Sample Itinerary

Itinerary varies from term to term and is subject to change. Program activities take place 6 days a week with one day free.

• Week 1: Welcome to Bhutan! Move into dorms, meet roommates and the SFS staff, and attend program orientation. Tour Paro Town. Head to Thimphu (capital city) – cultural performance, lecture on cultural landscapes, visit to textile museum. Get fitted for kiras and ghos – the national dress of Bhutan. Visit the gigantic Buddha Dordenma.
• Week 2: Intro to Bhutanese language, mountain ecology, climate, and geology. Hike to Zuri Dzong. Lectures on land use, biodiversity adaptation, and forest management. Exercises on mapping livelihoods and flora/fauna identification. Visit a sawmill and learn about handmade paper.
• Week 3: Community tree planting in Thimphu. Weeklong expedition to border town Phuentsholing – field lectures on agro-ecosystems and plant ID, life cycle assessment field exercise, and visit to Kharbandi Monastery. Return to Paro. Optional hike to Chumphu Nye (Floating Goddess).
• Week 4: Lectures on alpine life zones, hydropower, avian ecology, natural resource conflicts, and ecotourism. River clean-up community project. Field exercises looking at Gross National Happiness and community forests. Visit National Museum of Bhutan. Traditional Bhutanese hot stone bath. Practice Dzongka language skills.
• Week 5: Weeklong expedition to western regions including Phobjikha Valley and Punakha with overnight homestay, camping, and rafting. Stop at Dochula Pass. Lectures on black-necked cranes, research ethics, agrarian landscapes, and The Middle Path. Field exercise on forest resource inventories. Visit numerous forests, temples, and archaeological sites.
• Week 6: Field exercises on scaling environmental governance, agroecology and food systems, biodiversity surveys, and macroinvertebrates. Learn about freshwater ecology, land management, and sustainable farming. Community volunteer project.
• Week 7: Continue practicing Dzongka language skills. Lectures on human-wildlife conflict, population ecology, and traditional medicine. Midterm exams.
• Week 8: Attend a tshechu (festival). Early morning bird mist-netting activity. Directed Research (DR) course begins with intro to scientific writing and literature review, research mentor selection, and proposal development. Bhutanese cooking class. Week-and-a-half-long excursion to Bumthang in western Bhutan. Lectures and field exercises on small mammal ecology and histories of local landscapes.
• Week 9: Continue Bhumthang excursion: Lecture on herbivore ecology and field exercise on beekeeping. Guest lecture from Bhutanese author, Kunzang Choden. Meet researchers at the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environmental Research. Embark on a 4-day cultural trek across the Bumthang Valley.
• Week 10: Bioblitz, camera trapping, and forest succession field exercises. Learn about species interaction, biodiversity conservation, climate change, and emerging natural resource issues. Excursion to Yuesupang to observe wild takin. Bhutanese cultural dance activity.
• Week 11: Lectures on valuation of ecosystem services and financing conservation. Volunteer at a local primary school. Final exams for Mountain Ecology, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Conservation, Political and Socioeconomic Dimensions of Environment, and Religion and Culture of Bhutan. DR project work continues.
• Week 12: DR course lectures on statistics and qualitative and quantitative research. Data collection in the field begins.
• Week 13: DR course lecture on effective scientific communication skills. Full week of data collection.
• Week 14: Data analysis: organize, analyze, and write up your results in a scientific paper. Final papers due. Create a DR presentation based on your research findings. Present to students, staff, and community members.
• Week 15: Hike to famous Tiger’s Nest (Takstsang) Monastery. Re-entry exercises and room cleanup. Closing activities. Head home.

SFS 2010 Religion and Culture of Bhutan (2 credits)

This course allows students to develop a conceptual and practical understanding of religious principles that underlie Bhutanese attitudes and approaches to environment. Students learn the basic principles of Buddhism and other religions practiced in the region and look for religion in the landscape and in society. Students look at religion and environment, culture and environment, and Bhutanese attitudes toward environment, and get some language training in Dzongkha.

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SFS 3040 Political and Socioeconomic Dimensions of Environment (4 credits)

This course focuses on the dynamics among people, society, and environment. We explore this dynamic through the interdisciplinary lens of political ecology, examining the political, economic, and social factors of environmental issues and changes. The course provides a conceptual framework for understanding how nature-society interactions—such as agriculture, natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and rural development—shape both the natural landscape and the social and economic conditions in Bhutan. Students also gain the practical skills and tools to critically examine and assess the human-environment nexus in the field.

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SFS 3050 Land Use, Natural Resources, and Conservation (4 credits)

This course considers the suite of natural resources that are tied to both local livelihoods and the national economy— including arable soils, water, timber, non-timber forest products, and grasslands. Students study the livestock and agriculture systems of Bhutan, both historical and current, and understand why and how these are changing, and what the implications are for household economies, the environment, and national issues. Students consider the important topic of food security, at both the household and national levels. By integrating field and classroom approaches, students explore the science behind current local and global issues in natural resource management, food production, biodiversity, and climate change.

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SFS 3060 Mountain Ecology (4 credits)

This course provides a theoretical and practical understanding of the ecology of the Eastern Himalaya region. Students explore the physical features influencing mountain ecosystems, including the geology and hydrology, elevation, climate, and weather. The course highlights the unique characteristics of the flora and fauna found in these ecosystems, and the threats to these species. Students are exposed to an array of ecosystems—some in natural states, some heavily modified by people. Rivers, forests, and farmland are examined in various locations and along different altitude gradients, showcasing the ecological diversity within this small mountain state.

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SFS 4910 Directed Research - Bhutan (4 credits)

This course prepares students to distinguish hidden assumptions in scientific approaches and separate fact from interpretation, cause from correlation, and advocacy from objectivity. Students learn specific tools including: experimental design; field techniques; basic descriptive statistics; and parametric and non-parametric quantitative analysis. Emphasis is placed on succinct scientific writing, graphic and tabular presentation of results, and effective delivery of oral presentations.

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