Soils, Civilizations, and Societies, an upper level, undergraduate soils course with an international component that was developed at Penn State, approaches the question of societies and the soils upon which they are built from a social as well as a scientific perspective. Students in this course study environmental and agricultural issues across diverse landscapes, climates, and cultures over time. The course was designed to appeal to students from a broad range of interests across the University, such as history, agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, archaeology, political science, and geography. Objectives of the course were: to broaden students' understanding of potential impacts of human activities on natural resources; to provide an historic, geographic, and agronomic context for observing changes in natural resources over time; and to encourage awareness of and respect for other cultures through a study of ancient as well as current civilizations in diverse geographic regions and environments. Soils, Civilizations, and Societies was offered for the first time during the Spring 2007 semester. It included a three-week (May/June) study tour to Turkey and Jordan where students explored the five major ecological, climate and soil domains that were studied during the spring semester course. These are: 1) the humid highlands; 2) the semiarid steppes; 3) the river valleys; 4) the seacoasts; and 5) the arid and hyperarid deserts (Hillel, 2006). At selected sites in both countries students explored the evidence and ruins of ancient agriculture and at the same time observed the agricultural practices and societal systems in place today after some 5000-7000 years of continuous habitation and land management. A survey of student participants evaluating the effectiveness of the course in meeting the objectives will be presented.