After several years as an unofficial study abroad opportunity, Syracuse University’s RECOS Trinational Seminar returns in 2026-2027 as a credit-bearing course, giving Master of Social Work students the chance to study their profession alongside peers from six European universities.

The annual Confédération des Ecoles Supérieures en Travail Social de la Regio—which translates as the Confederation of Universities in Social Science in the (Alsace) Region, also known as RECOS—brings M.S.W. candidates together with faculty and students from across three borders to discuss a social work topic of concern.

Assistant M.S.W. Online Field Director Kristin Esposito G’97 inherited the offering from Professor Emerita Nancy Mudrick and kept the program alive during and after the coronavirus pandemic, first by encouraging students to attend a truncated, virtual offering and later by inviting interested students to attend as a value-added field experience.

Different Perspectives

The seminar is an annual, week-long cultural exchange in spring, convening approximately 60 social work students from France, Germany and Switzerland, with an additional 10 spots for Syracuse students.

Hosted on a rotating basis in France and Germany, students visit agencies, discuss a shared social issue and compare approaches.

“It’s an intensive week,” says Esposito, noting students visit different social agencies and then come back together each evening to share what they learned. “This really expands the reach of knowledge.”

Esposito believes that making the seminar an official offering creates meaningful opportunities for student growth and connection.

“When students have the chance to explore complex problems from different perspectives, they expand their thinking, exchange ideas and build lasting relationships that enrich their learning experience in an increasingly interconnected world,” she says. “I believe those experiences help shape how students approach future challenges and opportunities in their work.”

The seminar is returning as a component of Esposito’s Topics in Advanced Social Work Practice and Policy course, which is open to both undergraduate and graduate students in the social work program, offered through the School of Education.

Especially Beneficial

Allyson Donovan G’26, who participated in spring 2026, says the seminar was the perfect capstone to her degree because it provided a firsthand look at classroom theory in practice.

“I felt like it brought a wider perspective into the program,” she says. “One thing we don’t touch on as much during class is what social work looks like on a global scale; this makes the seminar especially beneficial for students on the Advanced Integrated Practice M.S.W. track.”

Donovan says visiting social service agencies in Alsace, a region in northeastern France that borders Germany and Switzerland, gave a firsthand account of how political, economic and cultural contexts shape practice.

She adds that one key takeaway from this year’s theme of radicalization in social work was the importance of being attuned to the current political climate. By having a basic understanding of global politics, a practitioner can better help clients and navigate policy guiding one’s work.

“With the focus on global tensions happening in the world right now, I learned the importance to tune into how different cultures are coming into agencies and to be ready to take that on,” Donovan says.

One challenge for Esposito and her students is the language barrier and especially translation. Nevertheless, having discussions in French or German, Donovan says, made her focus on the message being relayed.

While she uses a live translation feature on her AirPods, exact translation isn’t always accurate.

“You really have to tune in and stay present,” she says, which makes observations and leaning on the others in her group valuable. The serendipitous benefit of this translation challenge, attendees find, is that strong connections develop quickly.

-Story by Ashley Kang ’04, G’11