Summer: Rutgers- Rwanda: Conservation, Community Development, National Identity
The Program
Explore Rwandan national parks to learn how Rwanda combines community development with conservation. Final design project investigates how Rwanda’s newest park (Nyungwe Forest) can become an important destination that includes cultural ecotourism at nearby Banda Village.
Program Locations
Rwanda
Kigali
Students will get to know Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, also known as the land of One Thousand Hills. Kigali sits on a series of wooded ridges and valleys. Plastic bags are banned, and a third of the city is being rewilded. While Kigali, students will visit the Nyandungu Urban Wetland Eco-park to learn how wetland conservation can have economic, social, and environmental benefits and serves as a model for other Kigali rewilding projects using native and indigenous vegetation to create a more biodiverse urban wetland ecosystem.
Other visits will include: Nyungwe National Park, Akagera National Park and Volcanoes National Park.
Academics
Equivalent to 11:550:432 Praxis Studio. Work with international design students to develop cultural ecotourism for Rwanda Parks and an international NGO. Final presentation to international stakeholders by Zoom July 1.
Pre-travel course + 2.5 weeks travel in Rwanda + 3 weeks design development at Blake Hall.
During the program, Rutgers students will visit the School of Architecture and Environmental Design. The architects call this village complex of buildings “halfway between traditional and contemporary architecture” composed of local materials such as local wood, lava rock and rammed earth, along with concrete. Visit and travel with Rwandan design students to get to know “their Rwanda”.
Housing and Meals
All meals are included in addition to transportation, accommodations, and activities. Housing for the program will vary depending on location, and may include: hotel stay in double rooms while in Kigali, guest houses or camping while visiting Nyungwe National Forest, and other.
Scholarships
Available to all Rutgers students participating in a Rutgers Global–Study Abroad program. Applications can be found inside of your study abroad program application. For more information, please visit the Scholarship section of our website.
Available to study abroad students who receive a Pell Grant. For more information about the scholarship and additional eligibility requirements please visit the Gilman website.
All SEBS students are eligible for the OGE 
Scholarship to support study abroad in the sciences. Students must apply or have been accepted to an eligible science-based program or have completed an independent study evaluation (215k PDF) with a faculty member. If students prefer to study on a non-Rutgers program, they must complete a SEBS Non-Rutgers Study Abroad Approval Form (291k PDF). The scholarship will cover up to half of the program fee for short-term summer, winter, and spring break programs and does not include non-billable items such as flights, ground transportation, and academic supplies. Semester scholarships will be considered on a case-by-case basis. For additional financial support, please contact a SEBS OGE advisor.
Faculty Leaders
As Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Rutgers, Holly Grace Nelson combines her professional design career with teaching and scholarship opportunities. She maintains an award-winning studio practice in Princeton, participates in American Society of Landscape Architecture (ASLA) activities nationally and at the state chapter level (NJASLA), and mentors students to win professional awards and to present at academic and professional conferences. Because she continues her design work, she extends student learning with educational opportunities to develop a project for a client from concept through installation. Her studios have installed several campus gardens, and seven of her students received student design awards from the NJASLA and others.