Courses Fall semester courses and January ICRP. In order to understand the complex changes resulting from rapid modernization and development in Thailand and in other developing countries, the program courses examine the impact of globalization and development as well as local level responses and the question of sustainable development through readings, discussion and experiential learning.

Learning about sustainable agriculture from Northern Thai farmers.

All the courses on the program deal with distinct aspects of globlization and development--giving students the chance to study the context, impact and responses to globalization and development, as well as the tools (language and cross cultural skills) to live and learn in Thailand. All of our courses us field studies as an integral part of each course.

We are excited to announce that we are shifting our courses to use a "block" system, of one course at a time for 3-4 weeks. This will enable us to move to fully integrated courses where students will be able to focus on a single topic for that block. This would mean studying watershed ecology while canoeing or kayaking down the Ping or Nan river for a month, learning about indigenous forestry management by spending 3-4 weeks backpacking through the remote mountain villages of Mae Hong Son, etc.

For a list of the courses we are working on, please see the ISDSI Courses page.

The January Integrative Cultural Research Project (ICRP) will be a hands-on chance to work with a particular NGO involved in sustainable development.

The ICRP for this program focuses on the student taking the information and theory that they have learned during the first semester and applying it in the context of a particular community development organization. Students will need to bring to bear their understanding of Thai culture, theories and examples of sustainable development, and skills in Thai language for a successful ICRP.

For a list of some of the possible internship placements, please see the list of NGOs on the Field Experience page.