SIT Study Abroad Australia: Sustainability and Environmental Action

Investigate alternatives to current systems that are degrading the environment and increasing inequality, and be inspired by the incredible beauty of Australia’s World Heritage areas.

Program Highlights

• Live two blocks from the beach in the small coastal town of Byron Bay.
• Go on a four-day camping trip with Aboriginal elders.
• Learn about ecopsychology, environmental action, and sustainable futures during interactive, multi-day workshops.
• Explore the methods of environmental activism.
• Discover how Australia’s successful sustainability efforts can be applied at home.
• Spend eight days in Tasmania, exploring its ancient forests and learning about conservation.
• Do independent field research or an internship.

Please visit the SIT Study Abroad website for details on program courses (including syllabi), educational excursions, and housing.
 

Internships

This program offers a five-week internship with an environmental nonprofit organization or a government department or agency focused on environmental issues. An internship with a for-profit entity is also possible but only if the entity is primarily focused on environmental outcomes. The internship will enable you to gain valuable work experience in the field of sustainability and enhance your skills in an international work environment. A minimum of 150 hours must be spent working for the organization.
SIT internships are hands on and reflective. In addition to completing the internship, you will submit a paper processing your learning experience on the job and analyzing an issue important to the organization you worked with, and/or you will design a socially responsible solution to a problem identified by the organization.
Sample internships:  

• Researching and writing materials for a social media outreach campaign with 1 Million Women
• Campaigning with The Wilderness Society for a new national park in Victoria
• Developing a children’s space within the Mullumbimby Community Garden
• Taking photographs and developing promotional materials for the Melbourne Farmers’ Market
• Collating and analyzing information from a renewable energy forum at the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage
• Assessing demand for local foods at Armidale City Council
• Working on a campaign to preserve the Great Eastern Ranges with Australian Conservation Foundation
• Developing a travel plan for a large hospital with Victoria’s Health Department
• Assessing the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives targeting small businesses at Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment 
• Campaigning against the expansion of salmon farming with Environment Tasmania
• Helping Ocean Planet with marine conservation campaigns in Tasmania

 

Key Topics of Study

• Sustainability
• Sense of place
• The natural environment and nature conservation
• Social change and environmental action
• Ecopsychology and environmental ethics
• Aboriginal relationships with the environment

 Money Matters

Be sure to discuss how study abroad costs are handled at your school with your study abroad advisor.  
SIT tuition and room and board fees include the following:

• All educational costs, including educational excursions
• All accommodations and meals for the full program duration
• Transportation to and from the airport, and on all educational excursions
• Health and accident insurance

Scholarships:

• SIT awards nearly $1.6 million in scholarships and grants annually.
• All scholarships and grants are need-based.
• Awards generally range from $500 to $5,000.  
• The SIT Pell Grant Match provides matching grants to all students receiving Federal Pell Grant funding when it is applied to an SIT Study Abroad semester program. 
• Contact the financial aid and/or study abroad office(s) at your college or university to learn if your school’s scholarships and grants and federal and state aid programs can be applied to an SIT Study Abroad program.

Contact SIT Study Abroad

• Visit our website: studyabroad.sit.edu
• Request more information or email us: studyabroad@sit.edu
• Call an admission counselor: 888-272-7881
• Contact a former student.
• Apply to SIT.