Australia: Sustainability and Environmental Action

Coursework

The interdisciplinary coursework for the Australia: Sustainability and Environmental Action program focuses on empowering students to make changes toward sustainability in their own lives and in society. The program does this by providing students not only with the knowledge to understand the nature of the ecological crisis, but also with the skills to effect change, as well as the inspiration and hope needed to motivate them to take action. Students examine not only the impact of human activity on the environment and ways governments, industry, and citizens are working to protect and conserve natural resources, but also the psychological and philosophical dimensions of these issues. Students interact with professionals, academics, conservationists, community members, and host families. During the final five weeks of the semester, students leverage their field study experience and research skills to complete an Independent Study Project.

The Australia: Sustainability and Environmental Action program offers the following courses. These course descriptions can be useful for students, faculty, and study abroad offices in assessing credit transfer. Learn more about credit transfer.

Sustainability and Environmental Action Seminar - syllabus (PDF)
(ENVI 3000 / 8 credits / 120 class hours)
An interdisciplinary course focusing on an analysis of efforts to pursue sustainability in Australia. The course is designed to empower students to make a positive contribution to making societies more sustainable.

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this seminar, students should be able to:

Identify the major environmental problems on global, national, and local scales
Employ the concept of “Sense of place” in developing a commitment to environmental action
Recognize the major features of the natural environment of Australia and how these features contribute to sustainability problems and their solutions
Contrast a range of different environmental philosophies
Appraise what can be learnt from the Aboriginal cultures of Australia in our quest to establish more sustainable societies
Evaluate the concept of sustainability, its most important principles and characteristics, and the techniques used in its assessment
Identify both the major environmental issues related to energy production, tourism, forestry, agriculture, housing, urban development, and nature conservation; and the innovative strategies that are being used to minimize the environmental impact of these industries
Utilize social change theories and the techniques of environmental action in designing an environmental campaign.

Research Methods and Ethics - syllabus (PDF)
(ANTH 3500 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
A course in the concepts of learning across cultures and from field experience. Introduction to the Independent Study Project. Material includes cross-cultural adaptation and skills building; project selection and refinement; writing a research proposal; referencing; appropriate methodologies such as interviewing, surveying, and content analysis; field study ethics and the World Learning/SIT Human Subjects Review Policy; developing contacts and finding resources; developing skills in observation and interviewing; gathering, organizing, analyzing, and communicating data; maintaining a work journal.

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this seminar, students should be able to:

Recognize a wide range of field study methods and their appropriate uses
Compare Australian and North American cultures
Apply an appropriate selection of research methods to a topic of particular interest to the student
Employ cultural sensitivity and an appropriate ethical stance in field study
Appraise previous research and literature on a topic of interest and reference it appropriately
Design an independent study project and write a project proposal
Evaluate the success of previous independent study projects and their reports
Demonstrate a positive attitude toward the independent study process including a willingness to ‘not know’
Demonstrate increased confidence to engage with another culture

Independent Study Project - syllabus (PDF)
(ISPR 3000 / 5 credits / 150 class hours)
Conducted in northern New South Wales or in another approved location appropriate to the project. Students may undertake a traditional research project or, alternatively, produce a creative piece (e.g. art, film, creative writing), or undertake an internship. All projects must relate to sustainability. Sample topic areas: effect of dolphin feeding on environmental perceptions of tourists; permaculture as an alternative to traditional agriculture; a feasibility study for the introduction of solar power at Macquarie University; creating effective urban community gardens; an internship with the Wilderness Society River Red Gum campaign; creating artwork for a National Parks Service campaign; sustainable housing; why farmers choose to convert to organic agriculture; the role of art in promoting sustainability; conceptions of wilderness in Tasmania.

Learning outcomes
The Independent Study Project will reflect a student’s ability to:

Select, design, and implement an individual project that investigates a particular ecological, environmental, or sustainability issue
Use effective field study methods and techniques to gather data
Integrate and analyze information from a variety of primary and secondary sources
Communicate the results of a study in both a written report and an oral presentation
Apply relevant ethical concepts in undertaking field research

Browse this program's Independent Study Projects/Undergraduate Research