Augsburg College’s first-ever River Semester will be an opportunity for students to spend the fall and early winter months traveling from St. Paul to New Orleans in 24-foot voyageur canoes on the Mississippi River. Participants will study topics ranging from ecology to history to literature.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently discussed this experiential education opportunity in the article, “Augsburg preparing to launch ‘River Semester’ on the Mississippi.“
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Augsburg College River Semester: Augsburg College on Sept. 1 will launch the nation’s first-ever River Semester. Students, who will earn as many as 16 credits, will travel the length of the Mississippi River from St. Paul to New Orleans in 24-foot voyageur canoes.
This hands-on, interdisciplinary learning experience begins in St. Paul on Sept. 1 and concludes Dec. 17 when students will arrive back home at the St. Paul Union Depot. Continue reading “Back-to-school for Augsburg students means spending a semester canoeing from St. Paul to New Orleans”
Augsburg College’s new River Semester program was featured on Minnesota Public Radio’s On Campus blog. Sixteen Augsburg students, two faculty members, and two river commercial expedition personnel will travel from St. Paul to New Orleans during the fall semester, oftentimes camping on the banks of the Mississippi River and engaging with people who live and work along its path. Students will carry out river-related projects and study subject areas in the arts and sciences.
Read “How Augsburg is going all Mark Twain” on the MPR website.
Visit the River Semester site to find additional program details and event announcements.
The 15 students enrolled in Political Science 241: Environmental and River Politics are getting an early start to the academic year—a start that will feature eight days of travel on the Mississippi River in canoes.
Joe Underhill, a political science associate professor at Augsburg, has taught the course that examines the politics, eco-systems, and communities of the mighty river that flows just blocks from Augsburg’s Minneapolis campus. While he has taken previous classes out in canoes for a couple of days or a weekend, this is the most ambitious river voyage yet. Continue reading “Starting the semester on the river”
