Earth Expeditions

Enrolled students travel to important conservation areas to gain first-hand knowledge of local biodiversity and community conservation efforts for the benefit of humans and wildlife worldwide. All courses also involve an on-going online component in which students interact to make change in their home communities. View our planned 2025 Earth Expeditions dates. Please note that the dates are subject to change at any given time.

Earth Expeditions consist of two required components:

• a 5-credit summer term study abroad experience (~10 days) with complementary online coursework
• a 2-credit fall semester follow-up online course in which participants actualize change in their local communities.

Earth Expeditions courses are open to any adult learners and teachers seeking professional development opportunities to benefit their career, as well as individuals simply seeking a unique life-changing experience. Earth Expeditions are also taken by graduate students working towards a M.A.T. in Biology or a M.A. in Biology through Dragonfly’s two graduate programs in biology: the Global Field Program and the Advanced Inquiry Program.

Through these unique field experiences and the related online coursework, participants form lasting relationships with leading educators, community leaders, and conservationists from around the world.

All students collaborate with caring Miami University instructors and classmates in Dragonfly Workshops, an easy-to-use web-based learning community created by Miami’s Project Dragonfly. Through this learning platform, students worldwide discuss assignments, develop projects, and exchange ideas throughout the summer and fall semesters.

During the international field experiences, students and instructors discuss course content and connect over shared once-in-a-lifetime experiences such as snorkeling with whale sharks in Baja, Mexico, witnessing cheetah conservation first-hand in Namibia, viewing wild macaws and sloths in the Peruvian Amazon, and more. We encourage you to check out the courses to learn more.

Earth Expeditions is jointly offered by Project Dragonfly at Miami University and conservation and education partners worldwide. Our mission is to build an alliance of individuals with first-hand knowledge of inquiry-driven, community-based learning for the benefit of ecological communities, student achievement, and global understanding.

Earth Expeditions envisions each person as an ambassador who creates as well as transmits knowledge, who promotes authentic dialogue at all levels of society, and who inspires others to do the same. By adopting participatory models of education, schools become centers of investigation, students engage more deeply in their studies, and communities achieve higher levels of self-determination.