Arava Institute for Environmental Studies

  Israel

• Other Cities in Israel: 
Rural Areas

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer 
Dates: Inquire for more information

Description: The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies - a unique higher education institution located in Israel's southern Arava Desert - is proud to offer Environmental Studies and Ecology. The southern region of Israel, including the Dead Sea, the Arava Desert, the Red Sea and the resort city of Eilat, is a popular tourist destination for international and local tourists alike. The area boast a combination of magnificent geology, pristine desert landscapes, coral reefs, cloudless warm weather and the unique Dead Sea basin among its attractions.

The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES) is a regional center for environmental leadership. By encouraging environmental cooperation between peoples, the Arava Institute is working towards peace and sustainable development on a regional and global scale. The Institute is situated on Kibbutz Ketura in Israel's Arava Valley - a desert in the Syrio-African rift near the Jordanian and Egyptian borders and the Gulf of Aqaba/Eilat. The Institute is home to academic programs, research and public involvement.

* Academic Programs:

The Arava Institute offers innovative environmental studies programs. Students explore a range of environmental issues from a regional, interdisciplinary perspective. Participants come from the Middle East as well as from North America and the rest of the world for study abroad in Israel. There are two options for programs:

* The One Semester or One-Year Program gives undergraduate or graduate students an opportunity for hands-on experience in the region together with students from diverse cultural backgrounds.
* The Master's Degree Program in Environmental Studies is designed to train students interested in pursuing careers in conservation, nature preservation, environmental protection and regulation, environmental education, environmental planning and enforcement.
* The Summer Program gives an overview of the year long program by touching on the highlights of those studies.
* Special Programs and short courses such as our MASHAV Course
Research: The Arava Institute's mission goes beyond training and teaching to include applied research. Projects tend to be interdisciplinary, involving social and natural sciences that touch on a range of environmental issues.

* Public Involvement:

The Arava Center for Public Involvement (in Hebrew called "Sababa") deals with environmental problems in the local Arava region. Sababa encourages involvement of local residents and NGO's.

* Research:

The Institute also includes a very active trans-boundary Research Department working on environmental projects between Israelis, Palestinian, Jordanians, and Morracans.

Highlights: Using this magnificent area as our learning environment, during this course we investigate the economic, social and environmental issues in the area and study existing and potential efforts to develop effective solutions. The course is designed to equip students with both the theoretical and practical experience needed to plan, implement and manage these issues in the context of environmental and ecological protection, and the knowledge and understanding to promote cooperation in the Middle East.

Degree Level: Masters Degree

Cost in US$: 8000 USD

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Israel Independently

Scholarships are Available. for Middle Eastern students only.

Application Process Involves:

• In-Person Interview Required
• In-Person Interview when Feasible
• Letters of Reference
• Other
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Resume
• Transcript
• Written Application

Typically The Application Process Time is minimum one month

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

AIES's Mission Statement: Our mission is to create a world-class environmental teaching and research institute at Kibbutz Ketura, which will: * Prepare future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively solve the region's environmental challenges * Maintain high academic standards. * Deliver teaching and trans-boundary research opportunities at the highest quality and level to students from the Middle East and from all over the world * Play a leading role in research, conservation, environmental protection and sustainable development in the region. * Generate capacity building for conciliation and cooperation in the Middle East, in order to transcend political boundaries and achieve environmental change

Year Founded: 1996