Environmental Science and Policy in New Zealand

Winter Break – 3 weeks (mid December to early January)

Not running in 2008-09

Sponsored by the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies in the College of Agriculture and Natural Science, and by the College of Social Science

Arranged through the Office of Study Abroad (OSA)

What's this program about?

THE SETTING: New Zealand is a nation with tremendous natural resources and great, unspoiled beauty. It represents diverse farming systems and agroecological settings – from alpine merino wool production to extensive fruit belts and vineyards, as well as large forest areas with volcanic activity, geysers, unspoiled rivers and unique coastal environments. Most of its unspoiled beauty can be found on the South Island and includes the Fjordland National park – the fifth largest in the world. New Zealand’s environmental policies are designed to pro-actively preserve natural and social-cultural values, thereby safeguarding and respecting the interests of the Maori population.

THE CONTEXT: New Zealand established treaty rights with the Maori population, safeguarding extensive land holdings and property rights, providing an example of balancing resource access, utilization and impacts - within a multi-ethnic society. The enactment of the innovative Natural Resource Management Act provides an example of how a democratic, industrialized society may seek to pro-actively balance economic development with environmental preservation and the enhancement of quality of life.

This study abroad program includes visits to leading universities, government agencies, and resource management authorities, including the U.S. Antarctic Program in Christchurch. The program will address key environmental issues and concerns, the role of resource planning, management and public policy formulation, and review selected projects, including resource and ecosystem preservation and restoration, water and land management, and land use planning.

What can I study?

This international environmental policy and planning program will explore relevant aspects of environmental policy and practice through interaction with environmental professionals at selected academic institutions and with practitioners in the field.

Specific study plans include:

• An environmental science orientation with visits to Victoria University, Wellington and the University of Canterbury and the U.S. Antarctica Program in Christchurch
• Visits to various national parks and nature preserves in Australia and New Zealand to observe ecosystems and management practices including a day trip to the Banks peninsula and Akaroa with a sea cruise to observe the world's smallest and rarest dolphins - the Hector Dolphin, the White Flippered Blue Penguin, the smallest penguin in the world, different cormorant species and the chance to sight the endangered yellow-eyed penguin.
• A three-hour ferry journey across Cook Straight from Wellington to Picton and the magnificent Charlotte Sound with travel to the coastal resources of Abel Tasman National Park
• Review fish farming such as salmon farms where thousands of salmon are reared from fingerlings to adult fish
• An overview of New Zealand's innovative Natural Resource Management Policy Act during a stay on the beautiful South Island of New Zealand
• A review of the diverse ecosystems from the coastal plains to the Southern Alps (Sea level to almost 4000 meters) when we make our transition across the South Island
• An exploration of two unique national parks both designated as World Heritage sites – the Westland and Mount Cook National Park and the Fjordland National Park. Both parks offer landscapes shaped by successive glaciations into fjords, rocky coasts, towering cliffs, lakes and waterfalls, a climax vegetation of southern beech and podocarps (some of which are over 800 years old), the kea - the only alpine parrot in the world – and the rare and endangered takahe, a large flightless bird. Also included is Milford Sound, a fjord formed by glaciers thousands of years ago and the world’s fifth largest national park. It contains massive mountains that rise straight out of the sea to higher than 1,500 meters and receives eight meters of rainfall a year.
• A review of New Zealand's land use controls and planning procedures, water management strategies, including its agricultural management practices and impacts
• A review of the New Zealand-based, U.S.-sponsored component of the Antarctica Environmental Science Research Program. Antarctica, a continent with the highest, driest, coldest, windiest, and least populated place on earth, with an ice sheet that averages 2,160 meters and covers all but 2.4% of Antarctica's 14 million square kilometers. This ice sheet represents about 70% of the world's fresh water. Due to a variety of unique conditions, Antarctica provides excellent conditions for scientific research including global warming, ozone changes, earth sciences, glaciology, astronomy, UV radiation, oceanic circulation, marine ecosystems, and meteorite studies.

Students will be required to enroll for a minimum of four (4) credits from the following courses:

Although the academic program is intense and requires careful planning of available time, it is balanced with visits to major museums and cultural and historical sites. Multi-day stays in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch are included with site visits to most important natural features of New Zealand.

Students will be asked to keep a daily log of their program experiences and write a comparative research paper on the relevant program topics of their choice, mutually agreed upon with the instructor

What are the requirements?

Students must be in good academic standing, with a grade point average of at least 2.5 at the time of application. Meeting this minimum grade point average does not, however, guarantee admission.

A reasonable level of physical fitness is required. The typical program involves multi-hour hikes in national parks, climbing a glacier while equipped with crampons and walking stick, and a kayaking expedition along the Pacific coast.

Applicants’ participation may be denied or their participation approval may be revoked if their conduct before departure raises doubts as to their suitability for program participation.

Where will I live?

Students will stay in safe, well-maintained tourist-class hotels and some rustic cabins. A complete itinerary of lodging accommodation and phone/fax number will be distributed to all participants in a timely manner.

Who can tell me more about this program?

Dr. Gerhardus Schultink, Professor and Program Director
Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies
310 Natural Resources
Phone: (517) 353-1903
E-mail: schultin@msu.edu

You can also visit the program’s Web site at http://www.canr.msu.edu/overseas/nzenvironsci/index.htm

Do I need a passport or visa?

U.S. and non-U.S. citizens need a valid passport both to enter other countries and to return to the United States. If you already have a passport, make sure it is valid until at least six months after your return date. If you must apply for or renew a passport, APPLY EARLY, since a minimum of five to six weeks are usually required for processing. During peak travel seasons, more processing time is required. Passport forms are available at many federal and state courts, probate courts, some county/municipal offices and some post offices. They can also be downloaded from the Web.

