Ohio University
AC-5: Immersive Experience

There are several, including:

Edinburgh: City and Environment. This environmentally-focused study abroad program takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland.In Edinburgh, one of Europe’s most beautiful capital cities, students spend five weeks studying urban history and sustainability. Class lectures, guest speakers, and frequent field trips introduce students to key concepts relating to urban planning and governance, infrastructure design and management, resource provisioning and conservation, urban ecology, and social and environmental justice.

With more than half the world's population living “urban” already, and the movement from rural to urban accelerating rapidly, it is imperative that “we design our new cities - and retrofit our old ones - so that they are more efficient, just, and livable places,” according to Program Director Dr. Geoff Buckley. Anyone interested in environmental studies, urban planning, and sustainability will be interested in this program, especially as it takes place in Edinburgh, a city renowned for its reputation as a leader in the worldwide effort to “green” our cities.

Balkans: Environmental Peacebuilding & Sustainability: Peace Parks in the Balkans: This 7 credit field course (in Washington DC and the Balkans) affiliated with the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs will provide students with a unique, experiential learning opportunity in one of the last bio-diversity hotspots in Europe, a place where the legacy of the conflict of the 1990s is being overcome with entrepreneurship, ecotourism and environmental peacebuilding. Starting with three days in Washington DC, students will gain a foundational understanding of how environmental security thinking led to a focus on environmental peacebuilding.

Students will see firsthand how the environment is harnessed as a tool to stimulate cross border cooperation between communities and countries; and how entrepreneurship and ecotourism are providing an alternative model for sustainable development and real world livelihood creation. The field-based experiences are accompanied by faculty and guest lectures, the international policy environment in Washington, D.C. and with park officials, community leaders, and experts in Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro.

USA: Climate Change and Fisheries Conservation in Yellowstone: This 3-credit, expedition-style learning experience to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) allows students to learn about conservation and climate change through daily excursions and interactions with researchers and professionals. Topics include climate change and hydrological changes in GYE, native and non-native fish species and riparian restoration conservation. Students will camp for the duration of the program, applying the tenets of minimal impact tent camping in a large-landscape ecosystem to promote awareness of safety and stewardship into daily routines.

Information provided by Catherine Marshall, Director, Office of Global Opportunities, on 2/2/18.