University of Montana Launches New International Degree Programs with Institutions in Germany and Ireland

The University of Montana Department of Geosciences, with partner institutions in Germany and Ireland, has established UM’s first transnational dual and joint degree programs, creating new models for undergraduate study at the University. UM’s first dual degree program is a Bachelor of Science in international field geosciences, offered collaboratively with the University of Potsdam in Germany. Students graduating from the program will receive two separate bachelor’s degrees, one from UM and one from the University of Potsdam.

The University’s first joint degree program is a Bachelor of Science degree, also in international field geosciences, offered in cooperation with University College Cork in Ireland. Students graduating from the UM-University College Cork program will receive a single degree that is jointly administered and awarded by the two universities.

"Although dual and joint degrees involving institutional partnerships are relatively commonplace in Europe, these shared degree models have not been widely implemented in the United States," said geosciences Professor Marc Hendrix, UM’s principal architect of the new international programs. "The greatest advantage for students in these programs is that they benefit directly from the unique educational resources available at each of the partner institutions."

UM students seeking either the new dual or joint degree are required to spend one year of overseas study in Germany or Ireland and engage in a curriculum that focuses on field-based geoscience learning with additional course work in natural science, language and cultural training. European students seeking either degree must spend one year of study at UM’s Missoula campus.

The University of Potsdam is a classically modeled institution that serves nearly 16,000 students, including about 1,300 foreign students from more than 85 countries. It is located in Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg State and part of the metropolis of Berlin. University College Cork is one of the leading teaching and research institutions in Ireland, with its research income consistently among the highest in the country. The university has more than 120 degree and professional programs given through some 60 departments.

The international field geosciences degree programs received approval from UM’s Faculty Senate and the Montana Board of Regents and were accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities earlier this year. Both European partners also have received approval and accreditation for the degrees from their respective governing bodies.

Hendrix said that because each university partner has a historic emphasis on field-based, process-oriented learning and each region has its own set of unique geoscientific issues, the educational experience and skill sets gained by students in the programs will be more diversified.

"That diversity and breadth of exposure to new learning environments in an international setting will give program graduates a competitive edge as they pursue careers in the global marketplace," he said.

Field-based learning opportunities long used by UM’s geosciences program include those associated with active mountain-building processes, surface water-groundwater interactions, economically important local petroleum and mineral deposits, and a variety of environmental issues such as mining waste cleanup and river restoration.

The University of Potsdam geosciences program uses classic, well-exposed and accessible geological sites in Europe and Africa for field-based undergraduate learning. They include the formerly glaciated areas of northern Europe and Scandinavia, regions associated with active mountain-building in the Alps and Pyrenees and in East Africa, and areas within the Black Forest and Rheingraben of Germany that are associated with various economic deposits or environmental issues.

UM and the University of Potsdam have a 15-year relationship that, in addition to Potsdam’s work with the Department of Geosciences, has grown to include faculty exchanges in international business, social and behavioral science and biology, along with a variety of student study abroad opportunities.

University College Cork’s geology department offers dedicated eight- to 12-day field courses each year that take place in Ireland, Scotland, Crete and the Canary Islands.

Although UM connected more recently with University College Cork, the partnership has flourished, partly because of Montana’s strong Irish heritage. Over the past three years, the two universities have engaged in faculty exchanges in geosciences, Native American studies and media arts, in addition to undertaking significant exchange of undergraduate students. In 2006 Ireland’s President Mary McAleese came to Missoula to participate in a ceremony that launched UM’s thriving Irish Studies Program.

This fall, the first students have crossed the Atlantic to pursue the new international degree programs. UM seniors Jenica Andersen and James St. Claire are in Germany, and Potsdam geosciences undergraduates Marius Walter, Oliver Oswald and Philipp Baling are in Missoula. Students will begin participating in the UM-University College Cork program in fall 2009.

Financial support for the new degree programs is being provided through a joint grant awarded to UM, the University of Potsdam and University College Cork from the Transatlantic Joint Degree Consortium Project. The funding includes $408,000 to UM and 204,000 euros to each of the two European partner institutions for student and faculty mobilization overseas.

The award to UM was made by the Fund for Improvement of Secondary Education within the U.S. Department of Education. Information about FIPSE is online at http://www.ed.gov/FIPSE. FIPSE funds finance about half of the project. The other half of the project funding awarded to the European partner institutions was provided by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Education and Culture.

For more information about UM’s new international degree programs, call Hendrix at 406-243-5278 or e-mail [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Information about the University’s Department of Geosciences is online at http://www.umt.edu/geosciences.

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