University of Virginia
AC-5: Immersive Experience

UVA offers several sustainability-focused immersive experience programs:

The Morven Summer Institute is an intensive summer academic program rooted in interdisciplinary place-based learning focused on sustainable practices. The Summer Institute is a collaborative institute involving faculty from UVA's School of Architecture, College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and the Office of Summer and Special Academic Programs. Designed for people with interests in sustainability, design, food systems, and ecology. https://summer.virginia.edu/morven-summer-institute

Overseas:

The University offers several sustainability-focused study abroad programs. Two examples:

UVA in Germany and Switzerland: Investing in a Sustainable Future: Climate change, water scarcity, species extinctions and social inequity are part and parcel of our modern world, and business leaders are recognizing both the opportunities and threats posed by these and other sustainability issues. Wise managers are now actively seeking out ways to integrate sustainable business practices into their organizations to drive strategic and competitive advantage.

Business organizations in Germany and Switzerland have long been leaders in this space, their activities facilitated by a more environmentally-conscious population, stronger government regulation, an ecosystem of smaller and more nimble companies (the Mittelstand) and other factors. Several intellectual concepts key to the achievement of a sustainable future, e.g., the precautionary principle, sustainable yield and life cycle analysis, were first identified/developed by citizens of these countries.

This program offers students the opportunity to learn and demonstrate their understanding of cutting-edge sustainable business practices and technologies currently in use in Germany and Switzerland. https://apps.educationabroad.virginia.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgramAngular&id=11355

UVA in Vietnam: An Ecological-Economic Exploration: This January Term course offers students the chance to study and to study in one of the world’s most rapidly growing countries. Looking through the lens of ecological economics, we will focus on whether and how relationships between human and natural systems produce outcomes that are sustainable, just, and efficient. Through field visits, experiential learning/citizen science, and interaction with policy, development and environmental practitioners, students will see these relationships in all their complexity and use problem-based learning to gain skills in evidence-based policy analysis. https://apps.educationabroad.virginia.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgramAngular&id=11224

Additional info: https://globalstudies.as.virginia.edu/going-global