Island Sustainability Program

Study Abroad Program Overview

This University of California program is run through the Environmental Science, Policy and Management Department (ESPM) at UC Berkeley and is based at the UC Gump South Pacific Research Station, located in Mo’orea, French Polynesia. Gump Station is host to renowned scientists from around the world and has been providing exceptional educational opportunities to UC students for 30 years. The University of California’s Gump Station houses NSF’s Mo’orea Coral Reef Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site and the Biocode Project making the island and its reefs among the best-studied in the world, while creating a dynamic interaction for students with international researchers, including those at the nearby French research station CNRS-EPHE CRIOBE.

Making a just transition to environmental sustainability is perhaps humanity’s greatest challenge in the 21st century. Islands serve as model systems for exploring issues affecting this transition around the world. Mo’orea in French Polynesia is perhaps the best-studied small island in the world and the Island Sustainability Program offers you a chance to learn how this complex tropical system is navigating the Anthropocene.

The Island Sustainability program provides an exceptional learning experience and advanced training for undergraduates like yourself. It draws on the diverse interdisciplinary research carried out at the Gump Station by leading researchers from around the world, blended with the traditional wisdom of the Polynesian people. The incorporation of the cultural and traditional aspects of the program is made possible through the unique partnership between UC Berkeley and the Tahitian community via the Atitia Center.

This partnership is with a Tahitian community-based organization, the Association Te Pu 'Atiti'a, which is made up of local educators and traditional experts. The Atitia Center develops common educational and research programs focused on marine and terrestrial biodiversity, traditional knowledge, culture, and the relationship between human societies and natural ecosystems. Students will also be exposed to a variety of local and international NGOs working in the region and will benefit from the blend of European, American and Polynesian perspectives affecting all aspects of life and sustainability on the beautiful, tropical islands of French Polynesia.

Mo’orea is an island located 11 miles north of Tahiti. It is a rural island with several villages and towns. The island and its nearshore marine ecosystem are one of the best-studied systems in the world. Mo’orea is recognized as an unusually resilient coral reef; current studies are examining the factors that underpin this resilience.

Island Sustainability French Polynesia – Program Outline

5 courses over intensive 10-week field program + 1 week Spring Break + Capstone project online (3 weeks)
Credits: 15 semester units
Students will begin with several weeks in the field on Tetiaroa atoll and Temae beach, then be based on Mo’orea at Gump Station

Applications for the Spring 2025 Program are now closed.

Go to 'Berkeley Study Abroad' to apply

Please read over the Program Policies before applying

Get all the details in the Mo'orea Spring 2025 Student Handbook

Interested in joining this Program?

Applications are closed for the 2025 session, but info on the 2026 session will be available in the Spring of 2025.

Send us a note

Program Coursework & Enrollment

Overview of Program Coursework

All Mo’orea Spring 2025 - Island Sustainability Program students will be enrolled in the 5 required, inter-related program courses. Fieldwork is a major emphasis of your coursework, and students will experience fieldwork in marine and terrestrial habitats on and around Tetiaroa, Tahiti and Mo’orea. The courses are related and build on one another, so aspects of all courses will surface throughout your time abroad.

Island and Coral Reef Resilience and Ecosystem Services - ESPM 109A

Island and Coral Reef Resilience and Ecosystem Services (ESPM 109A, 3 Units) provides an overview of the processes affecting island and reef formation and function, and the natural and human benefits derived from the resources created by these systems. Students will participate in restoration efforts on Tetiaroa, and learn about the ecosystem services important for local communities, traditional values, and sustainable tourism.
Polynesian Culture and Society - ESPM 109B

Polynesian Culture and Society (ESPM 109B, 3 Units) This course provides an overview of Oceania, and immerses students in how the first peoples of these islands understand and interact with their island homes - from a traditional to modern perspective via a deep dive into the writings, art, music of the region. Traditional marine resource use and geopolitics of the region are discussed to understand the history that shapes modern Polynesia.
Issues in Biodiversity - ESPM 109C

Issues in Biodiversity (ESPM 109C, 3 Units) explores the terrestrial and marine diversity around Tetiaroa and Moorea through field projects, and examines issues including habitat loss, invasive species and diseases (coral and plant diseases and mosquito-borne public health threats such as zika and dengue), genetic diversity, and eco-informatics.
Environmental Planning, Policy, and Management - ESPM 109D

Environmental Planning, Policy, and Management (ESPM 109D, 3 Units) explores traditional and modern land and sea use strategies and approaches to sustainability, as well as new technologies that aim to secure food, energy and water supplies. Students will interact with locals, community groups, policy makers and researchers to understand the larger questions about sustainable development, using these small islands as a microcosm of challenges being faced globally and the opportunities for sustainability.
Data Science, Communication, and Professionalism - ESPM 109E

Data Science, Communication, and Professionalism (ESPM 109E, 3 Units) will teach students effective oral and written reporting to different communities, and how to structure and organize research programs through a combination of opportunistic guest lectures by experts in the area and excursions. This will engage students in discussions around the role of science in society, its interactions with local and traditional knowledge and the impacts of data and technology, with consideration of ethical, legal and social issues. Students will also learn about Data Science for environmental sustainability through the case study of the Island Digital Ecosystem Avatar (IDEA) Consortium. Students will carry out a project to create a proposal related to sustainable management. Projects must demonstrate incorporation of what has been learned throughout the program as well as data science and scenario-based planning techniques.

Read the article 'FAIR Island Experiments with Connecting Project Resources in DataCite'