The Center for Ecological Living and Learning (CELL) is an official Northland College partner and a nonprofit educational organization that inspires students to bring creative, systemic solutions and environmental stewardship to your life and leadership positions through their Sustainability Through Community program. Students can choose between two beautiful locations in the world to immerse themselves in sustainable living and learning.

Option 1

Go to the Land of Fire and Ice to experience life at Solheimar eco-village, one of the world’s oldest and unique sustainable living communities. Experience, up close and personal: glaciers, volcanoes, and geothermal hot springs while exploring Iceland, one of the most remote, geologically unique, and environmentally friendly countries in the world.

Throughout this program, you’ll learn how your life can make a big difference in the world and develop a leadership action plan to prove it. You’ll volunteer in a zero carbon emission greenhouse, plant trees, learn about Viking history and Icelandic mystical mythology, spend the night in a magical Icelandic turf house, and more!

Option 2

Live and breathe sustainability in one of the world’s most famous eco-villages, Findhorn, in Northern Scotland. Learn how to reduce your carbon footprint, explore concepts of sustainable design, and get inspired alongside people committed to living socially, environmentally, and spiritually fulfilling lives.

Throughout this program you’ll take a variety of field trips, including cultural and history excursions, castle visits, and hikes to the North Sea. You’ll learn from exciting classes that combine theory with practice and learning with doing, and development an action plan to implement what you learn when you return home.

• Application Form
• Registration Form

The EcoLeague is a consortium of six colleges and universities that share missions based on environmental responsibility and social change. All of them have strong environmental studies, environmental science, and outdoor education programs. Small classes with personal attention are emphasized along with experiential education that provides real-world experience. Contact Alissa Hulstrand for more information.

The EcoLeague gives you the opportunity to spend a semester at a different school to experience a different part of the country, different faculty, and different ways of thinking. Learn more.

Participating Schools:

• Alaska Pacific University (Anchorage, Alaska)
• College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, Maine)
• Dickinson College (Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
• New College of Florida (Sarasota, Florida)
• Northland College (Ashland, Wisconsin)
• Prescott College (Prescott, Arizona)

Located in Osaka, Japan, Kansai Gaidai University offers special programming in Japanese language and culture designed for international students. It is a four-year, accredited university that attracts several thousand students annually. Kansai Gaidai has cooperated in formal exchange agreements with more than one hundred colleges and universities in the United States. Fluency in Japanese is not required, as many courses are taught in English.

The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) takes people of all ages on remote wilderness expeditions, teaching technical outdoor skills, leadership, and environmental ethics in some of the world’s wildest and most awe-inspiring classrooms. With courses ranging from ten days to a full academic year, NOLS attracts highly-motivated students who want to learn how to lead. The hands-on, learn-by-doing approach means that graduates get the skills they need to be competent, responsible wilderness travelers long after your course is over.

• Application Form
• Registration Form

Northland College has paired up with Outward Bound, the premier provider of experience-based outdoor leadership programs. Outward Bound courses change lives and give you the tools to see further, climb higher, and know your way.

Seek challenge and embark on a backpacking trip, mountaineering class, kayaking adventure, sailing trip ,or an urban expedition in your community and take home real leadership skills and the courage to follow your own path. Courses are not guided trips. They are real expeditions that cross rugged, beautiful terrain with challenges designed to reveal your strengths.

• Registration Form
• How to Earn Academic Credit
• Academic Credit Form

Round River Conservation Studies is an ecological research and education organization whose goal is the formulation and implementation of conservation strategies that conserve and restore wilderness. To that end, they strive to develop and support traditions that sustain wildness. These efforts are anchored in the principles of conservation biology, supported by field research and community planning.

Round River semester and summer programs are entirely field-based, authentic experiences that offer the opportunity for small groups of students to contribute to actual conservation efforts in big, wild landscapes. Students from diverse backgrounds—from the sciences to the humanities—study and work hard to immerse themselves in the ecology and culture of a place.

Round River has offered programs in Mongolia, Botswana, Chile, Belize, Costa Rica, Namibia, and British Columbia. Check their website for their current program offerings.

• Application Form
• Registration Form

Wild Rockies Field Institute (WRFI) is a unique organization whose courses explore the complex cultural, political, and natural histories of some of the most interesting and beautiful landscapes in North America. A combination of rigorous academic inquiry, cultural immersion, and extended backcountry expeditions, the courses are designed to take students into the arenas where the subject matter they are studying—from ecology to contemporary resource management policy—unfolds before their eyes.

