Geological Excursions in Argentina

Over winter break, sixteen geology students were in class more than five thousand miles away from Olin-Rice, honing field method skills in Argentina’s Andes mountain ranges. The course location offered the opportunity to study a broad diversity of geology, including dinosaurs, sedimentary rocks, igneous rocks, mountain-building, and landscapes. 

A longstanding January tradition in the Geology Department, the two-credit Geological Excursions class—taught this year by Professors Kristi Curry Rogers and Ray Rogers, with support from geology faculty Kelly MacGregor, Emily First, and Jeff Thole—has helped students develop hands-on experience in the field in places like Hawaii, Texas, the Galapagos, Iceland, Costa Rica, and Jordan. Now it’s part of a growing group of Mac courses with short-term study away components, linked to the strategic plan’s commitment to create such experiential learning opportunities for students who might not otherwise have the option. 

Last year, as part of a call for proposals from faculty and staff, the Center for Study Away (CSA) hosted listening and program development sessions—and CSA director Shanti Freitas says the interest and response from students, faculty, and staff have been robust.

“Short-term study away opportunities expand access for students who might not be able to participate in a semester-long program,” says Freitas. “These programs are particularly impactful because they’re embedded in an on-campus course, so students connect their classroom learning to an off-campus experience—while guided by Mac faculty and staff members—and then integrate that place-based learning back into their Macalester education.”

In addition to the Argentina geology program, this spring, Professors Duchess Harris and Julie Dolan will teach a course on gender and transnational politics with a study away component in Northern Ireland in May. And in the 2026-27 academic year, five more courses with embedded travel are in the works: Blacks in Paris (France), Francophone Culture of/in America (Louisiana), Unlearning from the Andes to the Amazon (Ecuador), Perspectives in Costa Rica (Costa Rica), and Ways of Being Home (Guatemala).

More information: macalester.edu/strategic-plan