TIPS, TRICKS, AND LESSONS LEARNED AFTER 2 COUNTRIES, 19 DAYS, AND 8 FLIGHTS ABOUT HOW TO INITIATE AND IMPLEMENT A SUCCESSFUL UNDERGRADUATE FIELD BASED STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM TO ICELAND AND SCOTLAND

Auburn University Department of Geosciences conducted its first international study abroad course to Iceland and Scotland in the summer of 2015. The program lasted 19 days, and consisted of 11 students and 2 faculty members. The program provided students with multiple course options to better serve a diverse range of experience and abilities. Course credit was provided on geodynamics, geomorphology, or a new course called GeoVenture that was designed for intro and non-science majors. The value of study abroad programs is well documented, however, planning logistics, developing successful field exercises, mitigating costs, and filling the roster can be challenging.

Logistics for this study abroad program were developed at the start of Fall 2014, and were successfully implemented in Summer of 2015. The course began with a 4-day itinerary in Iceland where a segment of the mid-Atlantic Ridge is subaerially exposed. Highlights included excursions/exercises to: Thingvellir National Park where students snorkeled in a rift-lake between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates; waterfalls of Gullfoss that cascade across thick rift lava flows; the geothermally active area of Geysir; active glaciers of Solheimajokull; and the basaltic flows of Reynisfjara. This tectonic and glacially active region served to be an excellent prelude to the glacially scoured and tectonically diverse Caledonian terranes of Scotland. With 15 days in Scotland, students conducted exercises in Edinburgh, Siccar Point, Isle of Skye, and the NW Highlands.

We present ideas to help with recruiting, logistics, and the development of successful field based exercises and, importantly, how costs to the students were kept minimal. We emphasize peer-to-peer learning groups that successfully allow for the integration of students with different academic and cultural backgrounds (including minorities), abilities, and learning outcomes. Starting a study abroad program can be daunting, but we present successes and obstacles encountered during our first study abroad experience that provide best-practices for getting one started.