Learn in the field at IU

Live in community, collaborate in the field to advance environmental causes

Quick guide to life at IU

Our students work in the world, for the world

At IU, enjoying nature and each other is inherent to environmental and sustainability work.

Here, research or help maintain IU's green campus, which includes 1,600 acres of nature preserves across southern Indiana. Plus, live with students who are just as excited as you are about sustainability.

Classes spill out of their limestone buildings into the real world. Through their coursework, our students regularly:

Enjoy the world while you change it for the better

At IU's Research and Teaching Preserve, open your mind in our classroom without walls

Beneath tree canopies, along the water, and in the wetlands and fields of south central Indiana, the Research and Teaching Preserve (RTP) offers students research opportunities, scholarships, internships, and coursework across eight natural preserves in southern Indiana. 

At RTP, explore, manage, monitor, and care for the environment with opportunities available only to IU students, such as: 

  • Classes in the field, with courses like edible wild plants, sustainable forestry, science writing, or fishing, among many others
  • Internships to grow careers in land management, maintenance, forestry, or parks and recreation
  • Grants of up to $4,000 to conduct environmental science research on-site
  • Merit-based 4-year fellowships that provide research, coursework, and service in the outdoors
Discover the RTP

Choose housing just environmental and sustainability students

A rainbow ends behind the Collins Living-Learning Center, home to one of the environmentally-focused learning communities, on a fall day at IU Bloomington on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022. Photo by James Brosher, Indiana University

Build friendships and networks in our environmental and sustainability community

Collective action is central to adapting to environmental change. Live your life in community in dorms with like-minded undergraduates, as you learn, play, and grow together. Choose between a group focused on policy and leadership or another working to incorporate sustainability and related action into daily life.

SustainCollins

Live in the heart of campus with classmates exploring sustainability through action, education, and recreation.

Civic Leaders Center

Live and volunteer with other students interested in civic engagement, policy, and leadership, with opportunities to network and study in Washington, D.C., and Athens, Greece.

Find out more about life at IU

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