In addition to taking the above courses, students will also need to enroll in one of the following two courses:
Internship and Seminar
Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 4 credits)
This seminar consists of a four-week internship with a local community organization, research organization, business, or international NGO. The aim of the internship is to enable the student to gain valuable experience and to enhance their skills in an international environment. Students will complete an internship and engage in a weekly seminar (typically online), write weekly progress reports, and prepare a final paper and presentation the reflects on the internship learning experience and ties that experience to program’s themes. The internship seminar includes a module titled Internship in the Context of Mongolia, which is designed to help students build a foundation on which to engage in the internship experience.
Sample internships:
- Providing children with food, healthcare, clothing, and accommodation, as well as education, counseling, and support to help them break free of the cycle of poverty at Lotus Children’s Centre
- Developing and applying innovative strategies that will help conserve Mongolia’s most important lands and waters with The Nature Conservancy Mongolia
- Increasing visitor engagement by teaching at Lake Hovsgol National Park
- Supporting Nutag Partners’ consultation services in rural development, risk management, natural resource management, land use and livestock management, alternative livelihoods, development of community-based organizations, and social impact assessments
- Assisting at the Mongolian University of Life Sciences, a research-oriented university focusing on veterinary medicine, animal science, biotechnology, agroecology, engineering, economics, and business
- Participating in innovate national and international research and consulting projects at Independent Research Institute of Mongolia
OR
Independent Study Project
Independent Study Project – syllabus
(ISPR3000 / 4 credits / 120 hours)
Conducted in an approved location in Mongolia appropriate to the project. Sample topic areas: the concept of national security in Mongolia; nomadic organization in transition; cashmere trade and cultural interaction with China and Russia; Buddhist debate and monastic education; Buddhist painting, sculpture, and architecture; symbols of collectivism and pastoralism in daily life; the shagai tradition; cultural perceptions of Mongolian medicinal plants; commodity production and regional politics; analysis of the environmental impacts of mining; maternal healthcare, motherhood, and birth in Ulaanbaatar; the Mongolians of Kazakh descent and their place in modern Islam.
Sample ISP topics:
- Nomadic organization in transition
- Cashmere trade and cultural interaction with China and Siberia
- Buddhist painting, sculpture, and architecture
- Environmental impacts of mining
- Symbols of collectivism and pastoralism in daily life
- Cultural perceptions of Mongolian medicinal plants
- Commodity production and regional politics
- Mongolians of Kazakh descent and their place in modern Islam
- Investment climate for foreign direct investment
- Mongolia’s Third Neighbor Policy
- Urbanization of the nomadic nation
- Community-based pastureland management
- The concept of national security in Mongolia
- Nature conservation efforts and natural resource management
- Spirituality and conservation
- Understanding the Mongolian tourism supply chain
- The culture and identity of food
- Contemporary horse racing practices in Mongolia
- Environmental justice and herders versus mining