SFS Study Abroad: Tropical Island Biodiversity in Panama
- Panama
- Bocas del Toro
About Program
SFS offers some of the best (and most adventurous!) hands-on study abroad programs. Our programs in Panama explore pressing environmental issues such as the delicate balance in tropical island ecosystems, climate change, and biodiversity conservation. Students learn through outdoor lectures, hands-on field exercises, and activities with community members and area NGOs.
The SFS Panama campus, once a beachfront hotel, sits among the slender palms and warm sands of Isla Colón. Lush rainforests, hundreds of mangrove islands, and coral reefs teeming with diverse marine life, the Bocas del Toro archipelago is a vibrant living laboratory for studying tropical biodiversity. The laidback tourist hub of Bocas Town is a short taxi ride away, with access to shops, restaurants, and a vibrant culture that is as unique as the mix of people who live here.
Click on Visit Site above to learn more about studying abroad in Panama with SFS!
Video and Photos
Program Highlights
- Earn academic credit: 18 credits for semester programs and 4 credits for summer programs. Conduct a 4-credit research project during the semester program.
- This island chain is populated by everything from hummingbirds and howler monkeys to stingrays, dolphins, sloths, and brightly colored poison dart frogs.
- Spend a day in Ngäbe communities: Speak with local Indigenous leaders, visit a women’s co-op, and take a forest walk with a local guide.
- Visit the Pacific coast and the mountains of Boquete: Explore the Gulf of Chiriquí National Marine Park, take a canopy walk through cloud forest, and tour a sustainable coffee farm.
- SFS Panama semester research topics may include rainforest and marine biodiversity, tourism impacts, ecosystem health, community livelihoods and perceptions, climate change impacts, and marine protected areas.
Popular Programs

Spend a semester in the dynamic community of Bocas del Toro, where you will spend your days exploring coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds studying sea stars, turtles, rays, dolphins, and schools of tropical fish. Go behind the scenes of this “paradise” and study the impacts of tourism and development on the archipelago’s unique habitats. Design and conduct a field research project.
5 classes | 18 credits | One life-changing study abroad experience.

Snorkel and hike through the diverse environments of Bocas – from coral reefs and mangroves to beaches and rainforests – and study human impacts, such as tourism, on the island’s ecosystems and communities. Meet with area residents who depend on both tourism and natural resources and learn about current approaches to sustainable development in the archipelago.
1 class | 4 credits | One life-changing study abroad experience.
Scholarships

The School for Field Studies Scholarships
SFS works closely with your home school to help you fund your SFS program. Many applicants receive aid through their home institutions or other outside sources, so check with your financial aid office to see what aid may apply to an SFS program.