Hartwick college

In this course, students will learn about tropical biodiversity and its conservation in Central America. Participants will live and study at biology field stations in tropical rain forests, cloud forests and dry forests on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides of Costa Rica. At each field station, students will work in small groups to design research projects, collect and analyze data, and present results in oral and written reports. Most research projects focus on mammals (such as the young mantled howler monkey), birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and plants. In addition, participants visit volcanoes, museums, national parks, and historical sites. During past courses, students found the famous Red-eyed Leaf Frog during a night hike at La Selva Biological Field Station, a research station in the Caribbean lowland tropical rain forest. Another week was spent studying the natural history of organisms in an endangered dry forest at Palo Verde National Park in northwestern Costa Rica. In the final week, students explored the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and coastal habitats at Cabo Blanco Absolute Reserve on the Pacific side of Costa Rica.

Course: BIOL 241/341
Location: Costa Rica
Prerequisite: BIOL 340 (Biology majors only)
Program leaders: Stan Sessions, Peter Fauth
Curricular requirement: LAB
Cost: $3,445.00
Length of program: 21 days
Meals: All meals included

Prices of Off-Campus J Term programs are ESTIMATES. If there are factors that affect the final cost of a program, such as fluctuations in currency exchange rates or fuel price increases, a fee adjustment will be announced. Should there be a change in a program fee students will have two weeks from notification of that change, or until the last day of classes, (whichever is shorter) to pay.