The International Comparative Rural Policy Studies (ICRPS) program brings together an international, multi-disciplinary group of faculty, students and professionals to study the many facets of rural policy, from policy formulation to policy impacts. The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development is a founding member of ICRPS since 2004.

Each year, ICRPS hosts a two-week intensive summer institute program. The Summer Institute is designed for graduate students and builds skills to analyze and compare policies at the international, national, state, regional and local levels. It also provides the opportunity to study the nature and implications of new forms of governance in rural contexts. The summer institute blends new knowledge with field trips and applied learning.

ICRPS consists of faculty members and graduate students from across the following universities: Brandon University (Canada), Oregon State University (USA), Tuskegee University (USA), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico (Mexico), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain), Université du Québec à Rimouski (Canada), University College of Dublin (Ireland), University of Bologna (Italy), University of Missouri (USA), and University of the Highlands and Islands (Scotland). Since 2004, SEDRD had sent graduate students to every Summer Institute program.

Graduate students with an interest in comparative rural policy are eligible to attend the annual ICRPS Summer Institute. Details from previous ICRPS Summer Institutes can be found on the ICRPS website [1].  If you are interested in participating in an upcoming ICRPS Summer Institute or would like more information, please contact Dr. Ryan Gibson [2].