Off Campus Programs

EcoQuest Study Abroad Program
In partnership with the University of New Hampshire Department of Natural Resources, EcoQuest New Zealand is offering a study abroad program of intensive, applied field studies in ecology, resource management and environmental policy. We welcome applications from eligible students at accredited colleges and universities worldwide. Our mission is to provide committed students and scientists, resource managers and resource users with a comprehensive education in ecology, biology, conservation and sustainable management of land and sea. We take a proactive and impartial third party role in resolving questions with regard to the use, custodianship and sustainability of the country's natural resources.

Grand Canyon Semester
This is an outstanding semester (fall or spring) program that is offered by Northern Arizona University. The program is interdisciplinary and experiential. It is academically rigorous but highly enjoyable. Each student completes 18 semester credit hours of advanced work, including an undergraduate research course. Courses are taught cooperatively, with faculty involved in every academic and social activity, and will average about twenty students per instructor.

Institute for Social Ecology
The mission of the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE) is the creation of educational experiences that enhance people's understanding of their relationship to the natural world and each other. By necessity, this involves the ISE in programs that deepen students' awareness of self and others, help them to think critically, and expand their perception of the creative potentialities for human action. The purpose of the ISE's programs is the preparation of well-rounded students who can work effectively as participants in the process of ecological reconstruction. Offering year-round, interdisciplinary studies to guide social change, including: intensive summer programs in theory and practice; year-round B.A. degree in affiliation with Burlington College; fall, winter, and spring workshops and lectures; and other educational resources.

International Honors Program
The International Honors Program, founded as the International School of America in 1958 by Karl Jaeger, gives students an unequaled opportunity to study overseas in multiple countries for a semester or a year. The global itinerary of each Program involves comparative study in several contrasting societies. IHP is unique in terms of both its intellectual content and its challenge for motivation and self-discipline of its studentsThe 2004/2005 International Honors Program on Rethinking Globalization opens a critical window into the new millennium.

National Outdoor Leadership School
A wide variety of courses and locations. Check out their website.

National Student Exchange
UWO students can study one or two semesters outside of Wisconsin while enrolled in at UWO and paying full-time tuition and student fees here. One ES major spent a wonderful year studying the environment at the University of Montana. For more information, you can pick up a directory at the Office of International Education, Dempsey 146, talk with Dr. Bill Baurecht, and visit NSE online. Also check out the Office of International Education website.

Northwest Connections (University of Montana) "Landscape and Livelihood" Field Semester
Northwest Connections’ Field Semester immerses a small community of learners in an intensive two-month program focusing on ecology and community-based conservation. Students learn experientially as they study the landscape of the Swan Valley and the human community it supports. NwC’s instructional philosophy emphasizes participation in conservation projects as a means of developing field skills. Students also work closely with local citizens and land managers in order to understand the relationship of environmental issues to rural communities. Landscape and Livelihood’s residential program operates seven days per week, creating time for classroom lecture, field work, reading, reflective writing, independent study and involvement in community activities. Fifteen semester credits are earned in Forestry and Conservation, Environmental Studies, Recreation Management and General Science through a cooperative agreement with the University of Montana . Base camp for the semester is a historic homestead on the Swan River . From there, students travel throughout the Swan, Blackfoot and Flathead Valleys as well as the Swan and Mission Mountains . Several brief homestays with local host families, a unique component of our program, connect students more intimately with our local communities and help put a human face on resource management issues. In addition to homestays, students can expect to interact with local residents during a variety of informal experiences, including participating in the annual Swan Valley Bird Count, splitting and delivering firewood to valley elders, helping a ranching family in the Blackfoot Valley with daily chores, and learning to make medicinal salves with a local herbalist. We admit 10-12 highly motivated applicants who are passionate about conservation and willing to commit to an intensive, experiential program.

Office of International Education
The Office of International Education here at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh offers a few great programs abroad. The Semester or Year in Canada-University of New Brunswick , and the European Odyssey in France , England , Germany , and Italy-Global Classroom are two notable programs. UW-Oshkosh also offers study abroad programs that can take you the U.K., Costa Rica, Brazil, Greece, Germany, Belize, India, Canada, France, Japan, Spain, Uganda, Bermuda, Scotland, Mexico, and beyond. There are many courses that could be taken and all receive college credit.

Peace Corps
Commit to 27 months of training and service overseas. You will learn to speak the local language and adapt to the culture and values of the people you serve while sharing their perspective of America . Peace Corps Volunteers are leaders in grass-roots efforts to protect the environment, working on projects such as establishing forest conservation plans and developing alternatives to wood as a fuel source.

