Conservation, Ethics, and Environmental Change
CAMBODIA
PROGRAM DETAILS
Terms: Fall, Spring
Credits: 18 semester-hour credits
Prerequisites: One semester of college-level ecology, biology, or environmental studies/science; 18 years of age
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions. Early applications encouraged
Financial Aid: All accepted students can apply for need-based scholarships, grants, and loans
OVERVIEW
Students in this program learn about the complexity and fundamental importance of the Mekong River to the region’s ecosystems, livelihoods, and development. Through coursework, field excursions, and Directed Research, students focus on conservation, environmental ethics, and rural development.
Students follow the Mekong River during a month of travel across rural and urban Cambodia. While on the road, students visit key conservation sites along the Mekong, gain appreciation for Cambodia’s recent history in Phnom Penh, and discover coastal ecosystems and development pressures in Kampot Province.
The program then travels overland to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, where students experience a contrasting political, social, and economic system from Cambodia. Students explore the environmental issues in the Mekong Delta including climate change, water resource use, and agricultural development.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Spend almost a month traveling within Cambodia and Vietnam, studying the diverse habitats and livelihoods that are supported by the Mekong River system
Evaluate opportunities and challenges in tourism development while exploring the resplendent Khmer temple complex of Angkor, one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia
Explore the role of monks and Buddhism in environmental education, environmental ethics, and wildlife conservation
Participate in baseline biodiversity surveys in the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve, and investigate the status of migratory bird species