The College of Natural Resources (CNR) Study Abroad Program offers excellent international experiences through several courses taught in a wide variety of countries. These courses are offered to students from any major that have completed at least one year of on-campus instruction, and have good scholastic credentials (have meet GPA standards). All students must complete and submit all application materials before their application will be considered. Applications are reviewed in the order that they are received and candidates are accepted on rolling admission basis. Applications for all courses are available at the VT Education Abroad website. Details on each course can be found below, by contacting the instructor for the course, or by contacting Dr. Tom Hammett, Coordinator of International Programs, College of Natural Resources (email: himal@vt.edu or 540-231-2716).
You may find brochures on each of the CNR courses in Room 230 Cheatham Hall. To learn how you can apply for each course visit the VT Education Abroad web site. After clicking on “Find a Program”, type in the country or region in which you hope to study.
STUDY ABROAD COURSES OPEN TO STUDENTS (open to all majors, students may qualify for undergraduate or graduate credit)
Attend Belize Informational meeting Tuesday, Dec. 1, 6:00 PM
Study Abroad in China: The College of Natural Resource’s Study Abroad in China melds a cultural and conservation immersion experience. We’ve chosen the Yunnan province in the southwest of China as the location for this experience and for good reason. Yunnan embodies many of the natural resource management and sustainable development challenges faced worldwide, and in a spectacular setting. An internationally recognized biodiversity “hotspot,” with elevations ranging from a mere 250 feet to more than 22,000 feet, more plant and wildlife diversity than anywhere else in China, an economy in transition, urban expansion, and poverty and literacy needs, Yunnan could well be the poster child for the global challenges of balancing sustainable economic development and environmental conservation.
Working closely with our Chinese partners, students will be immersed in an international educational experience that would be nearly impossible to duplicate, with opportunities to discuss firsthand the context, challenges, and potential solutions with Chinese students, faculty, managers, activists, and citizens. The program blends an applied examination of social issues faced in Yunnan, and the “real-world” resource conservation challenges associated with them. Students will be expected to synthesize these components to produce team-based case study final reports.
Please click here to download the Study Abroad in China brochure
Winter Break Special Course in New Zealand – Hurry application deadline coming soon!
GEOG 3954/5954 or NR 3954/5954: Sustaining Human Societies and the Environment in New Zealand: This 23 day study abroad program will examine the natural and social history and resource conservation of New Zealand’s South Island using a Geographic, ecological landscape perspective. New Zealand’s isolation, after its separation from the ancient Gondwanaland millions of years ago, has left this island nation with a unique natural heritage. The plants and animals that have 1 evolved here are unknown elsewhere in the world. Our program will focus on topics related to sustainable development (sustaining human societies and the natural environment) through educational travel, field trips, active participation, lecture presentations and seminars, and coursework exercises. The goal of this course is using the New Zealand case to integrate the different perspectives of diverse natural, biological, and social science disciplines to improve understanding of relationships between human societies and the natural environment. The impact of humans on natural resources and their sustainable use and conservation will be emphasized. For more information, contact the Instructor: Bill Carstensen (540-231-2600 or carstens@vt.edu)
Please click here to download the NZ Winter Break course brochure
Click here to apply for the winter course (2009-10) in New Zealand.
Rainforest to Reef in Belize (Spring and Summer 2010): The College is offering again a summer study abroad course in Belize during 2009. You register for the course and attend on-campus meetings weekly during the Spring Semester (before your departure). Then you participate in the field section of course beginning in mid-May when you travel to Belize and spend 12 days observing natural resources, development, and agriculture issues on the ground. Space is limited to 12 participants; scholarships are available for this course. So, if you are at all interested, please contact Dr. Glen Stevens (glsteven@vt.edu) or Dr. Hammett (himal@vt.edu) for more information.
Please click here to download the brochure describing the Belize course
Click here to apply for the course in Belize during the spring and summer of 2010.
Global Issues in Natural Resources in Costa Rica. (Spring 2010): This new and unique course will bring faculty and students together to learn more about global issues that impact the sustainable management and use of natural resources. Issues will be examined through the lens of examples in Costa Rica including natural resources conservation, water management, ecotourism, wood products manufacturing, forest certification, and wildlife protection will be examined through field trips and lecture by experts. The course will be hosted by the staff and faculty of the Costa Rica Institute of Technology, and include visits to several beautiful parks and reserves in coastal and mountain regions. The faculty will help students better understand how these issues are related to Virginia and the United States. Student will meet on campus during January and February for sessions that will provide background information. The field trip to Costa Rica will occur during the Virginia Tech Spring Break. The trip will be lead by Dr. Henry Quesada, Department of Wood Science and Forest Products. (quesada@vt.edu). Pick up a brochure at 230 Cheatham Hall or at the Brooks Lab.
Please click here for a brochure describing the Costa Rica course
Click here to apply for the course in Costa Rica offered during the Spring of 2010.
Sustaining Human Societies and the Environment in New Zealand (Summer 2010): Follows a similar schedule as our December 2009/January 2010 course in New Zealand. The students depart from the USA on May 17, 2010 and the course begins in country on May 19. The course ends in country on June 11 and the students arrive back in the USA on June 11. Any student continuing on for the Fiji program would have a flight pre-arranged for transfer from NZ to Fiji in time to arrive for the start of the Fiji course. This will be a SUMMER I course for six VT credits. Please contact Dr. Hammett (himal@vt.edu) for more information on this course.
