Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 77.90
Liaison Katie Maynard
Submission Date March 4, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of California, Santa Barbara
AC-5: Immersive Experience

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Jewel Persad
Sustainability Manager
Administration
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution offer at least one immersive, sustainability-focused educational study program that is one week or more in length?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused immersive program(s) offered by the institution:

UCSB has several immersive experience programs focused on sustainability. The first few we will highlight are offered through UCEAP (University of California Education Abroad Program) . UCSB students are also given the opportunity to participate in the Wildlands Studies program.

The following are the programs offered by UCEAP which focus on sustainability:

Australia & Solomon Islands: Pacific Island Environmental & Community Health
This program allows students with a deep commitment to service and sustainability have the opportunity to engage with development issues facing fragile Pacific island
environments. Students undergo six weeks of intensive training at the University of Queensland and further study at the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) to ground them in the specific environmental and health challenges facing the nation. In the final phase of the program, students undertake group research projects as they work alongside SINU students in the communities of the Western Province. The full program is 11 weeks long during Spring.

Socio-Ecological Sustainability in Southern Chile
Set in the south of Chile on the forested shore of Lake Villarrica, this multi-disciplinary program guides students through considerations of sustainability with reference to the natural ecosystems, the perspectives of the indigenous Mapuche community, the agricultural interests, the logging industry, and the potential for a growing tourist trade. Planning for sustainable development is the challenge in which students participate alongside professors who have chosen to teach here because they are dedicated to the area and all of its inhabitants.

Costa Rica: Tropical Biology & Conservation, Monteverde (Quarter or Semester)
Students take advantage of the unique opportunities of this quarter-long or semester-long program in Monteverde, a rural community of Costa Ricans and North Americans who share a bicultural and bilingual lifestyle in a growing eco-tourism area. Located between seasonally dry Pacific slopes to the west and the tropical rain forest of the Atlantic slope to the east, the area's unique contrasting we​t and dry forests present extraordinary opportunities to study plant-animal interactions, ecology, and natural history

The above programs are within a program guide given to students by UCSB to show what partnerships are offered and communicate opportunities to students. UCSB is regularly recruiting students to participate in these programs as well.

Wildlands Studies offers field study courses focused on particular projects relating to environmental issues and the communities they affect. Courses are offered all over the world and the majority range from 6 to 7 weeks long. Groups of students are led by professors/researchers who engage a group of students in field study research and learning during the program. Many of the Wildlands Studies projects involve students backpacking and camping for the majority of the program. Wildlands Studies offers UCSB students 15 quarter units of academic credit for 6-7 week programs and assigns letter grades to students, based on field exercises, group presentations, written exams, a term paper, entries in a field journal, and participation. The Environmental Studies Program at UCSB has had a long partnership with the Wildlands Studies Program and consistently sends several students to it each quarter. UCSB guarantees the transfer of academic credit from the program and supports recruitment events on campus.

https://www.es.ucsb.edu/field-studies


Website URL where information about the institution’s immersive education programs is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.