As a Geoscience student, you can:

• Explore a variety of courses that can count towards your major or minor as core requirements, related courses, and electives.
• Participate in hands-on learning activities as part of a course, including an internship, or through extracurricular activities.
• Enrich your academic experience by participating in classroom discussions abroad with diverse student populations.
• Select a faculty-led, exchange, affiliated or short-term program option.
• Develop international contacts to benefit your professional career.

When planning an experience abroad, be sure to keep in mind your electives, any extra credits you may be able to use to your advantage, as well as current and upcoming terms in your course of study. For students who have a strict course sequence to follow each semester, a summer or winter program might be a good option.

How will #UConnChangeYourWorld?

These programs are recommended based on your academic interests but students can explore additional approved program options via the Program Search.

Fee-Based Programs: Fee-Based Programs charge Program Fees, not UConn tuition. Program Fees will appear on students’ UConn fee bills, along with other UConn fees as listed on the program’s budget sheet.

Winter Geoscience and Geohazards in Taiwan
Taipei, Taiwan
On this faculty-led program, students spend 3 weeks in Taiwan learning about field-based geological mapping and Chinese culture and history. The course will consist of a suite of weekly lectures and discussions starting halfway through fall semester and a 3-week trip to Taiwan where students will participate in 3 to 4 four-day mapping modules consisting of field mapping, data collection and synthesis. Students will be outdoors hiking and collecting data most of time while in Taiwan. Classroom lectures in the fall (at UConn) and in January (in Taiwan) will discuss fundamental geologic processes and how these processes lead to geologic hazards. Students will be in the field or classroom 8-10 hours a day with one day off each week.

Winter Geoscience Field Course in the Bahamas
San Salvador Island, Bahamas
This faculty-led course is designed to immerse students in field-based, experiential learning on topics ranging from climate change, carbonate depositional systems, reef ecology, hurricanes, geoarchaeology, karst and cave formation, coastal geomorphology and sustainability. Each day is structured to have two field exercises (morning and afternoon), where students work alone or in small groups, gathering data that they analyze in a two hour evening lab session. Typical field exercises include creating dune profiles, coring lake sediments, exploring caves and interpreting their formation, constructing stratigraphic columns and describing rock units, assessing reef health, and constructing a sustainability model for the island.

Summer Water Systems of Rome: Ancient to Modern
Rome, Italy
This faculty-led course will entail excursions to museums, surface water bodies, local springs, ancient wells, geological features, aqueduct ruins (both above and below ground), and ancient baths in Rome and in Ostia Antica, Tivoli and Pompeii. Each day will consist of a field trip, lectures by faculty and other experts while on-site, followed by students conducting water related field exercises including making observations, measurements, mapping, calculations and assessments to reinforce learning objectives. The course, NRE 3693, can be converted to Honors with approval. 

Summer Sustainable Cities: Zürich
Zürich, Switzerland
This program is targeted towards students with an interest in sustainable transportation and city planning. Students will have the opportunity to do field-based research on various topics relating to sustainable urban and transportation planning. Research findings will be documented in a short film which the students will design, shoot, edit and produce during their time in the field.

Tuition-Based Program: Tuition-Based Programs charge in-state, New England Regional, and out-of-state UConn tuition rates based on students’ residency. Tuition charges will appear on students’ UConn fee bills, along with other UConn fees as listed on the program’s budget sheet. Students may pay housing through their UConn fee bill or directly to their host university depending on the program.

University of Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand
Spend a semester or a year at the University of Auckland. This research-led university offers a variety of courses in Earth Sciences, Geography, Geophysics, GIS and more that may appeal to Geoscience students. 

University of Queensland
Brisbane, Australia
This program offers a variety of Earth focused courses, such as Tectonics, Marine Geoscience, Structural Geology, Geostatistics and more. Exchange student course availability varies term to term.

The London Program or The London Program with Internship
London, England
This semester-long program offers students the opportunity to focus on their content areas during their semester abroad. Students can choose either a full semester of classes on the London Program, or to take 3-4 classes plus a 6 credit internship experience on the London Program with Internship. Possible internship placements include: Advertising and Public Relations, Communications and Media, Fashion, Government and Politics, Health Care/Sciences, History, Information Technology and Computing, Law, Non-Profit and NGO, Psychology, Social Science and more.

Direct-Bill Programs: Direct-Bill Programs charge students directly for their program costs. Students pay the affiliate program directly for their fees, whereas other UConn fees will appear on students’ UConn fee bills as listed on the program’s budget sheet. Be sure to review the program’s full costs on the provider’s own website. UConn is not responsible for those costs.

Education Abroad Network: University of Western Australia
Perth, Australia
This program offers Semester and Academic Year options. Recognized as one of the best universities in the world, Western Australia offer courses like Discovering Earth, Geological Mapping, Hydrology and Water Resource Management that may appeal to Geoscience students. Classes vary term to term. Students can complete the Choose Earth Certificate program at UWA with TEAN.

SIT Study Abroad Iceland: Climate Change and the Arctic
Reykjavik, Iceland
Study the impact of climate change on Arctic ecosystems and societies. Visit renewable energy centers, glaciers and awe-inspiring scenery. Witness the astonishing beauty of glaciers, volcanoes, fjords, geothermal fields, highlands, lava flows, rugged coastline, and waterfalls. On excursions to Iceland’s remote Westfjords region and throughout Iceland, you’ll see the impact of global warming on glaciers and ice sheets. Observe ground zero of climate change amidst stunning landscapes while learning about renewable technologies that can help slow the damage. Learn about climate models and carbon management from experts on the front lines of the fight against global warming. Fieldwork will introduce you to scientific methods, data collection and ethical issues related to climate research in Iceland.

SIT Study Abroad Argentina: People, Environment, and Climate Change in Patagonia and Antarctica
Ushuaia, Argentina
Discover how vulnerable ecosystems are impacted by human activity and climate change in Southern Patagonia and Antarctica. Previous Spanish language study is required for participation on this program as courses are taught in Spanish. Through site visits to Tierra del Fuego National Park, the Beagle Channel, and Puerto Williams, you’ll see Southern Patagonia’s biodiversity, ecology, and conservation issues firsthand. You will also learn about scientific research methods and environmental monitoring systems as well as the complexities of managing shared natural resources. Later, you’ll explore the last pristine region of the world on a 10-day expedition of the Antarctic Peninsula with guided landings. You’ll work with scientists and researchers to consider the influence of sea ice and glaciers in the Antarctic biota and learn how that relates to climate regulation.

Finances are an integral part of the program selection and planning process. Research scholarships early to meet application deadlines and request feedback on essays from advisors and the Writing Center.

McMahon Family Endowment for Global Education

Elizabeth C. Hanson Scholarship

College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources Scholarships

To learn more about these scholarships and to discover other opportunities, navigate to our scholarships page.