Applying and program information

• Be sure to check out our Courses page to learn about our unique Expedition Field Courses!

• To apply to the program, read our description of How to Apply and then send an email to apply@isdsi.org to request an application.

• If you are talking with faculty at your school about approving the program for student participation or credit, please point them to our website. If they have any questions they can email us at info@isdsi.org.

• A printable program poster now available for download! (jpg format, 300 dpi, 3.5 MB)

• Our approach to leadership is based on the outstanding work of the National Outdoor Leadership School, and we teach leadership skills as key enabling skills in our programs. Read about leadership and leadership skills online at NOLS.

• To read an article about our unique combination of cross-cultural and place-based education download "A New Model for Study-Abroad" (PDF file). This was published in The Bangkok Post on March 20, 2007 and can also be read online.
• If you want to learn more details about the theory behind our program, how we design courses, and our approach to education, download the ISDSI whitepaper on education for sustainability here (PDF file).
• Read a paper discussing our approach to risk management in an international setting from the 2004 Wilderness Risk Management Conference. This is especially useful if you are learning about or running your own international study programs, as it has a list of questions to ask at the end.

• Read online or download (PDF file) the article "Risk Management in Study Abroad: Lessons from the Wilderness" from Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, Vol. 9, 2003, about risk management.

• A Master's thesis, Investigating Conditions for Transfer of Learning in an Outdoor Experiential Study Abroad Course by Michael Anderson is a case study of an ISDSI Expedition Field Course (Human Rights and the Environment). The degree was granted in Outdoor Environmental Education and Outdoor Life, Linkoping University, Sweden. The thesis is available online.

• One of the largest study-abroad sites online, IIE Passport's country of the month for May, 2006 was Thailand. ISDSI helped supply photos for their web and print editions, and they have put a page online about ISDSI, "Study Abroad in Thailand with ISDSI..."

• A good starting point for learning about Thailand is at the US State Department webpages. The following pages are especially useful:
  • Background note: Thailand
  • Thailand Consular Information Sheet
  • US Consulate, Chiang Mai
  • US Embassy, Bangkok
  • Travel Tips for Students
  • Travel and Living Abroad

• Another good source of information is the Lonely Planet Thailand page online as well as its guidebooks. While written for travelers rather than for students, there is a lot of information about Thailand and Thai customs there.
• If you want to find out the basic facts on Thailand, the World Factbook is an excellent resource.
• Reading news about Thailand is an excellent way to prepare for your sojourn to Thailand. We recommend the following:
  • Bangkok Post Newspaper (daily)
  • The Nation Newspaper (daily)
  • Chiang Mai Mail (weekly)
  • Chiang Mai City Life (monthly)

• A useful currency converter for figuring out how the Thai Baht compares to other currencies
• Trying to call someone in the US, Thailand or elsewhere? Use this timezones page to figure out what time it is where you are calling so you don't call in the middle of the night! Bangkok, in the same timezone as Chiang Mai, is here.
• Wondering what the weather is like right now in Chiang Mai? Check here.

	Ranked #1 in the United States for study-abroad by US News & World report, Kalamazoo College started ISDSI as an initiative to explore creative ways to teach about sustainable development in a study-abroad setting. While we now work with a number of other colleges and universities, Kalamazoo College's Center for International Programs is still our key partner.
	The National Outdoor Leadership School is the best at what they do--leadership development in the wilderness. NOLS Professional Training has helped us in designing our own courses and risk management, and we recommend their courses to our students and staff. They have been an inspiration for our own work. If you haven't done a NOLS course yet, check them out and sign up!
	The Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS provides training to our field staff. ISDSI sponsors WMI courses in SE Asia for ISDSI staff and others interested in learning the best way to care for people in the event of a medical emergency far from medical care.
	ISDSI is a member of Leave No Trace. LNT supports the development of a wilderness ethic of "leaving no trace" in the wild.
	Paddle Asia is a key partner for our Southern Thailand courses (Islands and Coasts). In addition to housing our fleet of sea kayaks and helping with logistics, Dave Williams, the owner of Paddle Asia, as helped with technical instruction on our courses where sea kayaking is a critical enabling skill, and had contributed to the academic portion of our courses through his deep knowledge of the natural environment in Southern Thailand.
	Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures is a guide service for rock climbing and other adventures in Northern Thailand. We work with CMRCA on training our staff in technical climbing, collaborate on the development and sustainable use of local climbing resources, and go climbing together when we can!
	The first dive shope on Lipe Island, Sabye Sports is a key partner for our Islands course in the Adang archapelago. In addition to providing insight into island life and technical instruction in snorkeling and skin diving, they have a great dive shop and bakery. If you are interested in traveling to the islands, we highly recommend them.
	Reef Check is an international organization dedicated to monitoring the health and status of coral reefs. We use the Reef Check indicator species and a modified Reef Check methodology for our studies of indigenous knowledge of reefs and fish, as well as experiential learning about reefs and fish.

For a list of the NGOs we work with in Thailand, please see our Service Learning Internship page.