Both protected and restricted by its dramatic physical environment, which includes the Gobi Desert and vast mountain and forest steppes, Mongolia remains relatively isolated from global development efforts. Many peoplein this essentially nomadic culture continue to practice pastoralism. With half of its population under the age of twenty, Mongolian society is currently undergoing dramatic political, economic, and social change, while at the same time struggling to maintain many of its traditional elements. This program explores Mongolian strategies of development and the efforts to balance policies intended to open the country to foreign involvement with those that focus strongly on nationalism and pastoral culture. You have the rare opportunity to study development issues and their resulting conflicts in the Mongolian context, including the protection of indigenous cultural values.
Orientation begins at the program base in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar.
Here, you begin intensive Mongolian language training and participate in the Culture and Development Seminar, with concurrent homestays and field site visits. The program curriculum is supported by faculty from the University of the Humanities, the National University of Mongolia, the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, and private educational institutions, as well as local professional resources.