The School of Planning, Design & Construction provides many unique opportunities for students to apply their coursework to international problems. The programs below are sponsored by SPDC and relate to the majors available through the school. This opportunity to explore the world is not limited to SPDC, MSU leads the nation in study abroad participation among public universities, so explore the Office of Study Abroad website to see other opportunities throughout the University.
What's this program about?
Asian Planning and Practice is a four-week program designed for urban and regional planning students in the School of Planning, Design, and Construction (SPDC) to experience planning and urban practices in South Korea and China. The program targets upper-level undergraduates and graduate students as primary participants.
During this four-week program, students will be exposed to the challenges and development issues of urban and regional planning in several cities in South Korea and China, and be motivated to compare their newly acquired knowledge to planning practices in the United States. The program utilizes lecture, field study, original research, and class discussion. Students, regardless of their courses and credit distribution, will be expected to participate in all aspects of the program in order to further personal engagement, critical thinking, and intercultural interactions between American, Korean and Chinese students.
What can I study?
Students will be required to enroll for a minimum of four (4) credits, maximum of eight (8), in the following courses:
UP 400/800 Special Topics in Urban Planning 3 – 4 cr.
UP 490/890 Independent Study in Urban Planning 3 – 4 cr.
What are the requirements?
Students must be in good academic standing, with a grade point average of at least 2.00 at the time of application. Meeting this minimum grade point average does not, however, guarantee admission.
The program is open to MSU students only and is designed primarily for students majoring in Urban and Regional Planning. Other majors may be accepted with the approval of the program leader(s).
Applicants’ participation may be denied or their participation approval may be revoked if their conduct before departure raises doubts as to their suitability for program participation.
Where will I live?
In South Korea, students will live in a student dormitory at Hanyang University in Seoul.
While in China, students will reside in hotels in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Who can tell me more about this program?
K. Irene Shim
School of Planning, Design and Construction
Urban & Regional Planning
203C Human Ecology
(517) 432-2330
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What's this program about?
This program organized by the Michigan State University College of Social Science offers students an opportunity to earn academic credit while experiencing Dominican culture and traditions. The program uses the Dominican Republic as a laboratory and places particular emphasis on understanding the interaction between human and physical aspects of development focusing on the role of tourism.
Where does it take place?
The Dominican Republic, where Columbus dropped anchor at the end of his first voyage, shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. It is the destination of many thousands of tourists who are attracted by the islands’ tropical climate and extraordinary natural beauty.
The program will take place in Santo Domingo in collaboration with the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. The capital city, Santo Domingo, is a city of modern sophistication, old world charisma, and Latin charm. It offers a rich colonial past evidenced in the numerous museums and restored historic buildings, as well as superb dining, fashionable shopping and top theatrical, musical, and dance performances.
The Dominican Republic provides an excellent environment to study the interaction between human and physical aspects of development. Through classroom presentations and field experiences, students will study the Dominican Republic in the context of general Latin American development and urbanization trends. These discussions will focus on the relationships among tourism and population growth issues, tourism impacts, rural to urban migration and the internal structure of Santo Domingo.
What can I study?
The program will offer students an opportunity to observe the regional development process in the context of a different social and political organization. It will address general development themes with specific interest on the role of Caribbean tourism. In recent years the Caribbean region has experienced considerable growth in this sector. A manifestation of these changes is the rapid urban development observed during the last 40 years.
Students will be required to enroll for a minimum of six (6), maximum of eight (8), credits from the following courses:
- GEO 113 Introduction to Economic Geography 3 cr.
- Spatial distribution of resources, population, enterprise, trade, consumption, and production; interaction of those distributions at local to global scales
- GEO 335 Geography of Latin America 3 cr.
- Physical and human geography of Latin America; current development issues, especially people-environment interaction in urban and rural areas
- GEO 459 Tourism in Regional Development 3 cr.
- The role of tourism in regional development; examples from Michigan, the United States and other nations; environmental considerations
- GEO 490/UP 490 Independent Study 1-4 cr.
- Supervised individual study in an area supplementary to geography courses
- SSC 496 Field Study Abroad 3-4 cr.
- Study in a variety of foreign settings under the guidance of the instructor; prior approval required
- ISS 315 Global Diversity and Interdependence (I) 4 cr.
- Contemporary issues in global political economy. Social forces and competing ideologies in a world context. Global resource distribution and development strategies. National identities and transnational linkages. First and Third World dichotomies.
Pending approval:
What are the requirements?
There are no prerequisites for entry into the program. Students from all areas of study are encouraged to apply.
