Program Highlights

Program Dates

June 6 – July 4, 2026

Faculty Director

Ian F McNeely, Professor of History and Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education

Program Highlights

Led by UNC’s Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, students in this 4-week Burch Field Research Seminar will use Berlin as a case study to research the quality of life in European cities. Students will examine the modernization and reunification of Germany since the fall of the Berlin Wall. With German-speaking Europe boasting some of the highest measures of human development anywhere, this immersive program will explore on a deeper level as to why and how these findings apply across Europe more generally. The program is based in Berlin for four weeks with a planned excursion to Vienna, regularly ranked as the world’s most livable city. Students who participate in this program will receive 4 UNC (Honors) credits and the HI-RESEARCH requirement of the IDEAs in Action curriculum.