If you are studying primary education, environmental studies, or health and social policy, you have an opportunity to study abroad with an equal tuition exchange at the University of Glasgow Dumfries campus in Scotland. Take advantage of small-group, innovative programming at their School of Interdisciplinary Studies. Northland education faculty are also involved in program collaboration with the University of Glasgow. Contact Kevin Zak for more information.

• Guidelines»
• Personal Statement Directions»
• Application»

To supplement the financial aid currently available for international study courses or programs, McLean International Travel Grants are awarded through a competitive application process. For more information, contact Michaela Wickman.

Guidelines

The McLean International Travel Grant application process is conducted twice each academic year: once during Fall Term, and once during Winter Term. Applications will only be accepted during these times:

• Fall Term applications will be accepted from September 15 through October 15, with applicants notified no later than November 1.
• Winter Term applications will be accepted from January 15 through February 15, with applicants notified no later than March 1.

Notification of applications are set out via email within the first two weeks of class, approximately September 15 and January 15.

When to Apply
Students planning winter, spring, or summer travel should apply during the Fall Term. Students planning fall travel should apply during Winter Term.

Eligibility
To be eligible for a McLean Grant, students must be degree seeking at Northland College. Students may apply for a McLean Travel Grant more than once; however, preference will be given to first-time applicants.

Award Criteria
Travel grants are awarded based on academic standing, financial need, the quality of a personal statement describing the significance of this travel opportunity to the student, and available funding. Applications for the grants are evaluated on the following criteria:

• Student academic standing
• Basis of financial need
• Nature of proposed international study
• Clarity and quality of written statement
• Available funding

McLean Travel Grants are meant to be supplemental. Students will need additional funds to finance the majority of their program and travel expenses.

Award Disbursement
McLean funds may be applied to Northland College courses that include international travel, or to other pre-approved international travel for which academic credit will be earned. Trips within the United States do not qualify.

The awarded McLean Grant will be distributed through the Office of Financial Aid once the student’s acceptance and registration in the course or program are confirmed.

Personal Statement Directions

Within the application below, you must upload a one- to two-page typed statement describing your interest in studying internationally. Your statement should reflect upon the following elements:

1. Motivation and Research
   Tell us what you know about the international program you would like to participate in and demonstrate what you have discovered in your research including a list of the personal attributes you think may be required of a student participating in the program.
   For example, why have you chosen the program you have, do you know what the overseas workload entails, how will you be assessed, and why is this is good choice for your studies? Perhaps you have personal reasons for wanting to go to a particular part of the world. We are looking for you to show us why you want to participate in the international program, how you will/have been preparing to study overseas, and how you will handle challenges and seek out opportunities.
2. Representing Northland College
   Provide details on when you have represented a school, club, or organization (or something similar) and what skills this has given you that will benefit you on this program.
3. Prior Relevant Experience
   If you have spent time overseas, please tell us more about what you were doing, how you prepared for this, how you overcame any hardships, and what your time overseas taught you. If you have not spent time overseas, please provide an example of when you have been in a difficult situation and how you resolved the issues you were faced with. How did you go about this, who did you ask for help, how was the situation resolved, and what did you learn from it?
4. Additional Details
   Please feel free to provide details of other experiences you have had that you feel are relevant to your participation in international programs. These do not need to be exclusively travel related. For example, have you lived or worked away from home or have you always wanted to, do you have friends or family who are on/have studied or lived abroad?

Application

The Brother Bear Award is funded from an endowment established in memory of Northland College student Bjorn Erik Norgaard. The award supports international study for students with financial need. The scholarship amount available for each funding cycle varies.

McClean International Travel Grant applicants are eligible for this scholarship. For more information, contact Michaela Wickman.

The Gilman Scholarship Program offers awards for undergraduate study abroad and was established by the International Academic Opportunity Act of 2000. This scholarship provides awards for US undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study and intern abroad programs worldwide. Learn more.

StudyAbroad.com includes numerous international scholarships and criteria information. A study abroad scholarship is a monetary award for students to use toward the expenses of their program, such as travel, course credits, books, and lodging. Students must apply for scholarships, and some can be very competitive while others are underutilized. There are several types of study abroad scholarships to apply for. Learn more.