The Price of Freedom: Normandy, 1944

The Price of Freedom: Normandy, 1944, is a special course that includes a spring break trip to the site of the Normandy Campaign in France. This four-credit course satisfies a WID requirement.

How to Apply

Information about applications for the Spring 2025 Normandy class is available on the Short Term Study Abroad website. If you have questions, please e-mail Professor Denver Brunsman at [email protected] or Professor Eric Arnesen at [email protected].

Course Material

Through class lectures, discussion and film viewings, students examine the causes and impact of the campaign on individuals, communities and the nation. During the course, each student learns about a soldier who died in the Normandy Campaign and is buried in the American Battlefield Cemetery at Omaha Beach. Research is extensive and includes tracking war records, combing through yearbooks and interviewing family and friends. 

Trip Agenda and Expenses

After arrival in France at the beginning of spring break, the class travels to Pegasus Bridge, where British Airborne troops landed on D-Day, June 6, 1944. From there, students participate in a rigorous “staff ride”—army-speak for an educational tour—of the entire campaign to Paris. Each student conducts a briefing about some element of the campaign at the appropriate location. The class concludes its visit to the landing beaches by laying a wreath at the memorial in the American Cemetery. Each student then presents a eulogy for his or her assigned soldier at the graveside. Financial aid may be available in some cases.