The Gaines Center for the Humanities is excited to announce HMN 300: Sustainable Futures Design Lab, an extraordinary opportunity for students to combine academic inquiry with hands-on, real-world engagement in Spring 2026.
Led by Professor Rebekah Radtke from the College of Design, this innovative course invites students to explore how design can shape more resilient and sustainable communities. Through immersive, site-based learning in both Eastern Kentucky and France, students will experience firsthand how post-mining communities are reimagining their futures.
The course begins with fieldwork in Eastern Kentucky during spring break, where students will spend several days learning from local community leaders and exploring the environmental and cultural context and while participating in art and design workshops. That work then extends across the Atlantic after the semester ends, with a 19-day trip to Grenoble, St. Étienne, and Paris. There, students will create with artists and designers, visit eco-neighborhoods, and see how French communities are addressing sustainability in ways that resonate with the questions raised in Appalachia.
This distinctive model—linking two regions with shared histories of extraction—gives students a rare chance to view design and sustainability through a transnational lens. “We want students to recognize that what happens in Kentucky is part of a much larger story, and that these connections open the door to creative, globally informed responses to the built environment,” said Radtke.
Students selected for the course will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Gaines Center and may also be eligible for additional scholarship support through Education Abroad. Only ten students will be admitted, chosen through a competitive application process. Applications are open now and will remain open until the course is full; early applications are encouraged given the limited number of spots available.
APPLY HERE
An in-person information session will be held on Tuesday, October 14 at 2:30 p.m. at the Bingham Davis House for students who want to learn more before applying.
Founded in 1984 through the generosity of John and Joan Gaines, the Gaines Center for the Humanities serves as a beacon of innovative education at UK. As a laboratory for creativity and interdisciplinary scholarship, the center continues to advance the university’s mission of developing thoughtful, engaged leaders poised to shape the future of Kentucky and beyond.
For more information, call the Gaines Center at 859 257 1537 or contact Program Coordinator Catherine Brereton at catherine.brereton@uky.edu.