Well, Netherlands
Experience the unique opportunity to study and live in a restored medieval castle—complete with a moat—at Kasteel Well, Emerson’s campus in the Netherlands.
Each fall and spring semester, up to 90 Emerson students spend three months in the Dutch village of Well, taking interdisciplinary courses, traveling through Europe, and learning what it means to move through the world with more curiosity, independence, and cultural perspective. Shorter summer experiences are also available through Emerson’s Global Pathways Programs.
At Kasteel Well, Europe becomes part of the classroom. You’ll study across disciplines and engage with intercultural frameworks, explore new cities, build a close community with fellow Emerson students, and return with a wider lens on your work, your future, and the world around you.
Live and Study in a Castle
Kasteel Well is located in the Dutch village of Well, surrounded by bike paths, waterways, pastures, and everyday opportunities to experience life beyond a traditional campus.
Living at the castle means sharing meals, classes, travel plans, late-night conversations, and creative projects with students from across Emerson. It’s a semester shaped by community and independence: learning how to navigate a new country, make a temporary home in a historic place, and see your own perspective shift in real time.
At First Glance
- Kasteel Well is open to most undergraduate students across Emerson, where they’ll take a 16-credit course load of general education and elective courses.*
- Students have many opportunities to get involved on campus, such as through the student-run literary magazine, Black Swan, by teaching English at a local elementary school, or by taking part in Dutch traditions such as the castle’s annual Carnaval celebration.
- The experience combines coursework, community living, independent travel, and interdisciplinary learning—helping students build independence, adaptability, and a more global perspective.
- *Kasteel Well is open to all undergraduate students except Musical Theatre majors. Honors students may only attend during the fall semester, when the Honors seminar is offered.
Learning with the Netherlands as your Classroom
At Kasteel Well, coursework is designed to make the most of where you are. Classes draw on European history, culture, politics, art, media, and society, giving students a global context for the questions they’re already asking in their Emerson work.
You’ll study alongside students from majors across the College, which means your classes bring together different creative practices, academic interests, and ways of seeing the world. The result is a semester that feels both academically focused and unexpectedly expansive.
Beyond the Castle Walls
Castle dwellers are multi-hyphenates, combining their many academic, creative, and global pursuits as they engage in a dynamic international community and take advantage of all Kasteel Well has to offer: a rigorous curriculum, an emphasis on global travel, and opportunities to participate in hands-on creative and community-based projects.
In addition to their regular coursework, students at Kasteel Well participate in a one-credit Living Learning Community course that explores social and cultural issues in the Netherlands and beyond through multidisciplinary study and critical dialogue.
Kasteel Well also organizes group excursions to Amsterdam and another major European city, giving students the opportunity to apply their coursework in real-world settings while immersing themselves in the diverse cultures, histories, and perspectives of Europe.
