University of Notre Dame
AC-5: Immersive Experience

1) Washington, D.C. Seminar: Energy, Climate, and Social Change

Immersion Dates: Fall break

This course examines the relationship between energy, consumption and environmental ethics with the aim to foster an environment that encourages, in the words of Pope Francis, an ‘ecological conversion’ at a personal and communal level. Students engage in conversation, reflection and experiences that animate the adaptation of a new way of being related to the earth and the care of creation, and gain vision for ways to advocate for serious responses to climate/environmental issues at the social/structural level. This seminar includes an immersion to Washington, D.C., during Fall Break to meet with policy makers, researchers, and advocacy groups. Upon their return from D.C., students work alongside Office of Sustainability staff to propose Catholic Social Teaching informed sustainability solutions for campus and the surrounding community.
https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/content/energy-climate-and-social-change

2) University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center – East/West

UNDERC furthers research and education in environmental studies at The University of Notre Dame by focusing activities on unique locations of high environmental quality in the North Central region and northern Rockies of North America. These locations serve as "natural" laboratories for the study of environmental systems that have experienced little or no degradation from humans and as a baseline for comparison with human-disturbed systems.

The University of Notre Dame Department of Biological Sciences offers a 9 and 1/2 week summer field-oriented environmental biology course (BIOS 35502-01: Practicum in Field Environmental Biology) to undergraduate students enrolled at Notre Dame, St. Mary's College, and other colleges around the country. The course, which has been offered since 1976 (originally listed as BIOS 569), provides training in aquatic, terrestrial, and environmental biology through lectures and field experience with a variety of aquatic and terrestrial organisms and natural habitats. It also includes an independent research project developed by each student under the direction and with the assistance of a department of Biological Sciences faculty member, graduate student, or visiting faculty member. At the end of the summer course, each student prepares an oral presentation and a research paper presenting the results of the summer's field research.
https://underc.nd.edu/underc-east/courses/

In the UNDERC-West summer (9 weeks), students receive six-credits for a Practicum in Field Environmental Biology (BIOS 35503-01) and to prepare for the program, a 1 credit introductory course (BIOS 35501-02) during the Spring Semester is required (on-campus or on-line). The summer class modules include wildlife ecology, grassland ecology, mountain ecology, Native American ecology, and stream ecology. Each module lasts 5 to 7 days. Furthermore, each student is expected in the remaining time to design and complete an independent field research project under the direction and assistance of the Director and Assistant Director. This project should be more advanced than in the first summer at UNDERC-East and hopefully will be designed to compare results between UNDERC- East and West. Therefore, a portion of the course involves more advanced training in experimental design, data collection, data analysis, and presentation of research results (6th module). Each student's research project culminates with a written report and seminar presentation at the end of the course.

An added element of the UNDERC-West program is that students learn how indigenous people lived off the land through the interactions with Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. By living on their Flathead Reservation, student also have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of these communities relationship to their environment.
https://underc.nd.edu/underc-west/courses/

UNDERC and Energy, Climate, and Social Change are ongoing courses. Some additional immersion opportunities vary from year to year, but may include sustainability-oriented Appalachian immersions, International Service Learning Courses, and additional Seminar courses through the Center for Social Concerns. Additional information on these options can be found here: https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/
International sustainability immersions, such as our 2019 Galapagos sustainability immersion, are advertised at: https://international.nd.edu/ Virtual sustainability immersions have been offered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in partnership with Notre Dame's Ireland-based locations.