Students must be in good academic standing, with a grade point average of at least 2.2 at the time of application. Meeting this minimum grade point average does not, however, guarantee admission.
Applicants’ participation may be denied or their participation approval may be revoked if their conduct before departure raises doubts as to their suitability for program participation.
Where will I live?
Participants will be housed in a tourist hotel in Santo Domingo.
Who can tell me more about this program?
Dr. René C. Hinojosa
Urban and Regional Planning
School of Planning, Design & Construction
201K Human Ecology
(517) 353-3184
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What's this program about?
During the summer of 2009, the School of Planning, Design and Construction will offer an international study to experience exciting historical sites, sustainable design and construction projects, contemporary design developments, and construction and preservation management practices for major restoration works, new buildings and significant infrastructure projects in Northern Italy. Students will gain exposure to both new and old construction technologies, project management practices architectural history and the importance of construction logistics while working in architecturally significant environments.
The program offers a full and varied daily schedule of educational experiences. Significant in-country travel by rail and private motor coach, including visits to several major cities and historical sites, is included. Ample personal time is allotted to provide students with the opportunity to visit sites of individual interest and to enjoy.
What can I study?
The learning objectives of this program are to expose students to:
- Construction, restoration, development and revitalization practices for major restoration works, new buildings, infrastructure and development projects in Italy
- Sustainable design and construction of built environment projects
- Current and historic Italian/European construction methods and technologies
- The unique problems of renovation and restoration of historical buildings of architectural significance in concentrated urban zones
- Historical buildings of architectural significance in Italy
- Italian culture
- The instructional model consists of lecture/discussion and lab/field visits. Approximately 40 lecture/discussion hours and 30 to 40 hours of lab/field visits time, exclusive of intercity travel time, is planned for the program.
The program includes an orientation involving both MSU and University of Trento faculty followed by classroom instruction and field visits within the Trento area. After completion of the classroom sessions, the program focus is on field study of Venezia, Firenze, Pisa, Roma, and Milano. Additional sites are likely to be included. Preservation students may also visit additional historic cities.
IDES credit is based upon program participation and completion of focused projects in the student's special area of interest. A list of selected readings is provided prior to the beginning of the program.
Students are required to enroll in a minimum of six (6) credits in any of the following courses:
- IDES 344 History of Interior Design 3 cr.
- CMP 353 Land Development 3 cr.
- CMP/PDC 491 Sustainable Built Environment 3 cr.
LANGUAGE: Students will not be required to have a background in Italian; however, students who have prior courses in Italian or Spanish will have opportunities to improve those skills. The program does not qualify as a foreign language class. Students will learn basic survival words and phrases.
What are the requirements?
All students must be in good academic standing, with a grade point average of at least 3.00 at the time of application. Meeting this minimum grade point average does not, however, guarantee admission. (Students with lower GPAs may be admitted but will need the approval of the program leaders).
Minimum sophomore status is required for IDES or CMP majors. Minimum junior status is required from other majors.
Students must also submit an essay ("Why do I want to study in Italy?") and, a letter of recommendation with their application.
Applicants' participation may be denied or their participation approval may be revoked if their conduct before departure raises doubts as to their suitability for program participation.
Where will I live?
Students will share rooms in local hotels and hostels.
Who can tell me more about this program?
Tim Mrozowski
School of Planning, Design and Construction
Construction Management
115 Human Ecology
(517) 353-0781
mrozowsk@egr.msu.edu
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What's this program about?
The course of study will focus on examples of actual and potential urban redevelopment in three or four European cities. Examples from previous programs include:
- Dortmund, Germany
- Berlin, Germany
- Hamburg, Germany
- Vienna, Austria
MSU students will have the opportunity to compare European approaches to land use planning with knowledge gained from studying American examples.
Additionally, students will have the chance to work on a proposed development on a team along with German planning students. Project results will be presented in a public meeting before university and municipal officials.
Students will have a wide range of educational experiences including studio environment; lectures by MSU and German faculty; field trips; readings from assigned texts; and library research.
What can I study?
All students will be required to enroll for a minimum of four (4) credits, maximum of seven (7), from the following course offerings:
- Undergraduates:
- UP 400 Special Topics 2-4 cr.
- UP 490 Independent Study 1-4 cr.
- Graduates:
- UP 800 Special Topics 1-4 cr.
- UP 890 Independent Study 1-4 cr.
