WWII Documentary Filmmaking Study Abroad Program
WWII Documentary Filmmaking
overview
overview
Join us in Summer 2026 for our second annual WWII Documentary Filmmaking Study Abroad Program! This program will travel to different locations each year, following historic locations of WWII. For 2026, students will be traveling to Paris and Normandy, France!
Along with Grady College’s own faculty and filmmaker, Sanghoon Lee, students will be traveling and collaborating with the award-winning documentary film production crew from World War II Foundation to shoot a documentary film about World War II and the related history in the region.
Students will participate in the WWII documentary project as a crew member and learn hands-on documentary film production from the experienced filmmakers. The program director will have one-on-one time with each student for the further discussion and additional instruction.
Also, students will create their own documentary project as a group member. Each group (3 students in a group) will create a 5-minute short documentary.
This program will provide students an experiential and hands-on learning opportunity, for 3-hours of course credit.
Students will meet twice with the instructor during the spring semester to cover the following:
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- Documentary film production workshop
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- Introduction to the WWII Foundation’s summer project.
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- Developing group projects.
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- Pitching group projects.
During program travel, students can expect the following:
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- The daily meeting will be held at the hotel every morning (or afternoon depending on the daily schedule).
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- Each student will work as a crew member (2-3 days).
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- Students will work on their own documentary project.
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- The debrief meeting will be held at the last day.
Post travel meetings:
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- Each group will have a 30-minute zoom session with the instructor discussing the editing process.
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- Students will meet in the last week of the summer for the final screening.
EMST 4040: Documentary Filmmaking – 3 credit hours
Any undergraduate university student who is passionate about the documentary films and documentary film production, who has experience in film/video production (preferably documentary film production), or who has knowledge of film production equipment (either camera, light, audio, editing platform, graphics, and so on).
Apply
Applications for study away in Summer 2026 will open at the start of Fall Semester and are due before midnight, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.
Costs & Logistics
The program costs vary from year to year depending on number of students enrolled, exchange rates and logistical changes. The program fee for 2026 has not been established at this time, please check back for updates. The program fee for Summer 2026 is $4,475 (this includes the $300 deposit paid upon acceptance to the program.) This is only an estimate at this time and will continue to be until further notice. This fee is subject to change from what is advertised to students until all students are accepted and committed to the program.
In addition to the program fee, students are expected to pay 3 hours of In-state tuition and UGA Mandatory Fees through their Athena student accounts after registration. The HOPE and Zell Miller scholarships can be applied towards TUITION only if applicable. **non-UGA transient students may have an additional $250 fee upon registration**
Program fee includes:
- Lodging in hotels in each location (Amsterdam and Belgium)
- Travel Health Insurance through UGA
- Daily breakfast at hotel, welcome dinner and closing dinner.
- Excursions and educational venues
- Guest speakers and site visits
- Transportation to all program related activities
- A dedicated classroom with WiFi access
Program fee does not include:
3 hours of in-state tuition and UGA mandatory fees (see UGA’s website for up-to-date tuition rates for 2025).
- Round-trip airfare to Luxembourg airport
- All meals other than breakfast, and the welcome and closing dinner.
- Books – if applicable
- Personal travel
- International data plan for your U.S. cell phone. This is a requirement.
