International Capstones

One of the most powerful learning opportunities for a student is studying abroad.  The impactful, sensory experience of being far away ultimately brings us closer to ourselves, naturally offering a platform to examine how we identify and relate to the world around us. 

This capstone is designed to use a singular example in order to frame the broader issue of conservation and climate change.  In particular, the experience is designed to take place in the Danau Girang Field Centre, a research facility run cooperatively by the Sabah Wildlife Department and Cardiff University of Wales (http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/danau-girang-field-centre).  The Centre is quite remote and in a patch of isolated rainforest, located in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary in Sabah (North Borneo), Malaysia.

This capstone is designed to provide an opportunity to learn about Spanish culture and society by means of synchronous and asynchronous discussion group forums between American and Spanish middle and high school students.  The communities of students will be from: Portland, Oregon, various schools in Washington state and Zamora, Spain.  These forums will be between paired classes (one USA and one Spanish) of similar grade and language level and will be facilitated and monitored by both teachers of each class.  Each grouping of classes will be assigned 2 capstone students. 

This multidisciplinary Capstone is carried over two terms (Spring and Summer). The Spring term portion involves pre-travel projects in preparation for the service-learning trip and classroom learning experience. The Summer term portion is a two-week service-learning experience in Nicaragua (tentative travel dates: June 15/16 - June 29, 2015). Students and faculty will focus on service-learning activities in the areas of public health and community development related to aging and older adults in Nicaragua.

August 22- September 22, 2017

Effecting Change: Russian

This Capstone is restricted to RUSSIAN FLAGSHIP PROGRAM. Only students who are enrolled in PSU Russian Flagship program can take this course; and the course is conducted totally in Russian.

Intercultural competence is an important skill that one needs to acquire to be a successful and contributing member of modern global society. This course is the concluding component of the Portland State University Russian Language Flagship Partner Program that focuses on the preparation of global professionals. The course provides students the opportunity to explore working environments related to their professional interests particularly in Russia.

Reporting Live

Rural communities in NW Argentina are among the poorest in the country. Lacking the rich soils of the Pampas, facing more extreme climatic conditions, and subject to a heavily concentrated land tenure system, agricultural production, the mainstay of the region’s economy, has failed to raise the standard of living of the bulk of the population. The northward expansion of soybean production into marginal lands, while providing new economic opportunities for large landowners, threatens small rural communities and the environment in the region.

An Exploration of Leadership Through Service in Mexico
First offering summer, 2013