Bringing together international experiential learning with a program of self-inquiry,
LEAPYEAR creates a "bridge year" to support students’ conscious transition from high
school to college and development from adolescence into adulthood.
Discover more at leapnow.org
"From LEAPYEAR I have gained a powerful foundation for a life of growth, meaning, clarity, and integrity. With the tools LEAPYEAR has given me, I discover more each day what it means to live a life of learning, loving and ever-returning to myself and my path."
— Kristen
LEAPYEAR Participant
During the first semester of a LEAPYEAR, students travel in groups of 8–12 with two experienced adult leaders. Students have a choice of traveling to India or Latin America.
The emphasis is on breadth of experience—immersion in the language, sampling of diverse short-term internships, social service work, trekking, work with endangered animals or on behalf of the environment, and completion of short-term yoga or meditation retreats. During these group travel months, students learn the skills they will need to live, travel and work independently during the individual internship in the second half of the year.
Take advantage of an unparalleled database of over 6,600 internships, volunteer options, work exchanges, and apprenticeships which are available only to Naropa LEAPYEAR students. We have amassed this database through travel, networking and research since 1977, and it is one of the most comprehensive of its kind in the world.
The breadth of these options allows us to ask questions that are asked far too rarely in educational environments: "What would you most like to do? What learning environment would bring you most alive? What’s the most engaging thing you can conceive of doing for three months?"
Individual Internships allow you to explore an interest in-depth and "try on" a field you are considering majoring in college or doing for a living, live and volunteer just about anywhere in the world, and immerse yourself in a culture and gain language fluency.
Please note that the internships available to LEAPYEAR students number in the thousands and range across 126 countries, including the United States. Here are some of the thousands that are offered:
First Semester (15 credits)
LCOR110 Practice & Community (3 credits)
Nepal/India Group Travel
LCOR120 Cultural Immersion: Nepal/India (6 credits)
LCOR125 Wisdom Traditions of Nepal/India (6 credits)
OR
Latin America Group Travel
LCOR121 Spanish Language Immersion (6 credits)
LCOR126 Cultural Immersion: Latin America (6 credits)
Second Semester (15 credits)
COR150 Diversity Seminar (3 credits)
LCOR140 The Whole Human Being (6 credits)
LCOR155 The World as Classroom (4 credits)
LCOR160 Being the Change (2 credits)