Tropical Field Ecology – BIOL 499A

A research-intensive, active learning course taught entirely in Costa Rica during the winter break. Students depart from wherever they are and rendezvous in Costa Rica, with detailed plans and contingencies in the event of problems with flights. We work at rustic but comfortable (beds, meals, indoor plumbing) field stations where we have immediate access to pristine habitats where we perform faculty and student-designed research projects. These research projects involve collaborative design, data collection of data to test specific hypotheses, data analyses, oral presentation, and writing formal journal-style reports. Faculty present evening lectures comprising background and examples that connect finished work to these nascent projects. Main field sites comprise a pre-montane moist forest on the Atlantic slope and a lowland rainforest on the Pacific coast of the Osa Peninsula. Course objectives are diverse, including i) provide an opportunity for students to gain confidence traveling to a non-English speaking country, independently of family but supported by faculty, peers, and our in-country partners; ii) learn how to perform research in a setting where learning methodology is deemphasized while intellectual engagement and ownership are maximized, iii) experience and learn about a broad sweep of natural history and ecology of the neotropics.

Check out what students experience in Costa Rica - in 360° video:
Immersive 4K videos from BIOL 499A: Tropical Field Ecology

SCHOLARSHIPS

BIOL 499A students are eligible to apply for the following scholarships (among many other financial opportunities), some depending on students' individual circumstances:

• Embedded Programs Scholarship ($1,000) from the Penn State Office of Global Programs
• Science Global Experiences Scholarship ($250-$1,000+) from the Office of Science Engagement
• Global Student Access & Success Scholarships ($500-$2,000) from the Office of Global Programs
• Student Engagement Network Grant ($2,000) from the Student Engagement Network
• Schreyer Ambassador Travel Grant (variable amount) for students in the Schreyer Honors College

APPLICATIONS

Apply here

Next offered over Winter Break 2024-25

INSTRUCTOR

Dr. Jim Marden, Professor of Biology and Associate Director, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences