CONNECT WITH SFS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STUDIES,
COSTA RICA
PROGRAM DETAILS
- Terms: Fall, Spring
- Credits: 18 semester-hour credits
- Prerequisites: One semester of college-level ecology, biology, or environmental studies/science; 18 years of age
- Application Deadline: Rolling admissions. Early applications encouraged
- Financial Aid: All accepted students can apply for need-based scholarships, grants, and loans
OVERVIEW
Experience a semester of sustainability in Costa Rica, known worldwide for its innovative conservation and economic development strategies. This program examines the different models that Costa Rica uses to balance biodiversity conservation with socioeconomic benefits, especially in rural communities. Students examine the effects of globalization on development issues such as agriculture, urban sprawl, population growth, waste management, and water quality. Students visit cloud forests, dry forests, volcanoes, lowland rainforests, farms, and plantations as they explore environmental policies and sustainable solutions in the context of the environmental changes facing Costa Rica.
WHAT YOU'LL STUDY
- Climate change and tropical ecosystems
- Land use practices congruent with conservation
- Tourism sustainability
- Sustainable agriculture and climate change mitigation
- Carbon sequestration strategies
- Socioeconomic and environmental impacts of tourism
- Environmental justice and environmental ethics
FIELD EXPERIENCES
- Expedition to Nicaragua to hike the volcanoes of Ometepe Island and examine tourism and development in a neighboring country
- Visit to Monteverde Cloud Forest reserve to study hummingbird ecology and tour a shade-grown coffee farm
- Overnight camping trip to the dry forest of Santa Rosa National Park
- Assessment of park management strategies and tourism capacity in Carara National Park
DIRECTED RESEARCH
Through Directed Research (DR)—as opposed to basic, applied, or independent research—students conduct research on a specific topic that is part of the SFS Center’s long-term strategic research plan, which has been developed in partnership with local community stakeholders and clients.
The course, taught by resident SFS faculty, provides students with the opportunity to apply the scientific process in a mentored field research project that addresses a local environmental issue. Through the DR project, students contribute to a growing body of scientific research that informs local conservation and resource management decisions.
