JanTerm
JanTerm is one of the most exciting times of the year for Upper School students. During the three-week period, Upper School students focus on a single topic in great depth and at an accelerated pace. Each JanTerm course offers cross-disciplinary experiences in the classroom and off campus—seeing real-world impact is a vital part of the experience. JanTerm fosters collaboration and provides venues for students to create, innovate and problem-solve outside of their academic classes.
JanTerm Highlights
Each year, students choose from more than 40 JanTerm offerings. Courses cover a range of topics including business, history, sports, global cultures, technology, and so much more! Below, view highlights from courses offered during JanTerm25.
Food Chemistry and Culinary Perspectives
This course examines food through a variety of lenses, including culture and chemistry. Students investigate the chemical composition and processes involved in cooking food staples including bread, cheese, chocolate, and others. Through the expertise of local culinary leaders, field trips to restaurants and kitchens, and laboratory-based experiments, students immerse themselves in food culture. The course culminates in a cooking demonstration and final piece of food writing that incorporates the chemistry, history, cultural, and personal significance of a culinary dish of each student’s choosing.
Global Education: Apostles to Alters
Students build foundational knowledge of the geographic and archeological contexts of the narratives in the Bible. They study the historical, geographic, and archaeological background associated with the text, develop scripts, learn filming techniques, travel to the Biblical sites in Greece, and film and edit videos to produce high-quality documentaries. After completion of the films, these final projects are offered for use by the Bible department in the Old and New Testament courses.
Current Events Atlanta
Exploring the rich culture of Atlanta, students design and create a magazine that speaks to what Atlanta is today. Through interviews and trips to visit local artists, shop owners, restaurants and restaurateurs, musicians and music venues, and news organizations, students research how these people and institutions connect with the space they operate within and Atlanta as a whole. Students look to local newspapers and magazines for inspiration before creating a magazine exploring what Atlanta is to them. Each student takes on a different role in the creation of this magazine as a reporter, writer, editor, photographer, artist, or digital designer.
Global Education: Voices of Resilience
The Jewish people have endured centuries of exile and genocide. In the midst of this adversity, they have demonstrated remarkable resilience. This course explores the history of the Jewish experience and antisemitism from antiquity to the present. Using firsthand accounts, literature, film, art, and immersive travel, students analyze the origins, varied manifestations, and persistence of antisemitism today. Students also examine the psychology and neuroscience of group dynamics and the strategies that leaders use to appeal to innate cognitive biases. Students travel to the Czech Republic and Poland to visit various historic sites including concentration camps, museums, and synagogues.
Business of Sports
Through the Business of Sports course, students survey a number of aspects of contemporary sports business. Students have the opportunity to explore a mix of approaches and facets to the business dynamics of the sports industry, including marketing, methodologies, and community interaction and outreach. Students learn through interactive trips throughout Atlanta, including a behind-the-scenes tour of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Truist Park.
Global Education: The Culture of Clothing
In this course, students explore the intersection of history, business, ethics, and culture of clothing, examining how clothing choices reflect and shape cultural identities, social norms, and historical contexts. Students gain an understanding of the role of clothing in society, its impact on individuals and communities, and the evolution of clothing culture over time as well as an understanding of the business and ethics of what is a multibillion-dollar global business. Throughout the course, students focus on French and Parisian culture through the lens of its rich history as the fashion capital of the world.
Global Education: Guatemala: Learn, Build, Connect
Through the Guatemala Global Education program, students embark on an experiential learning opportunity to discover ties between the United States and Guatemala, collaborate to raise funds, build new homes, and connect with the people of Guatemala. Before the trip, students learn Guatemalan history, and demographics, including geography, languages, religion, government, and economics. In Guatemala, using materials purchased through fundraising, Westminster students work with Guatemalan families and our partner organization, From Houses to Homes, to build houses that are safe, and affordable to maintain.
International Atlanta
Students explore the rich culture and history of Atlanta’s major immigrant communities. Students learn about Colombia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Korea, India, Vietnam and other countries by listening to personal stories and taking frequent field trips to restaurants. Students also visit various organizations that work with Atlanta’s international communities.
JanTerm is such an important opportunity because it allows you to dabble in new areas or try something on a more intense level for the three weeks that the course is offered. JanTerm has made my Westminster experience even better as it allowed me to find new areas of interest, make new friends, and travel the world!Jamison S. ’25
JanTerm24 By the Numbers
Engaging, experiential, cross-disciplinary and project-based learning.
135K+
Miles traveled during JanTerm
42
Courses
380
Field trips
40
On-campus speakers
39
Internships
9
Years running and counting!