state, and get our hands dirty learning about regenerative agriculture. 

This trip is open to current 9th, 10th, and 11th graders.

Cost: $995