The College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences (CBSHS) offers Clemson students unique study abroad opportunities in countries across the world to elevate the student experience and enhance critical thinking and analytical skills that directly benefit students’ academic endeavors and long-term professional goals.
Each summer, the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice delivers an immersive study abroad program in Szeged, Hungary, where students have the opportunity to interact with one of the world’s most extensive skeletal collections – one with more than 30,000 skeletons dating from the Neolithic period to the 1800s.
In partnership with faculty members in the biological anthropology department at the University of Szeged, Katy Weisensee, forensic consultant, professor and chair of the sociology, anthropology and criminal justice department at Clemson, and Anna Tremblay, lecturer, lead students in hands-on research, data collection and skeletal analysis during the four-week program.
Students learn how to design a research project, collect data and document results, and investigate and evaluate various methods of fieldwork in biological anthropology. Coursework includes hypothesis formulation, fieldwork and research ethics, data management, literature review, analysis and interpretation of results.
“This program allows students to move beyond theoretical knowledge and engage directly with the physical evidence of human history,” said Weisensee. “Prior to the trip, many students have never worked with a real human skeleton, and the experience allows them to apply classroom concepts in a tangible, meaningful way while deepening their understanding of fieldwork, skeletal analysis, disease and cultural history.”
This past summer, students examined medieval remains and a mass grave from the Hungarian Conquest of 1526. They learned how to identify age and sex of bones and determine if the deceased had leprosy, rickets, tuberculosis and more. Beyond skeletal analysis, students had the opportunity to learn from world-class researchers, delve into Hungarian history and explore the differences in human remains across centuries.
According to Molly Kane, a senior anthropology student and member of the Summer 2025 cohort, the program was one of the greatest experiences of her life – one that pushed her out of her comfort zone, taught her to adapt to new cultures and research environments and helped her grow both personally and academically.
“My study abroad experience in Szeged was life changing. I made life-long personal connections, networked with experts in my field of study and learned so much about myself and the world at large,” said Kane. “The University of Szeged’s skeletal collection is incredibly unique, and because we do not have access to the same types of remains in the United States, it was an invaluable learning opportunity and a highlight of my student experience.”
The deadline to apply for the Summer 2026 program is February 1, 2026. For more information on CBSHS global engagement opportunities, visit: www.clemson.edu/cbshs.
The Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice is a part of the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences. Established in July 2016, CBSHS is a 21st-century, land-grant college that combines work in nine disciplines – communication; nursing; parks, recreation and tourism management; political science; psychology; public health sciences; sociology, anthropology and criminal justice – to further its mission of “building people and communities” in South Carolina and beyond.
