"SUSTAINABILITY, ECO-RESILIENCE, AND CLIMATE JUSTICE" (3-credit course)
Franklin University Switzerland is happy to welcome selected high school students (aged 15-18) to join our summer program in "Sustainability, Eco-Resilience, and Climate Justice". This unique educational experience offers the chance to earn university credit while exploring critical global issues in an engaging and immersive environment.
- Dates: 14 - 27 July 2025
- Location: Franklin University Switzerland (Lugano)
- On-campus accommodation and meals provided
- 3 credits and final certificate of completion
- Off-site excursions included
- CHF 2,000 including tuition, room, and board
THE PROGRAM
In the face of climate change, people around the world are innovating to create sustainable, healthy, and equitable communities. It's exciting and imaginative! However, living through climate change is complex. What could—or should—we do to create a more thriving world for everyone? Who is 'we,' and who is 'everyone'? How can we determine the most effective solutions? How can ordinary people make a difference? And how can we stay engaged and hopeful in the face of increasing natural disasters?
What we offer:
- Comprehensive Introduction: Understand environmental issues, root causes, and sustainable solutions.
- Empowerment and Resilience: Explore emotional and psychological responses to foster personal empowerment.
- Interdisciplinary Approach: Address key issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and social justice.
- Experiential Learning: Engage with local experts and explore Lugano’s natural beauty beyond the classroom.
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
At Franklin University Switzerland, we highly value experiential learning, offering hands-on opportunities that empower students to connect academic theory with real-world practice. Read below some of the experiences we offer to High School students during our Summer Program:
- Street art tour in Lugano, exploring artworks focused on climate change
- Visits to parks, vineyards, pollinator gardens, and Lake Lugano to explore efforts to preserve and enhance Ticino’s biodiversity
- Meet with officials who manage the City of Lugano’s sustainability plan, to see what the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals look like in action at the local level
- Day trip into the Alps to learn about the development of sustainable approaches to outdoor recreation and tourism
- Day trip to Milan, which is part of the C40 network of cities committed to building “healthy, equitable and resilient communities” while cutting emissions in half by 2030.
(List subject to change)
TEACHING FACULTY
Ariel K. McK. Burgess (she/her) is an ecologically-based interdisciplinary professor at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, USA. Her expertise includes climate and ecological psychology, eco empathy, environmental humanities, eco art, and international environmental policy. Through teaching, she hopes to help students build a holistic, nuanced understanding of the interconnections between themselves, the more-than-human world, and different facets of human society like psychology, policy, economics, justice, ethics, science, art, and history. Outside of Champlain, Burgess facilitates eco-grief and eco-empathy workshops and hosts monthly Eco-Resiliency Gatherings. Her chapter on “eco empathy” in Ecological Feelings: A Rhetorical Compendium can be pre-ordered now. Burgess has taught at multiple institutions including a pre-college class on ecofeminism at Smith College. Burgess holds a BA in environmental studies and studio art, and an MA in international environmental policy. Her doctorate in ecopsychology focuses on pedagogy as a means of transforming climate trauma into eco resilience.
English language qualifications
If English is not your first language, or if you have not spent the last two years studying in a school where English is the primary language of instruction, you will need one of the following:
- TOEFL : 80 (internet-based)
- IELTS Academic Module: Average 6.0
- Duolingo: Score of 110, with no component under 100-105
Why take a summer course?
This summer program provides the opportunity for high school students to:
- Enjoy first-class teaching,
- Learn alongside students from around the world in a small class environment,
- Enhance their resumes,
- Strengthen essential skills for their university career, and
- Earn three university credits!
Application
We welcome rising juniors and seniors (at least 15 years old with at least 10 years of schooling) to get a head start on their bachelor's degree. Further requirements are listed on our online application form. Applications for the 2025 Summer Program for high school students will be reviewed on a rolling admissions basis.
For general inquiries please contact the admissions team: info@fus.edu
