NOTE: SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, like COVID-19, SIT may have to modify programs. Visit the SIT website for more details.
Explore Mongolia’s search for balance between environmental conservation and natural resource development on the doorstep of China and Siberia.
WHY STUDY GEOPOLITICS IN MONGOLIA?
A young democracy nestled between authoritarian Russia and China, Mongolia is undergoing rapid socioeconomic and cultural change. Live with a nomadic family in a ger, the iconic shelters made of felt and wood, ride horses for transportation, and experience the nomadic lifestyle on Mongolia’s starkly beautiful grassy steppes. Travel to the capital of Ulaanbaatar to meet with key experts and discuss the impact of mining on Mongolia’s social, economic, and environmental future. Along the way, learn about the traditions and livelihoods of Mongolia’s nomadic cultures and the effects of ecotourism and climate change on their communities. Learn Mongolian and speak with Mongolian students while exploring urban landscapes, remote Buddhist monasteries, and some of the most pristine natural environments in the world. See the cities of Siberia and meet Russian students. Trek through the East Gobi Desert, vast mountain ranges, and forest steppes of a country both protected and restricted by its dramatic environment. Take an excursion to Russia’s East Siberian region and ancient Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Ride horses and live with a herding family on Mongolia’s steppes.
- Witness Mongolian and Russian economies, resources, and changing ways of life.
- Trek to Buddhist monasteries and the 150-year-old meditation caves.
- Study Mongolia’s relations with the U.S., China, Russia, and North Korea
Please visit the
SIT Study Abroad website for details on the
program courses (including syllabi), educational excursions, and housing.
KEY TOPICS OF STUDY
- Environmental conservation and natural resource development
- Rapid urbanization and dramatic influx of foreign direct investment
- History, traditions, and livelihoods of Mongolia’s nomadic cultures
- Mongolia’s unique roots in Russia, China, Europe, and Central Asia
- Independent study project or intern with a Mongolian organization
MONEY MATTERS
Be sure to discuss how study abroad costs are handled at your school with your study abroad advisor.
SIT tuition and room and board fees include the following:
- All educational costs, including educational excursions
- All accommodations and meals for the full program duration
- Transportation to and from the airport, and on all educational excursions
- Health and accident insurance
SCHOLARSHIPS
- SIT awards nearly $1.6 million in scholarships and grants annually.
- All scholarships and grants are need-based.
- Awards generally range from $500 to $5,000 for semester programs.
- Contact the financial aid and/or study abroad office(s) at your college or university to learn if your school’s scholarships and grants and federal and state aid programs can be applied to an SIT Study Abroad program.
CONTACT SIT STUDY ABROAD
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 Culture and Development
Current Program Information Mongolia is both protected and restricted by its dramatic physical environment, which includes the Gobi Desert as well as vast mountain and forest steppes. Landlocked between Siberia and northern China, much of this rugged nation remains largely isolated from global development efforts. Its essentially nomadic population continues to practice pastoralism, living in traditional ger, or felt tents, and moving constantly over an area twice the size of Texas.
In the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, home of the Academy of Sciences and local universities, you study strategies for development and efforts to balance open-door policies with those that focus on nationalism and the protection of indigenous cultural traditions. Field excursions to Mongolia's vast interior, including a homestay in a nomadic camp, give you a firsthand appreciation of the endangered way of life that many Mongolians are striving to protect. You can also view the country's transition from a centrally planned economy to a free-market system. |
