The New Zealand semester program is an interdisciplinary off-campus opportunity with an emphasis in environmental studies. New Zealand’s unique biogeography and cultural dynamics make it an ideal location to examine the complexity and interrelatedness of environmental problems and challenges. With a combination of academic coursework and experiential field study, the program immerses students in the landscapes and communities of New Zealand’s North and South Islands.
The program involves academic coursework in natural and cultural history and modern environmental issues as well as experiential learning in the form of service-learning, outdoor education excursions such as hiking, canoeing and sea kayaking, and an emphasis on self-reflection and community-building. Just as environmental problem-solving cannot be reduced to one field of inquiry, the New Zealand semester purposefully engages students holistically and encourages the development of multiple ways of knowing and learning.