Please click here to download the information sheet for the Summer 2010 New Zealand course
Click here to apply for the course in New Zealand during the summer of 2010.
Sustaining Human Societies and the Environment in Fiji (Summer 2010): Students should depart from the US two days prior to the beginning of the course (June 13), and should arrive back in the USA on June 21, 2010. Any student registered for this Fiji course and coming from the New Zealand or Australia course would have a transfer flight pre-arranged in time to arrive for the beginning of the Fiji program. This will be a SUMMER I course for three VT credits. Please contact Dr. Hammett (himal@vt.edu) for more information on this course.
Please click here to download the information sheet for the Summer 2010 Fiji course
Click here to apply for the course in Fiji during the summer of 2010.
Sustaining Human Societies and the Environment in Australia (Summer 2010): Departs USA on June 24 and ends in Australia on July 19, 2010. Students will register for this as a SUMMER I course. Students continuing from Australia to the Fiji course would have a transfer flight pre-arranged to get them from Australia to arrive in Fiji in time for the beginning of the Fiji course. This will be a VT-SUMMER II course for six VT credits. Please contact the program leader Dr. Blanc (lblanc@vt.edu) for more information on this course.
Please click here to download the information sheet for the Summer 2010 Australia course
Click here to apply for the course in Australia during the summer of 2010.
Early announcement: Sustaining Human Societies and the Environment in Antarctica (Winter Break 2010): The Antarctica program provides a journey to the coldest, windiest, and driest continent on Earth and yields 6 hours of credit. Students will register for this as a fall semester 2010 course and attend weekly class meetings throughout the fall semester. You spend the fall semester on campus in Blacksburg taking your regular classes and participating with your classmates in a weekly web-cast class on Antarctica. The coursework discusses contemporary issues in Antarctica and the adjacent sub-Antarctic region.
Then during winter break (Dec. 2010 – Jan. 2011), you participate in a 2-week field study in traveling through southern Argentina, and Tierra del Fuego to Antarctica. You depart Dec. 26, 2010 and arrive back in the US on or about January 10, 2011. While in Antarctica, you will encounter penguins, seals, and whales, not to mention mile-long icebergs, snow-covered mountains, and breathtaking landscapes. A fully outfitted ship serves as our expedition base, and we take landings onto the continent twice daily. You will take countless stunning photos of wildlife and scenery by which to remember this experience of a lifetime.
For more information about this course, please contact the leader of this year’s program (2009-10) Dr. Blanc (lblanc@vt.edu).
Please click here to download an information sheet on the course in Antarctica.
Click here to apply for the course in Antarctica during the summer of 2010.
Education Abroad in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic Spring 2010 or Fall 2010. Want to spend the semester in the Caribbean earning 18 credit hours of Virginia Tech credits? Consider this unique Virginia Tech program in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic: Information sessions: October 19-22 (Monday through Thursday) at 5:00pm in the Dean’s Conference Room, College of Science. Directions are given below. Application deadline has been extended to November 15th. Applications accepted thereafter until the program is full.
Advantages of this program include:
- You pay only 80% of regular tuition and fees plus a program fee. The overall cost of the program is close to the cost of attendance in Blacksburg. In addition to the tuition a program fee of $7000 that includes round-trip airfare, accommodations, most meals, and excursions around the country, including a visit to the capital city of Santo Domingo.
- Special $500 scholarships are still available.
- Earn 18 credit hours and return to Blacksburg before the end of the regular semester. Courses in the Spring semester 2010 will include Spanish Culture and Civilization, Physical Geography of the Dominican Republic, Sociology of Globalization, Introduction to Theater (Caribbean Focus), Tropical Ornithology, and a Spanish skills class designed to teach Spanish to new students and enhance the Spanish skills of students who already have some Spanish background. Fall courses are being developed. Don't worry if you have taken any of these courses--you will still receive credit under a different course number.
- Field trips to beautiful remote areas of the Dominican Republic and to the oldest city in the New World - Santo Domingo.
- Access to the amenities of a 4-star hotel (pools, beaches, windsurfing, horse-back riding, etc.) including incredible buffet dinners every evening you are not traveling. You will live and have classes in an air-conditioned with wireless internet at the Biodiversity Center across the road from the hotel.
- Participate in a rewarding service-learning project in the local community.
Students are encouraged to submit an application immediately to insure space in the program. The application is available at:
http://www.educationabroad.vt.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Abroad.Home
After clicking on “Find a Program”, type in Caribbean. Qualified applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-enrolled basis.
If you cannot attend one of the information sessions, or you want additional information about the program, contact Jerry Via (email: viaj@vt.edu phone: 231-5144). To reach the College of Science office, come up the staircase between Torgersen Hall and the Performing Arts Building (across the street from McBryde). We are located in the big gray modular building at the top of the stairs.
Escape from the Blacksburg winter and sign up now!
For more information on these and other courses taught by CNR faculty, please contact Dr. Hammett, Coordinator of International Programs, College of Natural Resources, room 230 Cheatham Hall (phone: 231-2716; email: himal@vt.edu).
Course materials and course application materials for these courses can be found at the Virginia Tech Education Abroad Office web site. Go to: www.educationabroad.vt.edu