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Home  Undergraduate
Studies Studyaway Additional
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Study Away: Special Programs & ProceduresFor a more complete listing of study abroad opportunties, visit the web site of Duke's Study Abroad Office Africa Where Can I Go? Studying abroad in Britain and Australia are the most popular for science majors since these courses often easily transfer, even the lab courses. There are not many options for science on continental Europe, and of the ones offered, most are full year and require fluency in the native language. Denmark is an exception: they have a great arctic marine biology and ecology program that is taught in English. Latin America offers several opportunities, including a Duke program in Costa Rica through the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS). OTS also offers a Duke program in South Africa. The School for Field Studies and the School for International Training both offer a variety of enviromentally oriented programs in several countries. The Duke
in South Africa Program: Ecology and Conservation is sponsored by
the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS). It is based in Kruger National
Park with additional trips to numerous sites in South Africa. Students
take four core courses: South African Ecosystems and Diversity (BIO 137),
Field Research in Savanna Ecology (BIO 138L), Conservation and Management
of Protected Areas in South Africa (ENV 128), and History and Culture
of South Africa (HIST 100W). Other programs in Africa include the Duke
Paleoanthropology Field School in South Africa. This is a six-week,
two-course, summer field-study program in the Cradle of Humankind, a World
Heritage Site in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The program gives students
hands-on training in the field of paleoanthropology while conducting excavations
in a Middle/Late Pleistocene human occupation site. There is a program
in Madagascar as well, offered through the Institute for the Conservation
of Tropcical Environments (not Duke approved- requires a student to petition).
More info at http://icte.bio.sunysb.edu/pages/study_abroad_details.htm. There is a summer Duke in Australia program featuring a Duke taught biogeography course (BIO 101). Focusing on the biogeography and environmental history of Australia, this two-course, six-week program is based at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. More info at http://www.aas.duke.edu/study_abroad/summer/index.php. For a semester program, students can study at a number of other Australian Universities. The courses easily transfer, and students have consistently given good evaluations. There are 2 universities in Sydney, 1 in Tasmania (contains one of the most diverse ecosystems, but either few or no Duke students have ever been), 1 in Melbourne (this is the best and most successful choice, also has 2 faculty that work specifically on ensuring that you get into your preferred courses and that they will transfer), the James Cook University (top rated Marine Biology school off of the Great Barrier Reef), and others. Costa Rica is the site of several undergraduate programs that explore the diverse habitats and resources of Costa Rica's tropical rainforests. The Duke program in Costa Rica is sponsored by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), an international research and teaching consortium headquartered at Duke. The OTS Undergraduate Semester program is offered in the fall, spring and summer and features courses in environmental policy, Latin American culture, and two biology courses taught in English: Fundamentals of Tropical Biology (BIO 134) and Research Methods in Tropical Biology (BIO 135L). Other programs in Costa Rica include a Tropical Rain Forest Semester Abroad for English Speaking Undergraduates (Fall, Spring and Summer) sponsored by the University of Costa Rica and several programs sponsored by the School for Field Studies (not Duke approved- requires a student to petition). Ten to twelve different universities in Britain are available to Duke students, although a few of these have programs that require a full year of study abroad, such as University College of London which requires Biology majors to take a full year due to over-enrollment. The Imperial College in London is an excellent school that focuses only on science and engineering. Glasgow and Edinburgh are also very good for studying in the sciences. School for Field Studies (SFS) : Africa, Latin America, Australia, West Indies and NW Canada Study abroad opportunities in Africa, Latin America or Australia are available through the School for Field Studies (SFS). The focus tends to be environmental/ecology studies with a field biology component. Each program has 3 areas of courses required: 1 ecology, 1 social science, 1 environmental cross over between these. The fourth course is usually some sort of team based research study. All of these programs receive credit completely (4 transfer credits), however, not all of the courses will count towards the biology major, or even as NS courses. Note that the research study requires final approval for credit as Independent Study (BIO 191/192). Kenya and Australia do not require knowledge of foreign languages, but Costa Rica requires at least one year of Spanish. Currently, the Kenya and British West Indies are Duke approved. School for International Training (SIT): Africa, Latin America, Jamaica, South Asia and Oceania The School for International Training (SIT) is an international program functioning in many countries. It does not have as strong a science basis but they have been adding science courses as of late. This is more of a cultural experience and involves: knowledge of a second language relevant to the area of your choice; an independant research program with amazing flexibility; and a cultural course. Some of the places that you can study in include: Brazil (Amazon tropics studies); Belize; Jamaica (year long wait-list); Madagascar (requires a year of French); and Kenya (costal studies). All of these have the major positive attraction of allowing you to do your own independant research. The Biology program will grant credit for independent research projects conducted as part of an approved study abroad program. Credit will be assigned as BIO 191, or 192. In order to receive credit, the project must be appropriate work in the biological sciences. The project must be an independent research project in which the student takes substantial responsibility for the formulation of a hypothesis, data collection, data analysis and interpretation. In the case of a collaborative effort, the student should have a distinct and identifiable role in the project. The student should spend at least ~140 hours on the project, include planning, data collection (including field work), analysis and writing. Note that the time spent writing (not including data analysis) should be a small portion of the total time investment. The student should prepare a final written report of the project, evaluated and signed by the project supervisor. In order to receive final approval for credit, the student should submit to the Director of Undergraduate Studies (1) a Final Approval Form, (2) a copy of the final paper, signed by the project supervisor, and (3) a note from the project supervisor attesting to the student's effort and independence. The note should also attest to the student's merit, if there is no course grade or other indicator of merit. The note from the supervisor should be on letterhead or via e-mail and should include the supervisor's academic credentials. Detailed guidelines and a sample verification letter can found at under the Guidelines for Independent Study Abroad . Getting Courses Approved for Transfer Credit To transfer credit in Biology from an institution abroad you will fill out a "Tentative Approval of Study Abroad Courses" form, available from the Office of Study Abroad . List all of the courses you may be interested in taking, even if you will not take them all. Bring the form to the Associate Director of Undegraduate Studies in Biology (DUS). The DUS will determine how to assign credit for each course. You will need to provide a complete description of each course, including contact hours and laboratory time. You may also check the list of previously approved courses before bringing the approval form to the DUS. Applying and Paying for Study Abroad Applications for study abroad programs are available through the Office of Study Abroad. It wise to plan ahead and be first in line. For more information on application procedures, visit the Study Abroad Web Site |
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