Pa'long farmers take a break from threshing rice - Chiang Dao.
rice-harvest-chiang-dao.jpg
Courses

FAST FACTS

  • Courses are offered in the fall and spring.

  • Each semester is 17 weeks long, with a 1 week orientation followed by 16 weeks of classes.

  • Students earn 16 credits per semester (4 per course).

  • Courses during the semester are on the block plan–each course is for 4 weeks, 4 courses per semester.

FALL SEMESTER COURSES:

  • Foundations

  • Fields

  • Forests

  • Oceans

SPRING SEMESTER COURSES:

  • Foundations

  • Rivers

  • Forests

  • Oceans

OTHER COURSES:

  • Internship

  • WFR Course

Semesters at ISDSI are a series of four month-long block courses. The first month is spent studying intensive Thai and participating in seminars on Thai society and development. Students then complete a series of “Expedition Field Courses.”

Expedition Field Courses are academically rigorous, intensive, and challenging. Designed in collaboration with local communities, each EFC focuses on a specific place and set of issues related to the study of sustainable development. The EFC course model was designed in consultation with the National Outdoor Leadership School, and includes training in field research, leadership, and expedition skills.

Semester course descriptions

  • foundationsFoundations: Thai Language, Society and Development. [Language/Sociology] This intensive course focuses on the acquisition of the Thai language and understanding of Thai society and key issues in development. In addition to small intensive language classes, students study the urban geography of Chiang Mai city and selected topics in Thai culture and society. Fall and Spring.
  • forestPolitical Ecology of Forests: Upland People and Natural Resources [Anthropology/Ecology] This course explores the ethno-ecological relationship between people and forests. The course is located in upland forest-dwelling communities in the mountains of Northern Thailand, learning from and working with Ba’ken’yaw (Karen) ethnic people. Fall and Spring.
  • fields-riceAgroecology: Social and Biological Factors in Sustainable Agriculture [Biology/Sociology] Food–or the lack of it–is probably the most important challenge facing the poor. This course looks at the problem of sustainable food production by examining agroecology–sustainable farming based on ecological principles. Fall.
  • islandsCulture and Ecology of the Andaman: Islands, Reefs and Mangroves [Ecology/Geography] Coastal communities are on the front line of the ecological impact of marine resource depletion and global fish stocks. This course examines islands, reefs and mangroves, focusing on the human communities that depend on fishing and on reef ecology in the Andaman Sea, Southern Thailand. Fall and Spring.
  • riversHuman Rights and The Environment: Rivers, Dams and Local Struggles [Political Science/Ecology] This course examines the linkage between human rights and the environment by focusing on the environmental and social impact of dams. The course studies two river ecosystems–the Mun and the Yom, including paddling the Yom–one of the last undammed rivers in Thailand. Spring.
  • internshipService Learning Internship: Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Development [Internship/Supervised Research] The service-learning internship is a chance for students to work with a local organization focused on sustainable development issues and apply what they have learned during their semester to a specific project and problem. January and Summer.

Please note: All of our Expedition Field Courses are cross listed in two disciplines–one social science and one natural science. The specific field in which credit is awarded is determined by the student’s home institution.

For an application, email apply@isdsi.org!