Marine Science Gap Year: Andros, Bahamas

6 amazing weeks of marine science education, meeting like-minded people who are passionate about the ocean, getting scuba and wilderness first aid certified! Get to live on the beach in cute cabins and experience Andros culture alongside people your age and amazing staff! Get open water and advanced PADI diving license, wilderness first aid, leave no trace certification, and ACA kayaking levels 1&2. Amazing land experiences going to various blue holes, and sea days of snorkeling reefs, wrecks, and scuba diving!

The six-week Marine Science Program at Forfar Field Station in absolutely amazing! International Field Studies has been operating outstanding programs at the field station on Andros Island for over 50 years. A cohort of like-minded college students are engaged in coursework, field lectures, hands-on learning and research, experiential labs, interviews with conservationists, service projects, and tons of snorkeling and diving in pristine reefs. Topics range from coral biology and conservation, marine invertebrates, reef fish identification, sustainable fisheries, bonefishing, ecotourism, botany, and island geology with many opportunities to engage with local islanders. Certifications include wilderness first aid, leave no trace, kayaking and PADI basic and advanced diving. Last, but not least, life-long friends are made while having tons of fun. Cleary, Forfar has it all! The instructors and staff are extremely knowledgeable, dedicated and absolutely love what they do! The upfront planning and communication with families well in advance of the trip was extremely well organized and thorough. The home office staff in Columbus, Ohio were always available for any questions that arose throughout the process. The accommodations are historic and rustic, providing the setting for a truly authentic experience. My son attended the program in 2021 and absolutely loved everything about it! Definitely one of the best experiences of his life! Be prepared to be totally immersed in a life where priorities are different, life is meaningful, bonds form seamlessly among peers, staff and locals and life is lived to its fullest.

Some travel experiences are pure fun. Some are about learning. And this is the perfect marriage of both! If you are into (marine) science, nature, culture, camaraderie, and the great outdoors - this is a trip for you. Between the science labs and lectures, hiking, blue holes, learning to SCUBA dive, visiting local artisans, kayaking, and camping there are lots and lots of opportunity for scientific learning, personal growth, and unique adventures.

The Forfar staff and volunteers are all friendly, helpful, and rather accommodating. Not only are they interested in ensuring a great learning experience, they are very careful with safety too.

You'll love it!

FORFAR is a great program for students interested in the marine sciences and marine conservation and who want to get their scuba certification. Andros is a beautiful island in the Bahamas that is rich with marine life. The marine sciences education my son received and the friends he made is something he will never forget.
The staff at FORFAR are very friendly and helpful and made my son a delicious Bahamian dinner for his 20th birthday!

I think this program is great for students who are seeking adventure and who are ready to be put out of their comfort zone in a safe environment.

Doing part of my gap year at Forfar was the best decision ever! First of all, waking up and seeing the ocean 20 steps from your cabin is how I wish I woke up everyday. I learned so much while I was there! One thing i really loved was how the learning was so hands on. we’d go snorkeling or diving, then come back to the station and learn about all the different organisms we saw, which is really incredible! The staff was amazing and really made me passionate about learning about the environment. I met the most amazing people that are like family to me now as well. Basically, if you’re considering doing this program, DO IT!!

At the station you wake up every morning and see the coolest sunrises. Seriously the visuals on Andros are amazing, whether you were surrounded by banana holes or were diving in the water. The staff here are very friendly they make you feel right at home, get you excited for all kinds of activities and create a comfortable environment. I learned about botany, herps, birds, corals, and fish. During this program you learn very hands on. I say DO IT even if you're not think about a major regarding this.

I first came to Andros and Forfar with Hocking college as part of the Eco-tourism and Adventure Travel program. I had been studying and working as a naturalist already but the experience here showed me things I never would have considered. I gained a love and appreciation for the ocean that I never would have had coming from Ohio. I learned so much about marine biology as well as bush medicine and geology all of which I am now passionate about. This new experience helped me further understand the directions I wanted to go down later in life.

On top of the amazing book knowledge I gained many social skills and understandings from living in close quarters with a group of peers. The experience taught me about how I manage myself in social situations and led to a large personal growth.

This experience, along with a few others, eventually led me back down to Andros where I was hired as part of the Educational Staff at Forfar!

I went to Forfar Field Station in January/February of 2014 through the Ecotourism and Adventure Travel major with Hocking College. The experience definitely had a lasting impact on my life and inspired me to pursue a career in SCUBA diving. During my 6 week stay at Forfar we learned about geology, biology, icthyology (fish ID), dendrology (tree ID), coral identification, sea kayaking, windsurfing, sailing & got my Open Water and Advanced Open Water SCUBA certifications. The staff at the field station has always been super friendly and helpful, from the directors to the interns to the local Bahamian staff that cooks and works on the facilities or Daddy Cool who works as as security guard- everyone makes you feel welcome.

Andros has the third largest barrier reef in the world, so you can imagine that the diving is pretty good! We saw all sorts of critters in the ocean. Some of what we saw were sharks, rays, parrot fish, crabs, octopus, squids, BIG fish, etc. I enjoyed this program and specifically the diving so much that I kept taking diving courses when I returned home and am now a SCUBA instructor and manage a dive shop.

I still keep in touch with the members of my group and maintain good friendships with a few of them. When you spend 6 weeks on an island with a group of people you form some really solid bonds.

All in all I think this program is a great way for people who are taking a gap year to be introduced to a new culture, a scientific way of thinking, and put out of their comfort zone enough to experience some real growth.