Harvard and BGU Launch New Study Abroad Programs
Harvard and BGU Launch New Study Abroad Programs
July 29, 2025
Harvard Campus
The Harvard Gazette—Harvard has launched new initiatives that promise to bolster the University’s academic engagement with Israeli institutions and create greater opportunities for students and researchers. A collaboration announced this week with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) will offer study abroad opportunities for undergraduates during the academic year and the summer.
Harvard’s agreement with BGU will offer Harvard College students year-round opportunities to study and earn credit toward their degree in Israel beginning in spring 2026.
BGU, whose main campus is in Beer-Sheva, was founded in 1969 as the first campus in southern Israel’s Negev desert. Today, it has expanded to three campuses, which are home to 20,000 students and 4,000 faculty members. Its community is engaged in cutting-edge research and academics in the sciences, history and the humanities, and business and management, and the school is a regional leader in research on climate change and desert studies. In addition to its three campuses, BGU is home to several multi-disciplinary research institutes specializing in biotechnology, solar energy, desert research, and Jewish and Israeli culture, among other areas. Its more than 100,000 alumni hold leading roles in research and development, healthcare, industry, and culture across Israel and the world. One noteworthy aspect of BGU’s mission is its commitment to social and environmental responsibility. The university is actively engaged in developing the Negev, Israel, and the region.
Current and past opportunities at BGU include an archaeology course that sends students to help on active excavations; marine science courses on the Mediterranean; and a sustainable agricultural practices course focused on preventing desertification and conserving resources. All courses are taught in English, with visiting students sharing classrooms with Israeli students to facilitate conversation and cross-cultural exchange.
Professor Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, BGU’s vice president for global engagement, highlighted the university’s commitment to impact and exchange: “Ben-Gurion University strives for excellence in research and teaching, as well as innovation and applied research that impact people’s lives wherever they are. We look forward to embarking on this collaboration with Harvard University and fostering the collaborative relationships so necessary to training our next generation of leaders.”
“We are thrilled to work with BGU to provide this new opportunity for undergraduate study abroad,” said Mark Elliott, Harvard’s vice provost for international affairs. “The collaboration with BGU is the latest in Harvard’s long and rich history of engagement with institutions of higher education across Israel, and I have no doubt that it will contribute both to transformative experiences for students and to increased academic collaboration across the region in the coming years.”
Amanda Claybaugh, dean of undergraduate education at Harvard College, said: “I’m delighted that we’re adding BGU to the list of Israeli universities where our students can study abroad, because BGU offers opportunities that aren’t available here at Harvard: learning about archaeology at a dig site, about marine biology in the Mediterranean, about climate and sustainability from the world’s leaders in desert agriculture.”
College students can study abroad with BGU beginning in spring 2026, with opportunities available for spring, full-year, or summer study. For information on term-time studies, visit the Office for International Education’s list of approved programs. The deadline for spring 2026 semester study will be Oct. 1.
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