Are you interested in how PEOPLE interact with ENVIRONMENT? How different cultures address environmental issues? How people deal with environment and social conflicts around the world? How people outside the US address environmental, social and economic resources? If you are, then you are probably interested in sustainability. The USBSC provides students in institutions that are members of the consortium opportunities and funding for physical planning , design, and engineering students to travel to between Brazil and the US to broaden their view of sustainability. Students in the member institutions below should contact their USBSC representatives to learn more about these opportunities. USBSC representatives are: Ball State University- John Motloch, 765-285-7561; University of Texas- David Gibson, 512-475-8941; Center for Maximum Potential Building System- Pliny Fisk, 512-928-4786; Federal Center for Technological Education of Parana (CEFET/PR), in Curitiba- Eloy F. Casagrande Jr., 55 41 310-4719; Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (FAUPUC/RS)- Rosane Bauer.  Information about the USBSC is available at the University of Texas Web site.

The US-Brazil Sustainability Consortium (USBSC)
The US-Brazil Sustainability Consortium (USBSC) supports student exchanges between US and Brazilian universities. It offers US and Brazilian students the opportunity to work together in international, interdisciplinary, and project-based sustainability experiences.

Educational Mission of the Consortium
There is an urgent need to produce (cities, communities, buildings, food, products) in ways that are sustainable (environmentally, socially, economically). As societies embrace sustainability, those in developed regions focus on environmental responsibility, while those in developing regions focus more on social and economic aspects. Sustainability requires that all three be addressed; and doing so becomes more challenging as professionals produce solutions for environments, people, and economies (within their country and globally) that are profoundly different than those in which they live. This program increases student abilities to make sustainable decisions in diverse contexts in their country and other countries. Through a hierarchical curriculum and project-based learning the USBSC builds on the education students receive in their degree programs. It provides classroom and community-based experiences in diverse contexts. These include international experiences that prepare students for work in diverse contexts (physical, cultural, economic) in their country and other countries. The Consortium integrates classroom- and project-based learning in academic, formal communities, and informal communities (favelas). The program accepts advanced undergraduate students (in last two years of study) and graduate students (in final year of study).

Goals of the program include:

  1. improving the ability of academic programs to educate students to lead their professions and broader communities to sustainable and regenerative planning, design, and engineering solutions, 
  2. overcoming barriers to student accessibility and mobility,
  3. preparing students with academic, language and cultural skills, and 
  4. facilitating and providing support to students who participate in the program