These field courses serve as an introduction to the study of coral reef organisms and communities.
Emphasis is placed on individual and collaborative class projects undertaken in the field.
There are daily lectures and field trips to the diverse coral reef communities of the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Students are expected to keep a daily record of their observations and projects in a field notebook that serves as the basis of their grades in the course. Students should be able to swim. Scuba training is not required, but snorkeling is taught the first day. BIOL 345 is a science-oriented course offered concurrently which requires an additional research project on the reef and has a prerequisite of at least one year of college biology.