Our Iceland Program

Are you interested in:

• Exploring one of the most remote, geologically unique, and environmentally friendly countries in the world?
• Making a difference - helping an eco-village to become increasingly self-reliant through sustainable practices?
• Immersing yourself in Icelandic culture?
• Learning by doing while integrating classroom knowledge with real-life applications?

If so, we invite you to join us for an Icelandic educational adventure. During a CELL Iceland Study Abroad program, you will spend approximately 12 weeks:

• living in a unique eco-village committed to achieving sustainability through community 
• learning about the principles of sustainability from a country leading the world in the production of clean, renewable energy
• living a carbon negative lifestyle and playing an active role in helping to reduce global carbon emissions 
• learning that although the impossible may take awhile, it is, indeed, achievable. 

Below is a brief description of our Iceland program.

CELL is partnering with Solheimar, an eco-village of about 100 people renowned for its international, artistic, and ecological atmosphere.  Solheimar is the first self-sufficient community of its kind in the world, where people with special needs and those without live and work together in a community committed to environmental sustainability. Inspired by the theories of Rudolph Steiner, Solheimar has focused on cultivating the individual and the environment and was the first community of its kind in Scandinavia to practice organic cultivation.  

Through participation in a CELL/Solheimar study abroad program, you will work along with community partners to create appropriate and innovative solutions to issues of sustainability. You will become a member of a very special group of people committed to achieving sustainability through community. (For more information on Solheimar, see their website at: www.solheimar.is).

During your Iceland semester program you will:

• Immerse yourself in the culture of Iceland while living in an Icelandic eco-village and fully participating in the sustainable practices and service-learning opportunities of this magical community
• Learn basic Icelandic (old Norse) 
• Tour various Icelandic sites from mountain glaciers to coastal geothermal springs, from historic Viking settlements to modern day Icelandic culture, including:
  • Reykjavik, the capital city
  • Museums and historical sites that depict everything from the hard struggle for existence in previous centuries to the technological revolution of the twentieth century
  • Various cultural events including art exhibitions, theatre productions, concerts, and festivals
    
  • Hiking in areas with some of the most captivating scenery in the world: vast barren expanses and green (or snow-covered) valleys, magnificent glaciers, mountains, and beautiful waterfalls, glassy-surfaced fjords with pristine beaches, geothermal springs with health-giving properties
    
  • Icelandic power system - visit hydropower and geothermal energy sites producing environmentally friendly and sustainable power
    
  • Viewing the unforgettable Northern Lights
    
• Participate in real-life service-learning projects promoting community sustainability, such as:
• Growing food organically in a geothermal heated greenhouse
• Assisting with an organic reforestation program
  
• Researching and providing suggestions on how the Solheimar community can improve sustainable living and healthy lifestyle practices
• Researching and developing a plan for improving the marketing of green products produced at Solheimar; etc.
  

Receive 15 college credits in:

Icelandic Language, Culture, and History (LINTD 2003)

(Interdisciplinary course designed to fulfill Language, History, Sociology, or Interdisciplinary requirements - 3 credits)

This course introduces students to modern Icelandic language and surveys the history and culture of Iceland. Through a variety of course activities, including field trips and site visits, students explore cultural and historical values that have helped to shape Icelandic values in the 21st Century (with a particular focus on what has helped to shape Iceland’s commitment to sustainability).

Sustainability Through Community: Discovering A Sense of Place ( LINTD 3707)

(Interdisciplinary course designed to fulfill Interdisciplinary, Sociology, or Service-Learning course requirements - 3 credits)

This service-learning course challenges students to apply what they are learning in their academic courses to real-life sustainability issues and practices in the eco-village where they are living. Students work hand-in-hand with community partners to create appropriate and innovative solutions to environmental, economic, cultural, and social challenges facing a small community’s commitment to living sustainably. Specific service-learning projects will be driven by the needs of the local community and the interests of individual students. Through structured reflection exercises and journaling, students explore how the principles of sustainability can be applied imaginatively on a micro- and macro-scale.

GLOBAL WARMING: CHANGING CO₂urse (LINTD 2001)

(Interdisciplinary course designed to fulfill Geology, Geography, Environmental Science, or Interdisciplinary requirements - 3 credits)

This course introduces students to Iceland's unique geology and provides inspiring examples of how Iceland is utilizing carbon-free geothermal resources for heating and for hydrogen and electricity production. The course also explores how communities around the world are experiencing the effects of global warming. Although global warming is a daunting issue, the course explores new strategies for addressing climate change and considers personal action to mitigate the effects of global warming. Note: During the semester program, students live a carbon negative lifestyle and personally play an active role in helping to reduce global carbon emissions.

Sustainability: Secrets of Simplicity (Iceland and Central America  Programs - LINTD 3699)

(Interdisciplinary coursed designed to fulfill Interdisciplinary, Sociology, or Ecology requirements - 3 credits)

This interdisciplinary course examines the field of sustainability and explores creative ways to build sustainable communities. We look at innovative strategies currently being implemented (both worldwide and in Iceland) to proactively address issues threatening sustainability. The focus of this class is to examine the choices we make and to look at how to incorporate sustainable practices into our lives. Students also explore the principles of voluntary simplicity and the relationship of these principles to sustainability and to their own lives. Students live in one of the world’s oldest and unique eco-villages and have ample opportunities to apply what they are learning in the classroom to real-life sustainability projects (these projects will be coordinated with students’ service-learning course).

Crossroads Thinking Skills for the 21st Century (Iceland and Central America Programs - LINTD 4000)

(Designed to fulfill  English, Philosophy, Sociology, or Interdisciplinary requirements - 3 credits)

This course grounds students in a new and interdisciplinary way of thinking. Crossroads thinking combines elements of critical and creative thinking and helps students to develop skills in questioning, imagining possibilities, exploring opportunities, analyzing alternatives, synthesizing ideas, and evaluating thought. Through a variety of course activities, students question long-held assumptions or biases, evaluate ideas, reason honestly and open-mindedly, problem-solve, and form objective conclusions. Students learn that “things are not always as they seem,” and they develop the capacity and skill to be able to examine thought from different points of view (e.g. cultural, political, social, economic, scientific, artistic, gender-based, multi-age-based, spiritual, philosophical, historical, empathetic, and integrated perspectives). This course will stretch both the depth and breadth of your thinking. Note: The skills students learn in this course are infused across the curriculum  (i.e. applied in all of the courses and activities that students participate in during the semester program).

When is the CELL/Solheimar semester program offered?

CELL offers a fall semester program beginning in early September and running through the last week in November. We are in the process of developing a May term. Please call for details.

Where does the CELL Iceland semester program take place?

For most of the program, you will live as a fully integrated community member of the Solheimar eco-village located an hour East of Reykjavik, Iceland. Solheimar is one of the most unique eco-villages in the world, and you will be warmly embraced by this gracious and environmentally committed community. Solheimar is located in East Iceland: a region chock-full of what makes Iceland such a unique place in the world: captivating scenery, impressive glaciers, ubiquitous waterfalls, striking mountains, deserted fjords, and a host of cultural and historical sites.  

As part of the semester program, you will visit a variety of historical, cultural, and natural areas in Iceland.  

What are the program costs?

Program Cost is $13,650 + air fare from Boston. Cost includes all fees for tuition, college credit, room and board, academic supplies, books, organized tour and activities fees, service-project materials, and ground transportation for organized activities. Not included in the fee are expenses for health insurance and personal expenditures for free time, including transportation, souvenirs, etc.

How do I apply?

For information on our application process, see the How to Apply page.