This page has information about our semester programs in India. Click Here to learn more about our 3-week long January program.
Study abroad in Auroville, an international community along the tropical coast of southern India dedicated to promoting human unity. Participate in an academic program that fosters collaborative inquiry, critical thinking, and dialogue while exploring daily awareness practices such as yoga, T'ai Chi, and meditation.
Through engagement with a holistic approach to world issues that encompasses inner, cultural, and outer processes, you broaden and deepen your understanding of sustainability and ecology. Hands-on experience with habitat restoration, local organic food production, teaching in village schools, working with village action groups and more helps build a growing theoretical understanding of issues relating to global sustainability.
Empower yourself and learn to empower others through a process whereby what you learn is integrated with how you live.
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was founded in 1968 with the intention of realizing human unity,
and is now home to approximately 2,000 individuals from over 40
nations around the world. Vibrant community culture and its expertise
in renewable energy systems, habitat restoration, ecology skills,
mindfulness practices, and holistic education make Auroville
one of the best places to study abroad in India.
Read more about Auroville and its location »
Group Dynamics (Comm 352) (4 cr.)
Learn to recognize and analyze the physical, social, economic, political, ethical, and spiritual elements that make up sustainable communities. Students build strong conceptual frameworks and have opportunities for real-world experience by developing a
learning community and engaging with established host communities.
Global and Local Sustainable Living (Env. Design 592A) (4 cr.)
Study the role of human history, language, education, physical landscape, society, and world view on shaping human-place relations.
Explore methods of strengthening these connections through use of ecological footprint analysis, ecological literacy, mindful awareness, community/societal action, and systems thinking.
Applications and Practices of Sustainable Living (Honors 397I) (4 cr.)
This field-based experience, combined with readings, dialogue, reflection and a project paper, introduces you to the history, methods, and meanings of sustainable development. Students select, implement, record, and evaluate an internship project in sustainable development during their ten-week stay in Auroville, India.
Body, Mind, and Spirit: Cultivating Personal Sustainability
(Int’l Ed 292C) (4cr.)
Study the importance of worldviews and how they affect human behavior
and the earth, and gain an appreciation for the historical
role of religions and spirituality in creating culture. In addition
to seminars, readings, reflective journaling, and discussion on
philosophical and spiritual movements that link inner transformation
with political and environmental action, this course explores
how practices such as yoga and meditation, holistic health, and
rituals expand perceptions about who we are and how we live.
Earn 16 transferable credits through the University of Massachusetts
Amherst
Find
out about transferring credits to your home school »
View the full curriculum for this program » |
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| Expert faculty help students build skills in ecology,
habitat restoration and group facilitation through workshops,
coursework, seminars and internships, which take place outdoors
and offer transferable college credit. More
photos » |
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Particpants form a strong and supportive learning community within the dynamic living community of Auroville.
More photos »
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| Week
1 |
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Academic
and cultural orientation to Auroville |
| • |
Develop
a sense of place in Auroville: natural history walks,
bioregional introduction, visit to cultural centers,
discussion with community members, language introduction,
exploration of potential internship sites, etc. |
| • |
Introduction
to and engagement with the learning community |
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| Weeks
2 - 5 |
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Engage
in internships |
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Attend
faculty and Aurovillian seminar series on the Inner,
Outer, and Cultural realms of sustainability |
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Field excursions
to Pondicherry, ashrams |
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Facilitation
of, and participation in, learning community activities
and meetings |
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Creation
of Individual and Community Learning Plans for weeks
11 - 14 |
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Mid-semester
assessments & learning celebration |
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| Weeks
6 - 8 |
| • |
Community
stays in Auroville |
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Engagement
with Individual and Community Learning Plans |
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Student
seminars |
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Facilitation
of, and participation in, learning community activities
and meetings |
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| Week
7 |
| • |
Travel
to Fireflies Ashram near Bangalore |
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Learn about
the shift from chemical to organic agriculture |
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Meet with
locals to discuss quality of life issues |
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Continue service
learning in organic gardens and explore the interconnectedness
of social and ecological transformation |
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| Weeks
8-10 |
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Travel
to Hampi in Karnataka. Stay at the Ecodaya Sanctuary,
on the Tungabhadra River- site of one of the greatest
Hindu empires and a UNESCO World Heritage site |
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Study
efforts to preserve and enhance biodiversity on this
beautiful area, rich in geologic, ecological, and cultural
significance |
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Forty-hour
solo experience |
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| Weeks
13 - 14 |
| • |
Return
to Auroville |
| • |
Facilitation
of, and participation in, learning community activities
and meetings |
| • |
Final
assessments & learning celebrations |
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credit... Included