India: Environmental & Climate Change Intensive 6-Week Semester
- India
About Program
Investigate the impact of climate change at the source, traveling from Himalayan glaciers to the Indian plains, examining environmental activism across cultures and landscapes.
From the Bay of Bengal to the highest Himalayan peaks, water dictates the lives and livelihoods of millions. As the Earth’s climate changes, warming temperatures at altitude result in higher glacial melt in the Himalayas, while more unpredictable weather patterns leave millions vulnerable to drought and cyclones or other tropical storms born out of the Bay of Bengal. Dragons India semester offers students the opportunity to go beyond India’s trodden traveler trails to live and learn alongside communities on the front lines of this era’s climate crisis.
College Credit is optional for an additional fee.
Video and Photos
Diversity & Inclusion 💙
BIPOC Support
LGBTQIA+ Support
In some cases, students may be advised not to speak about their sexual orientations and/or gender identities with local contacts (such as homestay families, ISP mentors, language teachers, and guest speakers) due to safety concerns. Likewise, transgender and non-binary students may have to choose to present outwardly as male or female in certain contexts during the program. In other cases, “coming out” to some or all host community members may be a safe choice.
Neurodivergent Support
Accessibility Support
Impact 🌎
Sustainability
Ethical Impact
Learning Service is a holistic experience that combines an intimate and authentic engagement with the local community, the study of effective development, and the contribution to an established community-driven project. It is the process of living, working alongside, and humbly absorbing the culture of those being served while coordinating closely with project managers to understand the trajectory of the project, from inception to completion and beyond. It is an acknowledgment that often it is the volunteer who stands to gain as much or more from the work. And it is a commitment to making contributions that create positive impacts in the communities coupled with the humility to always listen and learn first.
Program Highlights
- Deep focus on the practical impacts of climate change and water issues in varied ecosystems from the mountains to the plains
- Spend time in communities that are off the beaten path, learning alongside India’s vast diversity of people, cultures, and landscapes
- Pick an area of interest and dive in with a local mentor! Sitar, tabla, Indian cooking, Kathak dance, Hindi or Urdu language, vocals, women’s issues, comparative religion, stone carving, woodworking, and jewelry making are some popular options.
- Investigate issues of health, education, urban migration, the caste system, human rights, gender, social inequality, poverty, climate change and more.
- Delve into local rhythms on a high altitude trek and at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery retreat.