New study abroad programs meet the specific needs of CAFNR students
by Whitney Gray, posted Feb. 29, 2008
Imagine spending from two weeks to a whole semester immersed in a culture completely different from anything you have ever experienced. Maybe you would prefer the South Island of New Zealand attending Lincoln University, or you might enjoy observing the rare mammals of Australia as they interact in their natural habitat.
The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) offers these opportunities, and more. In the past two years, CAFNR has created new study abroad programs meet the specific needs of CAFNR students and their majors.
“The reason we have CAFNR study abroad is that our Deans wanted to set up programs that meet interests of students in this college,” said Roy Robinson, CAFNR study abroad director. “Traditionally, study abroad had been for Spanish or French majors and they tend to be on the liberal arts side. Now we’re wanting to offer it to all the students in our College, hoping they will meet the interests of our students here.”
The new programs that meet the interests of the CAFNR students are:
- Germany — food sciences program
- Costa Rica — animal science program at EARTH
- Thailand — biodiversity and conservation program
- Australia — animal and environment interaction program.
The Germany food science program offers a two-week summer study where students will learn about Germany’s meat and dairy production. Students will begin in the north in Kiel (Schleswig-Holstein/Baltic Sea) and travel south to Kulmbach (Bavaria).
They will visit small-town sausage makers as well as mass-producing meat factories. Other destinations in Germany include the Worms’ cathedral, the Volkswagen Autostadt, and museums solely devoted to cheese, ham, bread, beer and schnapps.
The Costa Rica animal science trip is offered during the fall and spring semesters. Students attend classes at EARTH University (which stands for Escuela de Agricultura de la Región Tropical Húmeda), located a half-hour outside of Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose, in the Caribbean lowlands. At the University, students study and research sustainable agriculture and natural resource management.
The 8,000 plus acres of property at EARTH include reserves, livestock production facilities, research farms and rainforests. A few things to note about this trip: students automatically receive a $1,000 scholarship to attend this particular program, and students must have completed one semester of Spanish and a three-credit conversational Spanish course.
On the Thailand study abroad trip, held over winter break, activities include jungle trekking, bird watching, scuba diving, ruins exploration, and elephant riding. Students learn about the plentiful biodiversity of Thailand’s earthbound and aquatic ecosystems. Students also learn more about Thailand culture through trips to the Grand Palace in Bankok and the ancient ruins of Ayuthaya.
Last but not least, the four-week summer trip to Australia is quickly gaining popularity among many CAFNR students. The 31 spots filled up quickly.
“Australia has been crazy popular,” Robinson said. “It’s hard to gauge when you set up a new program whether it will be really popular, and Australia has hit some kind of nerve. We’ve had tons of applications to the point where we had to cut it off.”
In Australia, students will visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, the Australia Zoo, a rainforest walk, and the University of Queensland. This program will give students a first-hand look at how animals such as marsupials (bandicoots, Tasmanian devils, koalas, kangaroos and wallabies), platypus, dingos and echidnas interact in their natural habitats.
While the costs of each program vary by semester, Robinson said that CAFNR attempts to make it somewhat easier for its students.
“What we try to do in CAFNR that’s a little different from the other programs is put them [the programs] all together with airfare, all costs included, so students won’t think its more expensive than it really is,” Robinson said. “A nice thing is, the College supports it financially, meaning the programs actually end up being less expensive than they would be in terms of the costs.”
The total amount of scholarships awarded each year for study abroad ranges from $20,000 to $22,000. Robinson stressed that the loan and scholarship money is specifically used and awarded to CAFNR students to study abroad in any program offered on campus.
According to Robinson, studying abroad is a way to add a rich experience to a student’s college years.
“First and foremost, we want students to be able to open their eyes or minds a little and see that there is such a big world out there — more than just central Missouri — and that there are different ways of doing and experiencing things,” Robinson said. “We just want students to get a global picture of what’s out there.”
In addition to broadening students’ horizons, studying abroad has practical benefits.
“We want students to acquire skills of dealing with people from different backgrounds and succeeding in other cultures, perhaps another language,” Robinson said. “These things are going to help you get a job. At the [CAFNR] Career Fair, people say they look for students who’ve studied abroad because those students have an additional skill set that not everyone has.”
For more information on any of the 12 CAFNR study abroad programs, such as brochures, scholarships, loans, and contact information, visit the study abroad Web site.
