This program will provide both Family History and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints history experiences in Europe. The internship will be divided into three parts: four weeks with all students together in France and Spain; two weeks of customized experience in either France or Spain; and a final week in the Lancashire area of England. All students will come away with intensive training and actual research in multiple archives—large and small, state and church—ranging from Madrid to Paris. Beyond time spent in archives, students will have exposure to Latter-day Saint history, European cultural history, and culinary arts by visiting historical sites and museums, interviewing LDS pioneer members, participating in cultural and Church activities, walking the streets where the early apostles of this dispensation preached.
WEEKS ONE THROUGH THREE: These weeks will be committed to hands-on genealogical research. A tour of the Archives Départementales in Carcassonne, France, will provide the group´s first European archival experience, followed by a week reading Catalan records in the diocesan archive of Vic, Cataluña. Research in Spain will continue in church and government archives of Salamanca, Cáceres, Ávila, and Zamora. The group will visit Garganta la Olla, a village being studied by some of these students for the CFHG Spanish Village Project website and birthplace of Meliton Gonzalez Trejo, translator of the first Spanish edition of the Book of Mormon. Additional activities relating to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints include firesides with the wife and family of the second president of the Paris Stake, with the second president of the Madrid Stake (author of Los Mormones en España), and visits to the Madrid and Paris temples.
WEEKS FOUR AND FIVE: Interns will spend these weeks in archives in France or Spain under direction of the archival staff and supervision of Peggy Ryskamp, a Certified Genealogist. Professor George Ryskamp will advise students about arrangements at the appropriate archive(s). Projects will include genealogical research for actual “clients,” as well as historical projects. At the end of week five, the group will meet in France.
WEEK SIX: The time in France will end with visits to a Basque 17th century farm, a paleographic museum, Mont Saint Michel and the Normandy Beaches and Servicemen’s Cemetery. Three days of the second week in June will be spent in the Paris area, including a visit to the National Archives.
WEEK SEVEN: The trip ends with five days in the Preston, Lancashire region of England, walking the same streets as the first English apostolic missionaries Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt and others, including Joseph Fielding (whose diary we will consult as we go). A visit to the Preston temple will conclude the trip.
DATES
The Study Abroad is approximately seven to eight weeks long, April 25–June 15, 2022. Students are responsible for arriving in the Toulouse, France, Airport on Tuesday April 26, 2022 and departing from the Manchester airport on June 14.
HOUSING
Students will be housed as a group from April 26–May 22, 2022 and June 9–14. During the parts of the program when they do individual research work, they will arrange their own lodging and meals, paying part of those costs personally.
COURSES
Students will be registered for a minimum of 6 credit hours while abroad during Spring Term. They will select classes from:
HIST 390 – Directed Readings in LDS History in Europe*
*All students will take this 1 credit hour class.
HIST 496 – Academic Internship: Family, Local, and Social History
HIST 495 – Directed Research in Archival Studies and Family History
Participants may not take any other courses on this program without approval by the program director and ISP.
COST
$7,000–7,500
Includes Latter-day Saint, undergraduate full tuition (increased cost for graduate and non–Latter-day Saint students), international health insurance coverage, and lodging, tour fees, some meals, and transportation for group activities.
Does not include airfare, housing, meals, and travel expenses beyond group travel.
NOTE: Students will be living on their own for Weeks Five through Seven. Living expenses incurred during this time (approximately $2,500–3,000) are not included in the program cost.
TRAVEL
Students are responsible for purchasing their own airfare to and from the program. Airfare reservations must be made through BYU Travel. Students should contact a BYU Travel agent.
BYU Travel
280 HRCB | (801) 422-6293 | travel@byu.edu
PREPARATION
All students must have completed the following prerequisite courses:
HIST 217 – The Family Historian’s Craft
HIST 424 – Handwriting and Documents in Latin and the Romance Languages
Additional classes will be required depending on which country and archives the student will be in during weeks four through seven. For example, HIST 206, HIST 218, HIST 286, or equivalent classes might be required.
Advanced language training or experience in French or Spanish will be necessary. Accepted students will participate in a 1 credit hour preparation class during the second half of Winter Semester 2022, and a 1 credit hour class in Catalan research.
Any accompanying spouses need to be credit-bearing participants on the program. Spouses will also need to apply online and take the preparation course.
All participants are required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination (including booster) at least two weeks prior to departure.
FUNDING SOURCES
Although these internships are unpaid, students can make them affordable by pursuing a range of on- and off-campus funding options. University, college, departmental, and private scholarships, as well as federal financial aid (Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, etc.), may be applied toward the program’s cost. Students may also qualify for ISP financial aid/discounts from kennedy.byu.edu/scholarships and BYU’s ORCA grant program. The Center for Family History and Genealogy offers scholarships for those doing family history internships. The application deadline for CFHG scholarships is 15 November 2022.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Interested students should first meet with Professor Ryskamp in the History Department to determine if this is the right program for them. All applicants must complete the online application at kennedy.byu.edu/apply, which requires a $35 fee. Applicants will be interviewed once the application is complete.
Deadline: 31 January 2022
FACULTY
George Ryskamp teaches family history, archival studies, and paleography courses in the History Department.
(801) 422-3686 | ryskamp@byu.edu
SCHEDULE AND TIME COMMITMENT
This program takes place during spring term. Students should plan to participate for the full duration of the program.
INTERESTED STUDENTS SHOULD CONTACT
International Study Programs
101 HRCB
(801) 422-3686
isp@byu.edu
PROGRAM ADJUSTMENTS
International Study Programs (ISP) reserves the right to cancel this program, revise its offerings, or make any adjustments to the preliminary cost. If it becomes necessary for ISP to cancel a program, all program payments made to BYU ISP will be refunded to the student’s BYU financial account. ISP is the only office authorized to cancel any of its programs.
