University of Pittsburgh
AC-5: Immersive Experience

1) UNDERGRADUATE SUMMER SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES - The Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation annually offers a 12-week summer program that provides talented undergraduate students with creative opportunities that go beyond the classroom curriculum and enable them to develop their own ideas, working independently or in a group on hands-on research projects in sustainability with advice and guidance from a faculty mentor.
>> https://www.sustainabilityinstitute.pitt.edu/research/undergraduate-research-summer-program

2) PITT HONORS COMMUNITY RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP – Pitt’s Honors Community Research Fellowship’s mission is to provide experiential learning to students as they engage with curriculum concepts to create a socially responsible, mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources with their community partners.
>> https://www.frederickhonors.pitt.edu/funding-aid/community-research-fellowships

3) PYMATUNING LABORATORY OF ECOLOGY – Pitt’s Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology (PLE) is a biological field station that is part of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Located in Northwestern Pennsylvania on the shores of Pymatuning Lake, PLE is dedicated to fostering the establishment of a sustainable culture through environmental education, field research in the natural and environmental sciences, and community involvement.
>> https://www.biology.pitt.edu/facilities/pymatuning

4) PITTSERVES ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK
Pitt’s Alternative Break gives students the chance to participate in community-based projects that include engagement with members of the community and exposure to the problems, customs, and culture of the region. Teams are trained by community partners to understand the specific content of their service work and are prepared to carry out their tasks. In 2023, a cohort served in the Galapagos on projects addressing endemic species conservation and students worked with local schools to enhance educational gardens.
>> https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/progress-report/global-outreach-2018-22/

PITT GLOBAL EXPERIENCES – Not all are offered annually, but current listings are here: https://abroad.pitt.edu/search-programs

5) CLEAN ENERGY AND GRID ENGINEERING: SCANDINAVIA - Students learn about the current trends in renewable energy and grid technology. This program introduces them to electric power transmission and distribution grid technologies dedicated to reliably, efficiently, economically, and safely managing electric power across utility networks in the U.S. and internationally. The course covers the application of various grid technologies from power generation through power consumption including transmission networks, grid automation, power electronics systems, communications and control, protection, grid operations, grid connectivity, renewable energy resource integration, cyber security, microgrids, DC technologies, and other emerging areas, as well as a brief introduction to power utility markets, business processes, and policy/regulation.

6) ENERGY FOR BETTER ENVIRONMENT: BRAZIL - More than 80% of Brazilian electricity is created through renewable energy sources, compared to only around 13% in the U.S. This two-week, 3-credit course (for both graduates and undergraduates) focuses on issues of renewable energy and environmental sustainability in one of the leading green countries in the world. Through a combination of classroom lectures and site visits, students will gain an understanding of bio fuels, hydroelectric power, and emergent green energy technologies.

7) ENGINEERING DESIGN FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: SOUTH AFRICA - This is experiential learning course is designed to provide engineering-minded students (from any major) with an introduction to designing solutions to complex problems that impact humanity. Students will see the social consequences of engineering decisions made by companies and other organizations in Africa and discuss the rationale that led to those decisions during meetings with leaders, engineers, and other representatives from those parties. The course aims to provide students across a range of disciplines the opportunity to interact and work together to ideate and develop strategies for tackling both broad, complex problems and specific, service, and social focused challenges based on principles that are rooted in empathic engineering design. Students will contextualize what makes specific approaches for problem solving successful locally, regional, nationally, and internationally. The course will develop the students’ skills to work remotely with one another to iterate through the ideation and design process of problem-solving and to appreciate the social and cultural challenges that lie within. Themes include economics and development, sustainability and renewable resources, urban studies, infrastructure, and the built environment.

8) ENGINEERING SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AND INNOVATION IN ISLAND NATIONS: GUAM - Island nations provide a unique learning opportunity to evaluate the complex task of engineering for sustainability. On small islands the connections between social, economic, and environmental impacts are more easily traced and the scale of the processes more readily tracked. They often also present a unique and constrained set of material resources that have shaped indigenous cultural practices often spawning rare adaptations/designs. Students will explore the context of engineering challenges/opportunities/tradeoffs for sustainability in Guam by considering social (culture, history, governance), environmental (natural resources, built infrastructure, environmental impacts of industry), and economic (socioeconomics/economic development) perspectives.
>> https://abroad.pitt.edu/guam

9) GLOBAL SERVICE LEARNING IN PUERTO RICO - Working with local community-based organization Caras con Causa, Pitt Business supports several sustainability projects in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The largest project is focused on developing a laboratory facility adjacent to an urban wetland that provides scientific research opportunities and education support for local students, in partnership with Pitt Environmental Studies and Science. This 3-credit course works on a semester-long project with a week of spring break spent in San Juan working directly with Caras. Program themes include sustainability, economic development, and innovation.

