Off-Campus Programs

Want to gain broader experience and additional skills? Supplement your studies at UW Oshkosh with field studies and semester programs at other institutions. Here are just some of the programs available–you can search for more.

There are many fascinating field studies opportunities sponsored by organizations within the U.S. and abroad. There are also one and two semester environmental programs that are academically focused. Consider these as an enrichment experience during summer or during fall or spring semester.

Here is a list of programs, with brief descriptions and links below:

CREA Summer Course in Panama: Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development

Students will experience and learn about several tropical habitats including:  dry lowland rainforest; humid lowland rainforest; mangrove ecosystems on both Pacific and Caribbean coasts; and watershed ecosystems of the Panama Canal. Learn more.

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.

Expedition Education Institute

Offering college and gap year experiential traveling programs based in North American bioregions. Click here to learn more.

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.

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.

International Honors Program

The International Honors Program 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.

Maderas Rainforest Conservancy

Field courses in primate behavior and rainforest ecology in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Check out their many courses here.

National Outdoor Leadership School

NOLS offers 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 through the National Student Exchange program. For more information, you can pick up a directory at the Office of International Education.

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.

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.

The Organic Farmer Training Program

The OFTP was developed to address the increasing need for small-scale organic growers. Students engage in the management of SOF gardens and field production for the farm’s primary markets, including a 48 week CSA, a 6 month on campus farm stand and sales to campus dining services. Learn more.

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. Check out the website: Peace Corps

The School for Field Studies

The School for Field Studies 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.

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.

Semester in the Wild

Immerse yourself in a wilderness classroom like no other and catapult your career to the next level. Run out of the University of Idaho, Semester in the Wild let’s you learn about nature in the wilderness. UWO students have attended and rave about it.

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.

Where There Be Dragons

The four to six week summer Where There Be Dragons 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.

Wilderness and Civilization Program

University of Montana offers a field studies program about wilderness and land ethics through ecology, literature, policy, art, and Native American Studies. Engage with conservation advocates, land managers, tribal leaders, and innovative landowners in the field. Learn more here.

Wildlands Studies Environmental Field Projects

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

Woodland School (Aldo Leopold Foundation)

Since 1998, the Woodland School (Aldo Leopold Foundation) has been assisting people responsible for managing both public and private land in creating and realizing their own conservation vision.