SIT Study Abroad Australia: Sustainability and Environmental Action

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.

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.

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

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.

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 admissions counselor: 888-272-7881
• Contact a former student.
• Apply to SIT