The Carmel Institute will be sponsoring an AU Course/Trip to Istanbul over summer break from June 23 - July 1, 2025. The Culture of Eastern Orthodoxy: From Constantinople to Eurasia will combine pre-assigned readings with visits to museums, galleries, and concerts in Istanbul, Türkiye, to explore the role of Byzantine Orthodoxy in forming the cultural and historical space of Western Eurasia from Anatolia and the Balkans to Russia and Eastern Europe.

We invite currently-enrolled university students to submit applications to take part in the course. The Carmel Institute covers the cost of students' travel from Dulles International Airport to Istanbul and back, lodging, and meals. Participants should be prepared to purchase a few lunches (at most) and any souvenirs they wish. Students from universities other than AU who choose to take the course for university credit should contact their home university to make those arrangements.

American University students: Please complete this application form. You will need your passport, your transcripts in pdf or image files with your last name in the file name, and your 150-word statement ready to submit the form.

Students of other universities: Please complete this application form, then send your transcripts - with your last name in the file name - from all post-secondary coursework (unofficial are fine in a .pdf or image format with the logo of the university visible in the file), in a single email to carmelinstitute@american.edu with a cc: to jcosson@american.edu with your last name and "Summer Trip" in the subject line. You may include the required 150-word statement in the application form or submit it in Word or .pdf format in the email with your transcripts.

ALL three parts of the application (the completed form, your transcript(s), and the 150-word statement) must be submitted by 5pm on March 7, 2025. I cannot forward your application to the selection committee until it is complete and the short timeframe to review the applications and notify the selected students is very tight. 

Please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or issues with the form or other required elements of the application. You will receive a confirmation email once we have your complete application.