UMD Landscape Architecture Study Abroad
Costa Rica, Europe, Italy, New Zealand
Summer 2013
Italy: Landscape Architecture, Architecture & Music
LARC489A / HONR338A
We investigate Italy through the built environment, public piazzas, and music in this three- week, three- credit landscape architecture course (LARC489A or HONR338A). Students will communicate, through one of several methods, their observations, reactions and knowledge of the sites visited throughout Italy. Each student will communicate through either sketching, photography or writing and be responsible for researching and presenting one specific subject. In addition, students will be instructed in a one- hour daily lesson in conversational Italian.
Applications and other details can be found at University of Maryland Study Abroad.For more information, contact Dennis Nola, PLA, ASLA
Landscapes of Influence: Conservation, Resilience, and Innovation in Northern Europe
This 17-day course will focus on the historic background and experience of landscapes that have greatly influenced contemporary issues of landscape conservation, preservation and sustainable development. The first part of the program will take place in North Yorkshire and Kiplin Hall will be our headquarters for four days. Students will have an opportunity to experience first-hand the estate gardens, early public recreational parks, and large-scale public lands that have set the tone, defined the methods, and prescribed the character for socially and environmentally conscious public space in America. From the United Kingdom we will travel to the Netherlands where environmental resilience has been a constant theme since the invention of dikes and canals. Berlin weathered the devastation of WWII. Landscape architects and planners have rebuilt the city and have developed some of the most innovative parks and green roof designs in the world.
Applications and other details can be found at University of Maryland Study Abroad.For more information, contact Jack Sullivan, PLA, FASLA,
Sustainable Futures - Monteverde, Costa Rica
This ten-week summer course of study is designed to offer students the opportunity to live and work on ecological and social projects in a rural, but rapidly developing region in Costa Rica. This is a multi-disciplinary program designed for students from various disciplines, including architecture, planning, landscape architecture, resource management, and international development. Students participate in a seminar on sustainable development, enroll in Spanish language classes, and take an intensive studio/internship with one of the many organizations in the Monteverde zone working toward sustainability. There is a final report, plans or design scheme, or actual environment intervention, depending on the nature of the work. In addition, there is a series of lectures and field trips to local cooperatives, ecologically managed farms, and various forest reserves.
This is a semester's worth of credits (12-13 credits) in a small rural community next to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve in Costa Rica. Students work with community residents on various projects jointly defined. Participating programs hosted by the Monteverde Institute include University of Maryland Landscape Architecture Program, University of New York at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning , University of Illinois Department Urban and Regional Planning and University of New York ESF at Syracuse. Fluency in Spanish is encouraged but not required.
For more information, contact David Myers, PhD, PLA, ASLA
Winter 2014
New Zealand: Culture and Earth: Transformation and Adaptation
LARC 489N: 3 credits
This program investigates the unique land forms and geology of the stunningly beautiful country of New Zealand and its unique and varied geologic forms, including thermal springs, geysers, caves, glaciers, plant life, fjords, and beaches. This course explores the country and its culture, engaging students in tours, hikes, excursions, and visits to museums, universities, and farm demonstrations. Of equal importance will be an investigation of cultural issues related to the colonization of the Maoris by the English settlers. Students will track the history of colonization from the introduction of English settlers to the present through the influences and challenges that have unfolded. New Zealand is the land of extreme sports and remarkable natural beauty. Time and opportunity will be given to individual pursuits such as bungee jumping, sky-diving, and whitewater rafting. A special visit will be provided to the Hobbit village movie set that was used in the filming of The Lord of the Rings. Students will also explore Auckland, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Franz Josef glacier, Rotorua, Matamata, Hobbiton, Waitangi, 90 mile beach, and Waitomo
Applications and other details can be found at University of Maryland Study Abroad.For more information, contact Dennis Nola, PLA, ASLA