Off-Campus Programs
Academics / Departments & Programs / Biology / Student Experience / Off-Campus Programs
Let biology—and Calvin’s biology professors—take you around the world to study diverse ecosystems, from the Great Lakes forest of northern Michigan to the sugarcane fields of Hawaii.
As a biology student, you can study off campus for a semester in a Calvin-sponsored or non-Calvin program, or you can study a specific topic related to biology for three weeks in January.
Three types of off-campus experiences include:
- Semester programs: Several of Calvin's semester-long study abroad programs have biology-related course options. Talk with your advisor about these programs.
- January interim programs: The biology department also offers several special off-campus courses each January. Past courses have studied traditional medicine and bioethics in China, tropical ecosystems in Costa Rica and Belize, food systems in Hawaii, and eye care in Mexico.
- Non-Calvin programs: With the biology department’s close associations with national and local research and environmental studies organizations, you may be able to study off-campus in other programs as well. Biology students regularly go to the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, the Creation Care Study Program, and the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute for Environmental Education.
Summer programs
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Dutch Sustainability: Is Orange the New Green?
- When faced with sustainability challenges, the Dutch have always innovated their way towards a more stable and resilient environment.
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BIOL 354: Ecology and Culture of the Maori Nation
- Note: This program is currently closed to new applications. The small island nation of New Zealand is one of the world’s most remote nations and the last major landmass to be settled by humans.
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BIOL 371: Tropical Ecosystems: Conservation and Development in Belize
- How can successful conservation work occur such that the well-being of local people is not compromised or even promoted? And how can human-centered development work be done in such a way that the natural ecosystem to which humans belong is not degraded?
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BIO/IDIS 372: Dutch Sustainability: Is Orange the New Green?
- When faced with sustainability challenges, the Dutch have always innovated their way towards a more stable and resilient environment.
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BIOL W80 Puerto Rico: Viral Infections, Vaccine Development, and Valued Biodiversity
- Puerto Rico has one of the highest HIV incidence and death rates in the US, many outbreaks of Dengue Fever, and recently it has been hit hard by the Zika virus. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a branch on the island, which became a center to do research on the Zika outbreak and control measures. Puerto Rico also became a national center for HIV/AIDS vaccine development in 2014.
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BIOL W10 Tropical Ecosystems: Conservation and Development in Central America
- Tropical ecosystems contain the highest concentration of Earth’s biodiversity. Under the pressures of human population growth and resource use, tropical ecosystems are also experiencing the highest rates of biodiversity loss.
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IDIS W60 Sustaining Hawaii
- How do you feed a million people, not to mention plane loads of tourists, in an archipelago that is 2500 miles from everywhere else?
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Galapagos Islands/Amazon Rainforest
- Travel to Ecuador and spend seven days on the Galapagos archipelago and six days living in the Amazon jungle.
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History of Science, Medicine and Religion: London
- Travel to the historically and culturally rich city of London to thoroughly explore the city while learning about the great scientists who pioneered scientific thought.
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Harness the Wind: Learn to Sail
- Immerse yourself in the Florida marine environment while learning the essential techniques of sailing and the physics behind harnessing the wind.
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BIOL W80 Ecology of the Amazon Rainforest
- Participants in this course investigate the ecology, evolution, and natural history of the Amazon rainforest and are introduced to some of the customs and diverse cultures of the Ecuadorian people.
Non-Calvin programs
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Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies
- In this non-Calvin semester program, you will take courses and work in internships related to environmental studies. Study in northern Michigan with its forests, wetlands, lakes and rivers, on the west coast, in Latin America or in Southern India.
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Creation Care Study Program
- In this non-Calvin program, you will study creation care in either Belize or New Zealand/Samoa during the fall or spring semester with students from other Christian colleges and universities.
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Pierce Cedar Creek Institute for Environmental Education
- In this non-Calvin program, undergraduate research grants are available for summer internships at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute for teams of students and their faculty mentors.
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