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 474). 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 2017 program runs April 28 - May 7.

For more information, check out this video about Tropical Ecology in Costa Rica.

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.

Tropical Ecology in Costa Rica Winter Break
Number of Credits	3
Program Cost	$3,175
Application deposit	None
Meals not included	Included in program cost
Excursions	Included
Airfare	Included
Books and supplies	Included
Extra costs	Passport, personal incidentals, $30 Costa Rica exit tax