International Education

O'Dowd Hall, Room 328
586 Pioneer Drive
Rochester, MI 48309-4482
(location map)
(248) 370-2889
ie@oakland.edu

Office hours
Mon - Fri: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

In-person and virtual advising hours
Mon - Fri: 9 a.m. - noon and 1 - 4 p.m.

Walk-in advising hours
Mon - Thurs: 1 - 3 p.m.

Alex Zimmerman, Director
(248) 370-2843
azimmerman@oakland.edu

Black button with gold text: Apply Now

Make a Deposit or Payment

Photo Album

For more information contact:

Scott Tiegs
tiegs@oakland.edu
(248) 370-2695

Tropical Ecology in Costa Rica

Walk on the wild side with a hands-on trip to Costa Rica. Students will explore the region’s tropical ecosystems through a three-credit, field-based course in Tropical Field Ecology (BIO 4900). The goal of the 10 day-long field-based course is to expose students to the diverse ecosystems of the tropics including rainforests, mangrove wetlands, floodplains rivers, and tropical dry forests.

Students snorkel rocky reefs, and travel by plane, bus, boat, raft and horseback to experience the beauty and biodiversity of this small but amazing country.

We travel to Costa Rica once per year. The Summer program dates TBD.
For more information, check out this video about Tropical Ecology in Costa Rica. 
Where You
Will Be
Students will stay in hotels, biological preserves, and while in Costa Rica in different regions of the country, including Dominical, Guanacaste, and Sarapiqui. Costa Rica is a fairly small country, but supports a remarkable diversity of different types of ecosystems. It’s also one of the most safe and affordable locations available to students.
What You
Will Do
and learn
What you will do
Students will explore rainforests, tropical deciduous forests, active volcanoes, mangrove swamps, and rivers. In the past, students watched a mother sloth nurse its baby, held tree frogs that were smaller than houseflies, and touched fruit-eating bats. They also snorkeled, hiked for amphibians at night, and went white-water rafting.

All these experiences lead to a better appreciation of how interesting and beautiful natural, intact tropical forests can be.

What you will learn
Students will obtain an immediate and impressionistic understanding of ecology that just isn’t possible in the classroom or lab. For example, students may see more than 50 different species of birds during a single outing.
What To Bring
A detailed list of what to bring will be provided by the instructor.

The approximate cost for this trip is $3,400, which includes airfare, all meals, lodging, park entrance fees, transportation (buses, boats, rafts, horses), and an experienced naturalist guide.
Cost
Tropical Ecology in Costa Rica
 April 2019
Number of Credits3  (Tuition not included in program cost)
Program Cost$3,400
Application depositNone
Meals not includedIncluded in program cost
ExcursionsIncluded
AirfareIncluded
Books and suppliesIncluded
Extra costsPassport, personal incidentals, $30 Costa Rica exit tax
edited-110717