Ben-Gurion University and Harvard University Launch Student Exchange Program
BGU has signed a new agreement with Harvard University for an academic exchange program that will bring Harvard students to Israel beginning in Spring 2026
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) has signed a new agreement with Harvard University for an academic exchange program that will bring Harvard students to Israel beginning in Spring 2026. The initiative reflects BGU’s commitment to academic excellence, global engagement, and the advancement of research with real-world impact.
“Collaborations with leading international academic institutions are vital to advancing groundbreaking research,” said Professor Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, BGU’s Vice President for International Affairs. “Strengthening these ties is essential for preparing the next generation of researchers.”
The program will allow Harvard students to earn academic credit toward their degrees while studying at BGU throughout the academic year. Courses, taught in English, will include archaeology with hands-on field excavation, marine sciences along the Mediterranean coast, sustainable agriculture, resource conservation, and strategies for addressing desertification. Harvard students will join Israeli classmates in courses designed to encourage cross-cultural exchange and mutual learning.
“This partnership allows our students not only to learn from world-class Israeli scholars, but to experience the depth of Israel’s culture and history firsthand.” said Professor David Deming, Dean at Harvard University. “These are the relationships, and the understandings, that shape lives and careers.”
Amanda Claybaugh, Dean of Undergraduate Education at Harvard College, said, “I'm delighted that we're adding BGU to the list of Israeli universities where our students can study abroad, because BGU offers opportunities that aren't available here at Harvard: learning about archaeology at a dig site, about marine biology in the Mediterranean, about climate and sustainability from the world's leaders in desert agriculture.”
“We are thrilled to work with BGU to provide this new opportunity for undergraduate study abroad,” said Mark Elliott, Harvard’s Vice Provost for International Affairs. “The collaboration with BGU is the latest in Harvard’s long and rich history of engagement with institutions of higher education across Israel, and I have no doubt that it will contribute both to transformative experiences for students and to increased academic collaboration across the region in the coming years.”
