University of Delaware Institute for Global Studies Winter 2025: Costa Rica ENWCProgram Dates January 02, 2025 - January 30, 2025
This program is closed.
Program Overview This program is
highly competitive and will accept only a limited number of applicants. Interview appointments and acceptance decisions are at the discretion of the faculty director.
All applicants must have a valid passport by the program’s application deadline. Your passport’s expiration date must be more than six months after the program ends. If you do not have a current passport, apply through the
U.S. State Department. It takes an average of 6-8 weeks (2 months) to process a passport.
Traveling and studying abroad at this time poses new challenges and requires accepting a higher level of uncertainty than in the past. Students who choose to study abroad must be prepared to adapt to evolving situations and must take responsibility to act in accordance with the rules, regulations, and recommendations of UD, their program leadership, and legal authorities of their home and host country which are subject to change at any time.
The University will continue to monitor the ongoing situation with COVID-19 (coronavirus) and world events as we approach the departure date for this program. Please reach out to your program coordinator or faculty director with questions and continue to monitor the
UD coronavirus webpage for updates. If UD decides to cancel a study abroad program, we will communicate directly with affected students.
The program combines field based data collection, analysis of tropical biodiversity metrics, and discussions of the most controversial issues in conservation biology. You will be trained in standardized bird point counts, camera trap usage, and acoustic bat monitoring, to measure avian and mammalian biodiversity across various ecoregions in Costa Rica. You'll study the ecological and evolutionary causes of the extraordinarily high levels of biodiversity in Central America, the ways in which such diversity benefits humans, and the history and politics of conservation, preservation, and restoration projects in the region. Traditional discussion format is supplemented with hands-on projects, extensive walks, and hikes, some of which are physically demanding! It is not uncommon to walk more than 10 miles in a day, and we will complete a 14 mile roundtrip hike to an 11,300 ft peak (with nearly 4,00 feet in elevation gain). We will explore places such as the montane cloud forests of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and the lowland rainforest of Corcovado National Park. (The itinerary varies from year to year but includes most of Central America's representative ecosystems.) You'll live and eat at either eco-lodges or the research facilities used by some of the world's leading tropical biologists and will see an unimaginable diversity of insects, birds, mammals, and amphibians. You will snorkel over the Pacific reefs of Ballena National Park, and explore the cloud forest of Monteverde. With the exception of food purchased in the airport, the program fee includes all meals. All students must take 6 credits: ENWC444 Conservation of Tropical Biodiversity (3 cr.) which is an intensive, field-based experience in the mechanics of conserving tropical biodiversity. This class focuses on group projects quantifying and comparing the diversity of montane cloud forests, lowland rainforests and tropical dry forests. And ENWC450 - Debates in Conservation Biology (3 cr.) This class focuses on the global debates about anthropocentric use and misuse of earth's biological and physical resources. Each student will lead several discussions based on relevant literature.
Students will be housed in multi-bed, non-air-conditioned rooms in field research centers with all meals included.
The Program Fee includes housing, all group excursions, all meals, and international medical insurance. Students will be housed in multi-bed, non-air-conditioned rooms in field research centers or eco-lodges with all meals included.
The Program Fee does NOT include airfare or transportation to/from airports in the U.S. The program officially begins when students arrive in Costa Rica . Students will receive detailed travel instructions after acceptance, explaining how and where to purchase their plane ticket. See the Cost section below for estimate airfare. For this program, students will be given recommended flight itineraries for traveling together.
ACCESSIBILITY: Students with disabilities are welcomed and encouraged to study abroad, but should be aware that accessibility and accommodation in some program locations may differ from the United States. Transit systems and legacy building construction practices may not meet U.S. accessibility standards, and alternative access to public transportation, buildings, or public sites cannot be guaranteed. Review
these questions with the
Office of Disability Support Services to determine whether this program can meet your accommodation needs.
Courses: Students must enroll in all credit-bearing courses for a grade. Only the UNIV (zero credit) course may be taken pass/fail. Audit registration is not permitted on UD Travel Study. Please refer to the
University Catalog to verify requirements and prerequisites. Honors credit may be available. Check with the faculty director and the Honors program for approval (check before departure). All students must enroll in at least 6 credits, as well as the 0-credit UNIV course.
ENWC 444-070: Conservation of Tropical Biodiversity (3 credits)
ENWC 450-070: Debates in Conservation Biology (3 credits)
UNIV 370-039: Study Abroad - Costa Rica ENWC (0 credits) pass/failSatisfies the following requirements:
Program Costs:How much does it cost?. | Delaware Resident | Non-Delaware Resident |
---|
Final Tuition based on current year | $3,648.00 | $9,798.00 |
Final Program Fee | $6,715.00 | $6,715.00 |
UD Registration & Activities Fee | $30.00 | $30.00 |
Total to be charged to UD account | $10,393.00 | $16,543.00 |
Plus Airfare Estimate (purchased separately) | $1,200.00 | $1,200.00 |
The rates above may not apply to you if you are a UD graduate student during the time you are studying abroad. Please refer to
http://www1.udel.edu/finaid/rates.html for the appropriate rates.
When and how do I pay?If you are offered acceptance to the program, you will have 3 days to withdraw without financial penalty. After the 3 days have passed, you will be officially accepted to the program, and IGS will post the full Program Fee and Tuition/Fees to your UD student account.
- An initial payment of $1000.00 will be due in mid-May.
- The balance of the Program Fee and Tuition/Fees will be due in early January.
- Payments are submitted through My Finances in UDSIS.
- All charges, once posted to your account, are considered non-refundable.
*All students will receive an email when they are accepted to a program and will have 10 days from that notification to make their $1,000.00 Initial Payment. Contact Information:Deadlines:Submit Program Application by 5pm on April 20, 2024
Recommendation also due by 5pm on April 20, 2024
Acceptance and Scholarship Announced: May 03, 2024
Please note that this program is
highly competitive and will accept only a limited number of applicants. Interview appointments and acceptance decisions are at the discretion of the faculty director.
Interest Meetings:02/21/2024, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM, 233 Townsend Hall
03/22/2024, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM, 256 Townsend Hall
Program information is subject to change at any time. Please check this web site periodically for updates.