Study USA

Portal, Arizona

Ecology and Evolution of Sky Island Biodiversity

BISC 380 or ENVS 399

• Credit hours: 3 or 4
• Instructor: Dr. Jason Hoeksema, Associate Professor of Biology
• Dates: On campus: None; On Location: July 15-27 2018
• Cost: $1,195 plus tuition
• Application Deadline: June 1, 2018

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To Register

Click here to download registration forms.

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

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 travel to Arizona to learn about biodiversity from July 15-27, 2018. The group will be in Tucson on July15 and Sierra Vista on July 16, before traveling to Portal, Arizona for the remainder of the stay.

Who should go?

This course is open to all majors. Students seeking Biology credit should have completed BISC 160, 161, 162, and 163 before the course begins and should register for BISC 380. Other students should sign up for ENVS 399, for which there are no prerequisites, and which can be counted toward and Environmental Studies minor. Student groups who may be particularly interested include Ole Miss Birders, Ole Miss Outdoors, and the Office of Sustainability.

Dates:

The dates are July 15- 27, 2018. Students will study under the guidance of the instructor and local researchers in Arizona.

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 August 11.

Costs:

The course fee is $1,195 plus tuition. Included in the course fee are accommodations, meals from July 18-27, 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.