BSc in Integrative Ecosocial Design:

• Integrative Ecosocial Design (IESD) - what's in a name?

Integrative to emphasize a process and direction (rather than integrated, a claim too bold), ecosocial to indicate a balance between ecology and all aspects of human society and design to underline our primary goal of bringing as many people as possible to a place of empowerment from which they notice that the behavior, structures and institutions of societies are the products of human thinking and efforts and that by rethinking the memes and redirecting our efforts we can reconfigure societies.

• Design as a primary skill and empowerment
  

The primary skills and empowerment that we wish to impart to our Associates is that you can work to design human societies, personal lifestyles, family and community behavior, in accordance with ecological principles. This is true whatever technical focus you may identify with (such as appropriate technology, land use, natural building, social communications, governance, health and well-being, art and ecology, community forestry and so on). Thus 'integrative ecosocial design’ becomes a generic base for all specialties.

• Design as a common, integrative language

Designing societies according to ecological principles is the integrative activity and we imagine considerable benefits will arise through gathering multi-disciplinary teams with a common design language.

• Avoiding over-focused thinking
  

The more 'techie' a field becomes the more tendency there is for practitioners to lose track of needs and means of integrating their work with the work of others. To counteract this we propose that all designers have a design orientation that encourages integration and at least an appreciation of the whole field. Let us remember that diversity is NOT a function of the number of elements in a system, rather it is a function of the useful connections between elements. We're focused on joining up the dots at Gaia U.

• World-wide consistency

This approach allows us to create learning designs based on existing world-wide practices in the field (especially permaculture and ecovillage design) and will encourage us to be world relevant. The patterns included in our program are proposed as workable worldwide.

Gaia University Bachelors degrees

In a program but not in a college

Learn at home, at work and on project. With Gaia U most of the time you are not in college or in class but out and about engaged in conscious learning from experience. This means you can live where you choose, work at projects of your own choice and earn while you learn. As you keep in touch by email and internet you are free to travel too. You are doing positive work for the world even as you are learning.

Is this good for you?

Not everyone is suited to the Gaia U style of experience based, self-directed action learning. For many the freedom of choice may be overwhelming and the 'liberating structures' evident in the way programs are organised may seem too open and not prescriptive enough. If you have any doubts contact us and we'll help you work through your questions.

One of the significant aspects of Gaia University is that entrance into a Bachelors or Masters level program is less dependent on prior formal education as on experience and the level of strategic responsibility a prospective learner is taking for the "whole."

You will be ready to learn: -

• How to become a resourceful learner capable of finding direction in a complex, complicated and frequently irrational world
• How to value your own ignorance as a positive and powerful indicator of your learning needs
• How to exchange mutual support attention with other Associates on action learning pathways
• How to recover from confusion and move towards clarity, again and again
• How to repair and emerge your full intelligence
  

Results based learning

The Gaia University accreditation system works this way: - credit is generally awarded for evidence of competencies learned and demonstrated through 'outputs'. Thus an Associate is NOT credited simply for completing an 'input' in the form of courses or workshops. If credit is due as a result of taking a particular 'input' this will show up either in an Associate's increased competencies in producing quality ecological designs and/or in insightful learning(s). This learning feeds into the Output packages which are prepared approximately every 6 weeks during the study year.

This outputs rather than inputs approach is a results based system and it allows Associates significant freedoms to use any means to gain their learning and then prove their learning by showing they have an adequate level of learning in the field.

Some typical sources of learning

The range of means whereby an Associate can learn a skill set is wide and includes: -

• Certificated learning from education and training providers at home and abroad, formal and informal
• Certificated work and project-based learning
• Experiential learning acquired in paid and/or unpaid project and work situations
• Uncertificated learning from self-directed study and inquiry
• Leisure and recreational activities with learning outcomes.

In practice this means that as an Associate travels their Gaia University Bachelors degree pathway they become increasingly skilled at identifying their own learning needs and subsequently designing appropriate pathways to acquire this learning. Thus they may spend less and less time in formal classroom situations (although the wise Associate comes to know that some carefully chosen time spent in classes with inspiring teachers and an appropriate focus is time well spent) and more time in the field using engaged experience and conscious reflection as their primary learning tools.

The BSc is nominally a 4 year program unless credits are awarded for prior learning. If you have prior learning you would like to accredit, please fill in the area on the application form that says APL (Accreditation for Prior Learning).

Output Packets: Effective documentation is a key skill flex for all associates of Gaia University (and for all world changers). Apart from attending our short courses, the production of Output packets is also the primary way in which Gaia University associates gain their "credits." Output packets consist of project reports, extracts from an associate's learning journal, annotated resource and reference lists and self and peer review forms.

Project experience can include elective workshops, internships, apprenticeships, immersions,” gap year” activities, volunteering and working for projects, part-time vacation and livelihood work experience. An Associate chooses their work-experiences and projects deliberately to meet their learning needs and to suit their circumstances. Associates spends the bulk of their time on-project and/or in-work and, during this time, typically 11 months per year, are not 'at college' although they are 'in-program'.

Fees and expenses for project experiences are NOT included in the degree fees - Associates are encouraged to meet their learning needs through affordable routes (including through paid work). Smart thinking in this respect should enable an Associate to design a strong, productive learning pathway that should not leave them with heavy debts. Tutorial support for pathway design is always available. Gaia University is connected with several significant world-wide networks and learning and internship opportunities are generally abundant.

Supported Career Year (can be taken any year after completion of Orientation and IESD 101 workshops): One year of the BSc program is optional. This is because we are using a UK system which has a 3 year BSc requirement. This Supported Career year, when taken, is generally taken as the third year of the Bachelors program.

During the second year, the associate and her advisors will evaluate if a third year (Supported Career Year) is advisable. During a supported career year there are no required courses or outputs. Process and Project Design Advisers and the Associate’s peer support group (Action Learning Guild) are available to help the Associate get the most benefit of their experiences.The Gaia U E-Learning (GEL) site is also a great tool for learning and staying connected.