Study USA

Portal, Arizona

Ecology and Evolution of Sky Island Biodiversity

BISC 479 or ENVS 399

• Credit Hours: 3
• Instructor: Dr. Jason Hoeksema, Associate Professor of Biology
• Dates: On campus: May 11-12, 2015; On Location: May 13-23, 2015
• Cost: $995 plus tuition
• Application deadline: April 6

Itinerary subject to change. Please verify specific dates with instructor and confirm that the course has adequate enrollment to make before making travel arrangements.

To Register

Click here to download registration forms.

Students will:

• Travel to the diverse and beautiful “Sky Island” mountain and deserts of southeastern Arizona
• Gain hands-on field study experience with local researchers, potentially examining plants, bats, reptiles, or insects with a special emphasis on birds
• Visit the world-renowned Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
• Explore the American Museum of Natural History’s Southwestern Research Station in the Chiricahua Mountains
• Learn about the representative organisms and natural history of each local habitat

Location:

Students will spend May 11-12 on campus in Oxford for lectures and then travel to Arizona to continue learning about biodiversity from May 13-23. The group will be in Tucson on May 13 and Green Valley on May 14, before traveling to Portal, Arizona for the remainder of the stay.

Who should go?

This course is for both biology and non-biology majors. Biology students should have completed BISC 160, 161, 162, and 163 before May Intersession and should register for BISC 479. There are no pre-requisites for non-biology majors, who should sign up for ENVS 399 if interested. Student groups who may be particularly interested include Ole Miss Birders, Ole Miss Outdoors, and the Office of Sustainability.

Dates:

The dates are May 11- 23, 2015. Students will attend on-campus lectures during the first two days. They will spend the remainder of the time in Arizona, where they will study under the guidance of the instructor and local researchers.

Travel:

Students will make their own arrangements to and from Tucson, Arizona.  The University will provide group ground transportation from Tucson to the other sites in Arizona and then back to Tucson for departure on May 23.

Costs:

The course fee is $995 plus tuition. Included in the course fee are accommodations, meals from May 15-23, ground transportation in Arizona, tours, and admissions. Excluded from the course fee are the Study USA application fee, tuition, meals except for those noted above, airport transportation, airfare, and personal spending money.