OTS Tropical Biology Summer Field Course in Costa Rica

This course was terrific! We had learning experiences both outside and inside the classroom. During our stay in Costa Rica, we visited four biological stations. We went on multiple hikes, during which our professor gave us mini-lectures based on the interesting plants and animals we saw. We also attended lectures given by other scientists working at the biological stations and learned about their research. For faculty-led projects, we had the opportunity to work closely with experienced researchers. We also practiced writing scientific papers and giving presentations. Besides, there were plenty of fun activities—watching alligators, catching bats with mist nets, observing quetzal birds, to name a few. Words can never do justice to the wonders I saw in Costa Rica. I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in nature and science!

Excellent course , full of wonderful experiences, learning, nature and great people. I think this is a vey good opportunity to learn a lot of basic and very important ecological aspects of tropical environments and put your hands in the ground, I mean, having the opportunity to practice what you learn inmediatelly in a natural environment. Costa Rica is a beautiful country and the natural reserves of the Organization for Tropical Studies are just amazing.
Teachers are great and I think that having the chance to meet people very passionate about nature from all over the world and is wonderful. I think it could be nice to have one day per week as free time for resting a little because sometimes the activities performed were physically exhausting.

This was a really fun program. Only six students and two leaders were in the program, which was a little intimidating at first, but ultimately it made us all rather close. The course was somewhat loose, with us doing different activities every day, but was anchored in three research projects at each of the main research stations. I liked this approach, because it allowed for a lot of exploration and asking questions.

Overall, I feel like I learned a lot. I think I would have preferred having a few more people on the trip, but otherwise, I really enjoyed it.