Organized by over 20 universities from across Europe, Mexico and the United States, the Middleburg Center brings faculty and students together in a central location to form a unique, interactive international learning community. Two semester-length study abroad programs are offered each year, with courses focusing on a comparative, multi-disciplinary approach to transatlantic and global issues. Classes are offered on a three and a half week basis, with students taking one course at a time. Field trips and travel opportunities take advantage of Middleburg's central location, which provides easy access to many of Europe's major cities and cultural areas.

About the city
Middleburg is the capital of the province of Zeeland and lies on the Veere-Vlissingen Canal on the former island of Walcheren, surrounded by a star-shaped ring of grachten and canals. It is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands and in 1975 it was designated a "European Heritage City".

Teaching Opportunities
The MCTS program is designed to provide faculty with an opportunity to teach abroad and to interact with a variety of colleagues and students from around the world. The three-and-a-half-week teaching schedule allows faculty to participate who otherwise could not due to departmental or family responsibilities. Most of all, it provides faculty with a chance to get out of their old familiar patterns, to try something new and challenging, and to recharge their batteries.

Members of the MCTS faculty are chosen primarily from the member universities, although occasionally someone from outside the consortium is selected to teach. Typically faculty teach for one block (3 ½ weeks), although in some cases faculty may teach in two consecutive blocks. For each semester a faculty director is appointed from the consortium, and he/she teaches in two of the four semester blocks.

Course Selection
As courses/curriculum are determined up to a year in advance, faculty interested in teaching in Middleburg should contact their university director as soon as possible for information on how to submit a course for possible inclusion into the program. Faculty should be as flexible as possible when selecting a time period as this allows for the greatest chance for selection.

Courses from the social sciences, humanities, fine arts and business are appropriate as long as the course includes a comparative, trans-Atlantic approach. In addition, faculty are encouraged to include field trips and a variety of teaching techniques and styles whenever appropriate.

Faculty Development Opportunities
In addition to the opportunity to teach in a unique educational setting, faculty may use their time at the MCTS to do research or write for publication. Our first book, Transatlantic Studies was published by University Press of America in the fall of 2000, with the majority of chapters written by our faculty and edited by Will Kaufman and Heidi MacPherson of the University of Central Lancashire. Future volumes are planned for a two/three-year cycle.

Our first conference on Transatlantic Studies was held in Maastricht in October 2000, and over 60 papers were presented by colleagues from around the world. Ranging over a wide variety of topics, the conference helped establish the Transatlantic as an evolving field of study, and plans are in motion to have these conferences on a two-year basis.