Pigeon Lake Field Station
Summer field studies courses offered by U.W. River Falls. Some are straight science field studies courses. Others are art-related. Great for getting out-of-the-classroom experience in nature. 2 credit courses.

Rocky Mountain Field Seminars
The Rocky Mountain Nature Association's Field Seminars Program is committed to educating the public through the talents of excellent instructors, all highly qualified in their fields of expertise. There is a variety of seminars, including natural history, cultural history, skills, and nature photography. Most seminars include field trips to experience the park in an atmosphere of personal instruction. Indoor lectures complement field trips, and most seminars require hiking. Some include an element of rigor due to high altitude and variable weather. Participants must be in good health and equipped for sudden weather changes.

The School for Field Studies
SFS offers two month-long, four-credit summer sessions which are perfect for students who wish to spend part of their summer break learning field research and environmental problem-solving skills, combining interdisciplinary lectures with field research exercises and expeditions. The School for Field Studies has programs that could take you to Kenya , Costa Rica , Australia , Mexico , and the Turks and Caicos Islands .

Semester at Sea
Semester at Sea is a study abroad program designed to incorporate a global semester in your undergraduate experience. The shipboard curriculum provides you with a series of insights into various cultures and societies and allows you to dissect and assess what you observe. Not only will you develop the ability to understand new cultures as they are encountered, but you will also gain the intellectual tools that will allow you to relate past experiences to future situations. Similarly, you are called upon to examine the crisis issues of global concern, such as those relating to environment, population, foreign policy interrelationships and economics, in the context of the nations visited. The ship truly becomes a campus on which you will work in a traditional classroom setting, and the world a laboratory from which approximately 20% of the credit earned for a course is fulfilled. The integration of classroom and international fieldwork enables Semester at Sea to provide a learning environment unattainable on a traditional land campus. Starting with the Summer 2006 voyage, the University of Virginia will grant academic credit for participation in Semester at Sea. The academic program is reviewed in its entirety, with all faculty and courses approved through the respective departments within the University of Virginia . The University appoints the Academic Dean for each voyage, who is responsible for academic planning and implementation of the program during the course of the voyage. Credits earned meet the required standards, permitting transfer to your university or college.

Student Conservation Association
The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is building the next generation of conservation leaders and inspiring lifelong stewardship of our environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land. Positions are available in all conservation disciplines and range in length from 12 weeks to 12 months.

University of Montana: Ecological Agriculture and Society
This program combines traditional academics with hands-on work at an urban, organic farm that produces tens of thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables each season for low-income Missoulians. The internship - available for both undergraduate and graduate credit - is offered fall, summer, and spring. Students may farm for a season, a year or longer. The longer you stay, the more responsibility & learning you take on. Students also visit other organic farms & ranches & learn about local food processing and marketing. They learn to help reconnect people to the land through local food. Students bond by sharing work, knowledge, and food they grow and prepare.

Wilderness Institute (University of Montana): Wilderness and Civilization Program
Wilderness and Civilization is an inspiring and demanding classroom and field-based academic program. Each year, a small group of students from around the country are immersed for two semesters in the study of wildlands and land ethics. Coursework is interdisciplinary, and the program combines the strengths of classroom and field learning, small class size, dedicated faculty, and internship experience.

Where There Be Dragons
Dragons courses combines the best in experimental education, travel, service learning, and physically and intellectually engaging experiences. The four to six week summer programs and three-month semester courses are not tours or conventional trips; rather, they are expertly lead, low-impact travel adventures that draw the most from on-site learning opportunities.

Wild Rockies Field Institute
The Wild Rockies Field Institute (WRFI) offers a unique combination of outdoor adventure, quality academics, and experiential learning, all at an affordable price. Our students explore some of the most beautiful landscapes in America and meet the people at the heart of the subjects they study. Our students tell us repeatedly that they learn more and better when they are in the field seeing and doing. WRFI is a small organization committed to the experiences and well-being of its students and staff. Class size is limited to 10, and the student-to-instructor ratio is never more than 5:1, which means we’ll always remember your name. Every student gets lots of personal attention, and there is plenty of opportunity to ask questions, get help on assignments, and ask for advice.

Wildlands Studies Environmental Field Projects
At Wildlands Studies, you will help field study specialists search for to important environmental problems. Wildlands Studies can take you to places like Montana , Alaska , Hawai’i , California , Washington , Utah , Chile , Belize , Thailand , Fiji , Himalaya , Costa Rica , China , Kenya , and New Zeeland.