For more information about passports visit the following Web page: http://studyabroad.msu.edu/passports.html

A visa is official permission granted by the authorities of a country where you will study or travel that allows you to enter and remain in that country for a specific purpose. The visa itself is frequently a stamp in your passport, not a separate document. You will need a passport before applying for a visa and the passport plus visa process may take several months, so start early. It is your responsibility to inquire about visa requirements for all countries you plan to visit while abroad; this includes countries that you plan to visit before or after your study abroad program.

For more information about visas visit the following Web page: http://studyabroad.msu.edu/visas.html

Are there special health issues?

As part of your acceptance you will complete a Student Health/Emergency Treatment Authorization. It is your responsibility to ensure that your routine immunizations are up-to-date; inquire whether there are recommended and/or required immunizations for the country/countries you will visit (including any countries you will visit that are not part of the study abroad program’s itinerary); and review educational issues relevant to your personal health and safety.

For further health information and recommendations, visit the following Web page: http://studyabroad.msu.edu/health.html

How much does it cost?

The program fee in 2006-07 was $3,361 and included the following (this program did not run in 2007-08):

• application fee ($100)
• deposit ($200)
• pre-departure orientation
• accommodations with breakfast
• accident and sickness insurance
• field trips

Amounts not included in the program fee for which participants will need to budget include:

• MSU tuition and fees*
• airfare
• additional meals
• books and supplies
• passport application fee ($100)
• visa application fees (if applicable)
• pre-departure doctor visits
• pre-departure immunizations (if applicable)
• personal spending money

Students may request an itemized breakdown of program costs by contacting the Office of Study Abroad at (517) 353-8920.

NOTE: All CANR majors will receive a scholarship from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. See Rhonda Crackel crackel@msu.edu) for details.

Approximately two months before the program’s departure date, students will receive an e-bill from the MSU Student Accounts Office for the study abroad program fee. Students will also be e-billed for tuition and fees, based on the number of credits taken, once they have enrolled in courses. (Both amounts may be billed at the same time.)

*Check http://www.ctlr.msu.edu/studrec/ for current tuition, fees and taxes. MSU students pay the same amount they would pay to study at MSU; non-MSU students pay the Lifelong Education rate, regardless of state of residence.

Program fees, dates, and arrangements may be subject to change due to unexpected circumstances.

How can I get help to pay for it?

Financial assistance is available to students who make appropriate arrangements with the Office of Study Abroad (OSA) and MSU’s Office of Financial Aid.

If you are an MSU student and indicate on your application that you plan to use financial aid to pay for your study abroad experience, OSA will forward an estimated cost sheet to the MSU Office of Financial Aid for processing. This form will include all anticipated costs associated with the program, including airfare.

If you are a non-MSU student, please request financial aid from your home university. If your university is unable to award you financial aid, contact the MSU Office of Study Abroad to apply for loans only and you will be provided with instructions on how to proceed.

For further information about financial aid, visit the following Web page: http://studyabroad.msu.edu/finaid/index.html

Additionally, MSU students applying to any credit-bearing study abroad program are eligible for OSA Scholarships. Some scholarships are based exclusively on academic performance; others are based on a combination of academic performance and financial need. Requirements are listed in the scholarship application. The deadline to apply for these scholarships is October 15th for winter break programs.

A generous endowment from the MSU Federal Credit Union, as well as additional resources provided through the MSU Alumni Association, the Australia-Pacific Council, Eleanor and Charles Greenleaf Sr., Brigitte and Thomas Huff, the Georges Jules Joyaux Memorial Fund, the Kellogg Foundation, Charles and Marjorie Gliozzo, and contributors to the Overseas Study Endowment provide funding for these OSA scholarships.

The College of Agriculture and Natural Resource also offers its students special study abroad scholarships. Check with Rhonda Crackel (crackel@msu.edu) or the Office of Study Abroad for further details

For even more MSU scholarship opportunities through individual colleges or external scholarship possibilities (including funding for Multicultural students) visit the following Web page: http://studyabroad.msu.edu/scholarships/index.html

How do I apply?

You can apply online or download an application form by visiting the following Web page:http://studyabroad.msu.edu/applications/index.html

Due to airfare restrictions, applications for this winter break program must be received in the Office of Study Abroad by September 10th. We strongly recommend that you apply early as this program may fill to capacity prior to this deadline.

Selection of applicants is done on a rolling admission basis - that is, applications are accepted and students are evaluated and considered for admission throughout the academic year. Please remember that applying early and meeting the minimum eligibility requirements does not guarantee admission.

A $100 application fee is required. Students will receive an e-bill for the application fee that is applied to the cost of the program and is non-refundable once a student has accepted admission into the program. Students who have accepted admission may also be billed for a non-refundable and non-transferable $200 deposit, also applied to the cost of the program.

Students who wish to withdraw their application are required to notify the Office of Study Abroad, in writing, that they no longer intend to participate.

Acceptance to all programs is based, minimally, on a faculty review of your transcript and a review of the Judicial Affairs Office records (MSU students) or Dean of Students Reference (non-MSU students).

Details about the admissions process, pre-departure information, what to know while you’re abroad, and information about returning home, can be found in the Study Abroad Student Handbook. You can read the Handbook online at http://studyabroad.msu.edu/abcs/index.html or you can stop by the Office of Study Abroad in 109 International to pick up a hard copy.

Program fees, dates, and arrangements may be subject to change due to unexpected circumstances.