This program is designed for students with Biology-related majors who have completed at least one year of introductory biology and one elective in ecology and seek intensive, sophisticated tropical field and course work in Costa Rica from both theoretical and taxonomic perspectives.
Students also enroll in a Spanish language class at beginner, intermediate, or advanced level.
The goals of the program are to offer students a comprehensive and complex view in English of the tropical systems through theory, review of empirical patterns, hands-on exposure to an array of tropical ecosystems and conservation, taxonomy of major groups, and direct experimentation. These goals are achieved through course work on Tropical Diversity, Tropical Community Ecology, and Humans in the Tropics and include extensive outdoor travel to various ecosystems within Costa Rica and Panama.