University of Montana
AC-5: Immersive Experience
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Eva
Rocke Sustainability Director Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution offer at least one immersive, sustainability-focused educational study program that is one week or more in length?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused immersive program(s) offered by the institution:
The University of Montana offers several immersive, sustainability-focused educational study programs that are one week or more in length.
The Climate Change Studies program offers a 10-day field course in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Students learn how climate change is affecting one of the most at-risk regions in the world. In addition to learning about impacts, students are also exposed to how the people of this region are adapting, particular when it comes to agricultural and forestry practices.
The faculty-directed New Zealand & Sydney, Australia study abroad program introduces students to alternative energy projects and carbon emissions trading. Students spend time in Kaikoura learning about sustainable communities and businesses. They then visit Christchurch to learn about sustainable agricultural practices. In Queenstown, students learn about managing sustainable tourism enterprises. Finally, they explore the themes of international business, marketing, and sustainability in Sydney, Australia.
The Environmental Studies program's Forum for Living with Appropriate Technology (FLAT) is a sustainable demonstration house located in Missoula, Montana and run by students. Project successes include a converted two-car garage turned passive solar community gathering place, solar panels that power the house, and pellet stove installations and permaculture via a prodigious garden, greenhouse and hot bed. The FLAT is a living/learning community that invites students from any major or discipline to apply to live in the house and earn academic credit for their sustainability-focused projects while receiving free housing. Student residents also coordinate events and learn skills like gardening, food preservation, and basic home care and maintenance.
The College of Forestry's Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management program offers an immersive study abroad experience in Botswana and Zambia. Students travel to Africa to learn about international conservation and development in national parks and wildlife areas of Zambia and Botswana. The course covers issues of livelihoods and sustainable development in Zambia and Botswana using the Livingstone region of the Zambezi as a model to explore the complex interactions between natural resources, local people, NGO’s, government agencies, tourism providers, resource managers and tourists. Curricula focuses on livelihoods, conservation, livelihood change and nature-based tourism in the context of sustainable development.
Finally, the Flathead Lake Biological Station offers a summer session for undergraduate or graduate students available for credit. This program has been operating since 1899 and includes rotating field courses like field ecology, alpine ecology, aquatic microbial ecology, and Mountain Ice/Snow Ecology. Students live at the biological station for 4 - 8 weeks and learn from a variety of faculty in the natural sciences.
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
UM FLAT - https://www.umt.edu/environmental-studies/opportunities/umflat/
Flathead Lake Biological Station summer session - https://flbs.umt.edu/apps/education/default.aspx
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