NOTE: SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, like COVID-19, SIT may have to modify programs. Visit the SIT website for more details.
Discover how vulnerable ecosystems are impacted by human activity and climate change in Southern Patagonia and Antarctica.
Program Highlights
- Learn about the environmental characteristics of Southern Patagonia and Antarctica from your home base in Ushuaia, the southern-most city in the world.
- See Southern Patagonia's unique biodiversity, ecology, and conservation issues on site visits to Tierra del Fuego National Park, the Beagle Channel, Puerto Williams, Estancia Harberton (the first European settlement in Tierra del Fuego), and Rio Grande.
- Explore the last pristine region of the world on a 10-day expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula including guided landings.
- Learn how to apply scientific research tools and methods as you examine how the marine biodiversity of Southern Patagonia and Antarctica is impacted by climate change.
- Improve your Spanish by practicing in class, on excursions, with your homestay family, and while designing your own research project or joining an ongoing project for an internship.
Major Topics of Study
- The impact of climate change on the biodiversity of Southern Patagonia and Antarctica
- Features of the geological, evolutionary, and biogeographical events that have occurred in the region
- The impact of climate change on the maritime communications routes and marine biology in the region
- The influence of Antarctica’s icescape and how it pertains to climate change
- The historical, political, and social assumptions made over time in relation to Patagonia and the Antarctic Sea
- Conservation over the past decades in Southern Patagonia and Antarctica
- Decision making in relation to marine resources at different levels (local, national, and international)
- The role of climate change in relation to human activity and natural resource conservation
Program Structure
There is no "typical day" on an SIT program. Activities may take place on any day of the week and at any time of day to be in accordance with according to local norms and to take advantage of once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunities. Thus, the schedule and structure of the program are likely very different from what students are used to on their home campuses. The semester progresses in phases:
- The program begins with a thorough orientation.
- During the first two and a half months of the program, students are engaged in foundational coursework, including:
- thematic seminars, including education excursions,
- language instruction focused on improving practical communication skills, and
- a field research methods and ethics course that prepares students to conduct independent research.
- For the last month of the program, students conduct an Independent Study Project (ISP) or complete an internship in an approved area of their choosing.
- Finally, students present their project, participate in program evaluations, and prepare to return home.
What Makes SIT Unique
- SIT Study Abroad offers a field-based, experiential approach to learning.
- Each program has a small group of students (typically 10–35).
- On an SIT program, students gain high levels of access to many different stakeholders and experts relevant to the issues the program is examining.
- While some learning will be conducted at the SIT program center, extensive learning is done outside the classroom — in host communities, field stations, NGO headquarters, ecological sites, health clinics, and art studios.
- Many students go on to use their Independent Study Projects as a basis for senior theses on their home campuses. Others use their undergraduate research and overall study abroad experience to successfully apply for fellowships such as Fulbrights and Watsons.
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 $1.8 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
