CHANCE Study Abroad Course Format

Three Program Components

The short-term study abroad academic experience is divided into three primary components: pre-field, field, and post-field which incorporate two bi-national courses, one online and one on site in Romania. Students will first participate in an online Spring semester pre-field course (3 credits), and in summer will complete the field practicum and post-field assignment (4 credits). 

PRE-FIELD (online course, mid-spring semester 2022; March 17 – April 28; 3.0 credits): 

Thursdays 7am-9am EST, Synchronous Zoom Delivery

Before you leave for Romania, we will prepare you to engage in research and scientific inquiry, using a team-based learning approach.  Each binational team will undertake a mini-research activity using authentic data on a specific issue facing the Danube River, then interpret and communicate their findings as they relate to a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Both exercises are intended to give you practice with the skills you will need to successfully engage in a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) once you are on site. Both exercises will occur via ZOOM in break-out rooms by Penn State faculty and top water scientists from the University of Bucharest.

FIELD (second-summer semester course, field practicum June 25 - July 14, 2022; 4.0 credits):

While students are in Romania, binational team members will be assigned a CURE related to their select water issue affecting the Danube Delta. Over the course of a three-week period, each team will develop their scientific research laboratory skills relevant to their CURE, design a unique experiment, then head out to the field and to state-of-the-art research laboratories to carry out their experimental work. Throughout all stages of their research, students will be mentored (face-to face) by leading scientists who are engaged in research in their selected area. When students are not working in the field or analyzing their data, they will have ample opportunities to learn more about the economic, environmental, social, cultural, and political factors that contribute to sustainability challenges facing the Danube River system through a series of professional lectures, guided tours, one-on-one meetings with Romanian government and non-governmental stakeholders and U.S. Embassy of Bucharest officials, and panel discussions with experts.

Undergraduate Research Symposium

At the end of their CURE experience, each research team will present their work to select University of Bucharest and Penn State administrators, scientists, leaders, faculty and students, as well as Romanian U.S. and EU external government and non-government stakeholders via participation in the 2022 CHANCE Romania Undergraduate Research Symposium to be held at the University of Bucharest before departure to the U.S. The evidence students collect and present will be included in an online database to be shared with members of a network of scientists and scholars working to restore the ecosystems of the Danube River system.

POST-FIELD (online and part of summer course, August 2021): 

Following the departure of American students back to the United States, each Penn State student will complete an online assignment that allows them to reflect on their experiences, skills and knowledge gained, and global competencies.

Romania 2022 Program Partners