EDS333 Practice-based Field Course

Studiepoeng:10

Ansvarlig fakultet:Fakultet for landskap og samfunn

Emneansvarlig:Katharina Glaab, Guri Bang

Campus / nettbasert:Undervises campus Ås

Undervisningens språk:Engelsk

Antall plasser:A maximum of 15 NMBU students

Frekvens:Spring 2026

Forventet arbeidsmengde:250 hours of formal study hours. Students participate in lectures, seminars, discussions and field visits in addition to self-study.

Undervisnings- og vurderingsperiode:June block.

Om dette emnet

Course is under development. Details will be published autumn 2025.

This course is a 10 credit, practice-based field course for NMBU Masters students, organized in collaboration with American University’s School of International Services. Up to 15 students from NMBU and 10 students from AU will participate. The location for the field course can change annually. The topic for 2026 is ‘Geopolitical Ecology’, which extends political ecology’s focus on the power struggles that lie at the root of local environmental conflicts to the realm of global political transitions.

Topic from 2024

The Washington Environmental Governance Workshop exposes participants to a range of environmental policymaking and policy-influencing institutions in Washington DC, including government agencies and NGOs. We meet environmental professionals in their home offices to discuss the missions and strategies of the diverse actors who create, influence, and implement international and domestic US environmental policy and programs.

The course will be supported by a grant from the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills.

Dette lærer du

Learning outcomes are under development.

Learning outcomes from 2024:

Building knowledge on what makes each environmental institution that we visit unique: What is its history, underlying philosophy, culture, mission, strategy ("theory of social change"), program scope, financing sources, membership base (if any), evaluation methods (if any)?

Learn to apply theoretical knowledge of environmental governance organizations and strategies for activism to empirical cases.
Develop understanding of what strategies lead to effective activism and/or effective policy making and implementation.
Understand the relationships among environmental institutions and between such institutions and other types of institutions with different mandates.
Oral Presentation: Students are expected to be able to ask well-informed questions and engage in intelligent discussion. Preparation readings and website study is mandatory.
Written Presentation: Preparing written reactions to the visits as well as a final 10-page reflection paper.

Læringsaktiviteter
Learning activities are under development.
Læringsstøtte
Students will be provided teaching and supervision by teaching staff at NMBU and American University.
Pensum
A reading list will provide students with both theoretical and practical information regarding the topics of the course. The reading list will be made available at the start of the course. Students will be expected to use the reading list as part of their preparatory work for the classes and field visits.
Forutsatte forkunnskaper
All Masters-level students at Noragric and SIS with an interest and relevant skills in the field of International Relations, and environmental and social science studies are encouraged to apply to take part.
Vurderingsordning, hjelpemiddel og eksamen
Students have to submit mandatory assignments, and a final course paper.

Oppgave Karakterregel: Bokstavkarakterer
Om bruk av KI
K3: Following the NMBU AI guidelines
Her finner du KI-kategoriene beskrevet.
Sensorordning
Assessment of deliverables will be conducted by the course responsible professors.
Obligatorisk aktivitet
The course involves both classroom and field research-based learning.
Merknader
Course is under development. Details will be published in autumn 2025.
Fortrinnsrett
M-International Relations, M-International Environmental Studies, M-Global Development Studies.