In the fall of 2015, a hardy crew started paddling down the Mississippi for a learning adventure that took “experiential learning” to a new level—Augsburg’s first River Semester. Ten years later, the sixth iteration of this one-of-a-kind study away program has set off once more.
Associate Professor Joe Underhill will lead a group of 10 students, three staff, and periodic visitors from the headwaters of the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, mostly by boat. The students—five Auggies plus students from Macalester College, the College of the Atlantic, and Agnes Scott College—will each complete an individual research project, with topics ranging from benthic macroinvertebrates to sewage infrastructure in rural communities. Along the way, they’ll be joined by researchers, artists, and experts on coastal restoration and environmental justice. In collaboration with partner organizations throughout the Mississippi watershed, they’ll visit a wild rice harvesting camp, a life science research station, and a backwater flood control project. They’ll camp and sail or paddle approximately 800 miles before concluding their voyage in Biloxi, MS, in mid-December.
Minnesota Public Radio highlighted River Semester in a piece on September 13, interviewing Underhill and Summer May ’26. “It’s bridging the connection between knowledge and application, and mind and place. We are directly interacting with the river,” May said.
Follow along with the group’s progress on the “Big Muddy” interactive map, where students will periodically post daily log entries with description of the day’s activities, sightings, adventures, learnings, and personal reflections.
Learn more about River Semester:
- River Semester homepage
- Forget study abroad. These college students will spend the semester on the Mississippi River.—The Minnesota Star Tribune, August 2023
- From a small-town book club to paddling the Mississippi River, learning gets bigger outside the classroom—Augsburg Now, February 2022
