University of Pittsburgh: New Zealand - Pitt in the Pacific

The Pacific is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse parts of the world.   Pitt in the Pacific provides a rich cultural and educational experience, shared between the charming and historic campus of the University of Otago at Dunedin in New Zealand’s South Island and the Pacific Islands of Samoa and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. The program is open to Pitt and International Students, who can take up to 15 credits, divided between campus-based courses in Dunedin and in the Pacific Islands.  Dunedin is a beautiful city founded by Scottish settlers in 1848, and is the home of New Zealand’s oldest University, currently recognized also as the pre-eminent university for research in the country.

The Pacific Islands of Samoa, and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, have historical links with New Zealand.  Their Pacific ways of life, based on gardening and fishing, contrast sharply with introduced urban life as experienced in the Samoan capital city of Apia.  Samoa was the home for four years of the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, and his house there is now a fine museum and memorial to him and his commitment to the Samoan people.  Apia is also the location of the vibrant National University of Samoa, which you will visit and learn about Pacific Studies there.  Relationships between the Cook Islands and New Zealand, including the Maori, will be examined, and the Islanders’ adaptations to their environment, as well as their cultural and aesthetic creativity, will be studied.