All students will be required to participate in the production of a joint report on a team with German students that assesses the redevelopment potential of an abandoned industrial site in Dortmund as well as make a public presentation as part of that report. Students will also write a brief paper discussing their reactions to their observations of urban redevelopment in Hamburg and Berlin.
Students registering for more than four credits will be required to produce a research-oriented paper on urban development in one of the three European cities and compare it to experiences in cities of similar size in the United States.
Participants will be expected to do assigned readings prior to the actual time spent in Europe. At least six hours of lecture and discussion time will be scheduled prior to departure.
The classroom environment in the Faculty of Spatial Planning is more than adequate; there are studios for the students to work in and small classrooms for group discussions. Meeting rooms at universities in Berlin and Hamburg will be arranged if the faculty at those locations finds it necessary to have them available.
There will be a study tour of the Ruhr Valley by bus. Train travel between Dortmund, Berlin and Hamburg will be paid for out of the program fee. Students will be responsible for airfare from Michigan to Germany.
What are the requirements?
All students must be in good academic standing, with a grade point average of at least 2.00 at the time of application. Meeting this minimum grade point average does not, however, guarantee admission.
Applicants’ participation may be denied or their participation approval may be revoked if their conduct before departure raises doubts as to their suitability for program participation.
Where will I live?
While in Dortmund, students will be housed in homestays with German students. Upon acceptance into the program, students will be given a brief questionnaire discussing personal likes and dislikes on issues such as sports, music etc. This information will be used to assign students to their homestay. Students will have to purchase a pass on the local mass transit system to go between the residence and the University if their residence in Dortmund is not within walking distance of the university.
In Berlin and Hamburg, students will stay in hostels. Local faculty members there will make reservations at a favorable rate for the MSU students and the costs will be included in the program fee.
Meals are not included in the program fee and will be at the expense of the students.
Who can tell me more about this program?
Zenia Kotval
School of Planning, Design and Construction
Urban and Regional Planning
404 Human Ecology
(517) 353-9362
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What's this program about?
Landscape architecture abroad provides students with a rich diversity of studio and field trip experiences. Academics focus on the study of historical and cultural landscape design and the analysis of public parks and urban plazas. Coursework explores landscapes from a number of perspectives. The European heritage of landscape architecture is studied through field trips to major cities and gardens, including Barcelona, Paris, Versailles, Edinburgh, Berlin, and London. Field trips will expose students to important issues relating to place identity, site design, and garden style.
This program has been integrated into the Landscape Architecture design curriculum. Students opting to study abroad will stay on track for graduation and benefit from the unique advantages of study abroad. The first half of the semester will be spent at MSU, where students will study the history and culture of the countries to be visited and complete design projects and graphic problems that satisfy normal curriculum requirements. This prepares them for the experience abroad. The second half of the semester will be spent in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany.
What can I study?
Students will be required to enroll for twelve (12) credits in the following courses:
- LA 444 Community Project Design II 5 cr.
- Community systems planning process, and application of multiple use theory & techniques
- LA 420 Advanced Graphic Design II 4 cr.
- Methods of 3-D visualization in the design process
- LA 390 Landscape Architecture Field Studies 3 cr.
- Field observation and analysis of selected professional offices, design & planning projects, natural areas, and/or places of historic interest
Throughout the program, students will be asked to sketch and discuss the design qualities of urban, garden, and historic environments. The class will participate in a joint urban studio design problem with European landscape architecture students. The design project is intended to give students an opportunity to meet their European peers and learn first-hand about landscape design in Western Europe. The program will include the development of a student design journal which graphically portrays the works of noted designers and explore cultural aspects of landscape design.
What are the requirements?
Participants must be fourth year Landscape Architecture students at Michigan State University and in good academic standing, with a grade point average of at least 2.00 at the time of application. Meeting this minimum grade point average does not, however, guarantee admission.
In some cases, students from other disciplines may be able to join the program with approval of the program faculty.
Applicants’ participation may be denied or their participation approval may be revoked if their conduct before departure raises doubts as to their suitability for program participation.
Where will I live?
The program provides accommodations in centrally located student-friendly hotels, hostels, and university dormitories in Barcelona, London, Edinburgh, Paris and Berlin. Students are responsible for their own meals unless included in hostel fees. A variety of inexpensive local restaurants, markets, and food stores are located nearby for student use.
Who can tell me more about this program?
Associate Professor Warren Rauhe
School of Planning, Design and Construction
Landscape Architecture
314 Human Ecology
(517) 353-7880
Professor Duane Mezga
School of Planning, Design and Construction
Landscape Architecture
302A Human Ecology
(517) 353-7880
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