10) GLOBAL WATER POLICY D.C. - Explore U.S., Central Asian, and global perspectives on water management and environmental sustainability through this innovative study away program for undergraduates. On this one-week, 1-credit program, students will study competing perspectives on global water policy. Students will be introduced to the role of governmental and non-governmental organizations managing water equity. Students will look closely at the interconnections between policy, law, economics, and culture related to the environment. Participants will develop a portfolio of varied writing samples to use in applications for graduate programs and careers in policy while also creating their network of experts and organizations influential to the shaping of water and environmental policy in the U.S., Central Asia, and globally. This program is designed for students interested in political science, history, environmental studies, policy, law, business, economics and international studies.

11) LAKOTA PERSPECTIVES ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY & INDIGENOUS RIGHTS - Study in the heart of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, home of the Oglala Lakota Tribe. On this 2-week, 3-credit program students get a feel for its past, present and future. They learn from local natives about their day-to-day life, culture and work on community-driven service-learning projects. Projects may be related to environmental sustainability, agricultural initiatives, programming on youth and education, cultural learning and indigenous rights. Students of all majors are welcome to apply. This program is ideal for any student interested in history, politics, environmental studies and anthropology.

12) PITT IN AMSTERDAM - Amsterdam is regarded as a global leader in green urbanism. The city is well known for its alternative transportation model that focuses on biking and light rail. It is also on the forefront of many other endeavors, such as green building, a comprehensive park and green space network, water management, and an energy system that is transitioning away from fossil fuels. Students take classes on theories and concepts of the sustainable cities, and will have an opportunity to do field research on the topic of their interest.

13) PITT IN THE HIMALAYAS - A multi-disciplinary study abroad program developed by the Asian Studies Center and Pitt Geology, through which 45 students visit India’s Hanifl Center in Mussoorie to study the effects of development on this important ecosystem. Students work with local residents to manage the growing impact of human activity on the region.

14) PERSPECTIVES OF THE RENAISSANCE & SUSTAINABILITY - FLORENCE, ITALY - Offered for the first time in 2022, “Engineering Perspectives of the Renaissance & Sustainability: Florence” is a month-long, 6-credit series of courses for students to gain insight into the great minds of the Renaissance from art history to engineering. Focus on art history contextualizing the thoughts and social situations of renaissance engineers in Florence, including how Renaissance principles of engineering and physics compare with today’s practices in engineering sustainability.
>> https://abroad.pitt.edu/engrrenaissance

15) TROPICAL RAINFORESTS, ECOLOGY, AND CULTURE IN ECUADOR - This 1-credit program over spring break is designed for students interested in Biology, Ecology, Environmental Studies, Environmental Science, Sustainability and culture. The program provides an introduction to tropical rainforests, ecology and Ecuadorian culture. The course utilizes the environment and community surrounding the site to enhance the learning experience. The course is field based with supporting discussions. Spanish is not required to participate in Pitt in Ecuador- all courses are taught in English. It is the perfect location and program to explore new ways of preserving biodiversity in the Amazonian forest and sustainability of Amazonian communities.

16) WYOMING FIELD STUDIES - The Spring Creek Field Studies Program is designed for: Geology, Ecology, Biology, Environmental Science and Environmental Studies students. There are no formal pre-requisites and the program is open to all majors. For this program it would be helpful, not required, to have previously taken courses in Geology or Ecology. The goal of this program is for students to develop an understanding of the complex geological, biological, and historical processes that shape the landscape, habitats, and natural and human communities that we see today. This 6-week, 6-credit program course is a unique introduction to the practices of ecology, paleontology, and archaeology, with a strong emphasis on field techniques. Key themes of this program include sustainability, conservation, and renewable resources.
>> https://abroad.pitt.edu/springcreekantharch

Additional sustainability-focused and -related study abroad and study away global experiences at Pitt for 2023 included:
1) Empathic Global Leadership for Social Change: South Africa
2) Engineering Research: Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (Israel)
3) Engineering Sustainability Munich
4) Food Studies in Italy
5) Global Service Learning: Bolivia, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, & Tobago
6) Himalayan Health & Wilderness First Responder
7) International Internship Program (Berlin, Dublin, Madrid, & Paris)
8) Moving the Cities (Brazil)
9) Pitt in Bolivia: Culture, Society and Health
10) Pitt in Tanzania: Language, Culture, & Society

>> Learn more - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/progress-report/global-outreach-2018-22/

Frederick Honors College Community Research Fellowship - https://www.frederickhonors.pitt.edu/funding-aid/community-research-fellowships

Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology - https://www.biology.pitt.edu/facilities/pymatuning

Global Experiences summarized in Global Outreach Section of 2018-22 Progress Report on the Pitt Sustainability Plan - https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/progress-report/global-outreach-2018-22/