Location
  • Ecuador
    • Quito
    • Galapagos
Term
Fall, Spring
Subject Areas
Biology Botany Conservation and Preservation Natural Sciences
Need-based funding, Merit-based funding, General grants/scholarships, BIPOC funding
Health & Safety

Program Details

Program Type
Direct Enrollment
Degree Level
Bachelors
Housing
Host Family
Language
Spanish

Pricing

Starting Price
20148
What's Included
Some Activities Airport Transfers Classes Travel Insurance
Jan 03, 2025
Jul 01, 2025
7 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

You will live like a biologist as you explore the Amazon basin, the Andes, cloud forests, Pacific Ocean coastline, and the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador—unique climatic niches that harbor ecological treasures and a plethora of flora and fauna. Within these diverse and vulnerable settings, you will conduct biological fieldwork, studying plants and insects, taking soil samples, conducting species counts, using mist nets, and observing birds. You will also have the opportunity to live with two different homestay families: in capital city of Quito and the rural cloud forest.

See for yourself the importance of Ecuador’s biota as you learn from researchers during excursions to the Andean páramo highlands, the Amazon Region, and the Cloud Forest of North-Western Ecuador. You will also spend a week exploring the Galápagos Islands by land and sea.

Video and Photos

Diversity & Inclusion 💙

Program Highlights

  • Study biology and ecology in one of the world’s most biodiverse countries.
  • Visit the Andes, the cloud forests, the Amazon basin, and the Galápagos Islands.
  • Live like a biologist: use field research methods to study plants and animals.
  • Study in beautiful Quito and live with a local host family.

Program Reviews

4.88 Rating
based on 25 reviews
  • 5 rating 88%
  • 4 rating 12%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Academics 4.55
  • Support 4.8
  • Fun 4.75
  • Housing 4.65
  • Safety 4.5
Showing 1 - 8 of 25 reviews
Default avatar
Jacob
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

One of the Best Decisions I've Made

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1 person found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Peyton
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

The Most I've Ever Learned

SIT Ecuador was an incredibly challenging, but incredibly rewarding semester. I am an ecological and evolutionary biology major in New York City, so I had not had many field experiences before this program. I have now stayed on an island in the Amazon River Basin for 3 weeks by myself researching monkey behavior. Throughout the program I learned how to conduct my own research, write papers, and analyze data. I had a heavier work load than typical semesters, but the field excursions that caused them were well worth the late nights. The professors are incredibly knowledgeable and genuinely care about the students. I could not have asked for a better program.

8 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Grace
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

SIT Ecuador: A hands-on, thorough, supportive program that makes learning fun

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Pros
  • Hands-on classes
  • Supportive professors
  • Traveling/excursions
Cons
  • Feedback on assignments was confusing
112 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Danielle
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

3 Months of Gaining Independence while Adventuring throughout Ecuador's Unique Ecosystems

I loved the experiential learning that this program offered. With a greater independence in our projects, I became a lot more confident as a student and a scientist. The academic rigor of this program made it all the more rewarding. The leaders of our program, Xavier, Ana María, and Diana, were all very knowledgeable and available whenever assistance was needed. As a part of our courses, we had the opportunity to travel all throughout Ecuador - the Andes Mountains, the Cloud Forest, the Amazon, and the Galapagos. Another irreplaceable outcome from this program was the friends for life that I made.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
Snorkeling in the Galapagos with sea lions and sea turtles!
163 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Ella
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

An Unforgettable Adventure

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What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
We got snorkel off the boat every day we stayed on the Nemo III in the Galápagos! I had never been snorkeling, so the entire experience - wetsuits and all - was astonishing. My favorite part was getting surprised by a group of sea lions who swam up to us and played with us underwater! It was one of my very favorite parts of the entire trip!
168 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Tessa
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

An Unbelievable Opportunity

This program is very different from a lot of study abroad experiences. For one, you get to explore every ecosystem of Ecuador: from the dry forest to the cloud forest to the Amazon to the Galapagos. You get to see first hands the characteristics of these different natural places, along with the history and culture of the people that live within them. During this program, I also gained a large sense of self respect and self sufficiency. I learned to be level-headed and make solid decisions quickly and effectively. There were so many opportunities to work my peers and improve my ability to write scientific reports and communicate with those around me. I also met so many incredible people and had the opportunity to practice my Spanish speaking and comprehension.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
During the Amazon excursions, we went boating late at night on this huge, beautiful lagoon to find caimans. We were able to find out that was nearly 15 feet long.
184 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Ellie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Exploring Ecuador Through Fieldwork, Travel, and Spanish Immersion

This was an incredible semester experience that allowed me to pursue my academic interests (biology/environmental science/animal behavior), improve my Spanish skills, learn a lot about a new culture, experience places and things I would never have been able to as a tourist, and make some life-long friends. The excursions included so much more than I imagined and I really enjoyed the hands-on learning approach. The program staff was fantastic and really prioritized our understanding. All of the students in the program were extremely passionate people who took the experience seriously and worked hard.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Every student came into this program from a different background. Although the majority of students had studied biology/environmental science at their home institutions, there were others who had studied music/English/etc. Everyone's Spanish skills were also very different and everyone improved so much. There was also a wide diversity of experience as it related to research and fieldwork. All this being said, don't let your experiences prior to going abroad make you feel like this won't be a good fit.
187 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Renee
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great opportunity for travel, field learning, and research

This study abroad provided valuable learning in the field, as well as experience in research and academic writing. The adventurous excursions to observe plants, animals, adaptations and symbiotic relationships, environmental impact and conservation efforts, field research methods, and much much more resulted in a rewarding and "once in a lifetime" experience, while being interspersed with regular class time and assignments to improve scientific writing, spanish language skills, and general ecological knowledge. This mix made for a semester full of flexibility, rigor, fun, and lots of new things. The homestay provided additional experience with the culture and the language. All together, this program created a study abroad that will benefit students well beyond the end of the semester. I thoroughly enjoyed my SIT Ecuador: comparative ecology and conservation semester and will never forget the lasting friendships and connections that were formed during the semester.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
Too many to count! The Galapagos was definitely a highlight - seeing iguanas, tortoises, sea trutles, sharks, rays, eels, penguins, finches, and much much more!
180 people found this review helpful.

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