Australia and New Zealand: Spring Semester

Sustaining Human Societies and the Natural Environment

Spring 2010 (January 21 − April 1, 2010), $7395

13 − 15 Credits (no pre-requisites)

Overview

This is an educational study tour of the cultural and natural systems of New Zealand and Australia that integrates the perspectives of anthropology, ecology, human geography and international affairs to understand issues of sustainable development: Sustaining humans and their natural environment. The program is offered during Spring Semester(mid-January to early April each year) and offers 13 - 15 credits with no pre-requisites.

Credits & Costs

Fulfills Areas B, D, E, and/or Area F core USG/UGA and offers 13 - 15 credits, no pre-requisites or co-requisites for ALL MAJORS

Credit is available at the undergraduate and graduate levels in one or more of the following disciplines:

Anthropology (ANTH) 1100/4271/6271 for 3 credits
Ecology (ECOL) 1000/L or 4271/6271 for 4 credits
Geography (GEOG) 1101/4271/6271 for 3 credits
International Affairs (INTL) 1100/4271/6271 for 3 credits

In addition students can take optional independent study for 2 hours in any ONE of the following:

Anthropology (ANTH) 4271/6271
Ecology (ECOL) 4271/6271
Forestry (FORS) 4271/6271
Geography (GEOG) 4271/6271
International Affairs (INTL) 4271/6271
Recreation & Leisure Studies (RLST) 4271/6271

1000 level and 4271 courses are for undergraduate students 6271 courses are for graduates and honors students.

Students attend lectures and participate in field studies that take an interdisciplinary perspective.

Program cost includes all accommodation, excursions, cultural events, insurance, ground transportation in luxury coaches, domestic flight to the Great Barrier Reef and some meals. Tuition (HOPE applies and out-of-state students pay in-state tuition) and international airfare (group rate available) are additional.

Description

The program provides up to 15 semester credits in core university courses in Introductory Anthropology, Ecology, Human Geography, and International Affairs. For students who have completed any of these introductory courses, upper division electives in many different colleges and departments are available. We apply an experiential education approach where students spend at least half their time in the field directly exploring what is taught in the classroom. Our broad program theme is human and natural aspects of the environment and its conservation, using the cases of the South Island of New Zealand and Queensland, Australia. The program is suitable for students from a wide variety of backgrounds, and no prior resource conservation knowledge is assumed.

Queensland, Australia is known as the Sunshine State, home to the Outback and Aboriginal communities, lush tropical rainforest, golden beaches, uniquely Australian marsupials, and the marine diversity of the magnificent and stunning Great Barrier Reef.

The South Island of New Zealand is renowned for its pristine beauty, with snow-capped mountains rising 14,000 feet from the sea, the world's largest fiords, remote and misty rainforests with unique birds, massive glaciers carving their way to the ocean, active volcanoes, and vast expanses of deserted South Pacific beaches. New Zealand's isolation has created a unique natural heritage, with plants and animals unknown anywhere else. One of the unique aspects of the program is the extended travel and field trips, such as opportunities to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, sea kayak in the Abel Tasman National Park, visit the Australian Outback and experience Aboriginal bush life, hike on the Fox Glacier and Mt Cook, boat to isolated, remote, and predator-free Stewart Island, cave at Paparoa National Park, and maybe even swim with dolphins or whale-watch�all of which are included in the cost of the program.

New Zealand has a temperate climate and Queensland a semi-tropical one: January through March is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and the best time to visit climatically, so we will be enjoying wonderful weather with daytime temperatures between 75 and 85°F.

Application Details