SFS Study Abroad: Marine Ecosystems in the Turks & Caicos Islands

It seems like this program has changed a lot since the Hurricane in 2017. The staff has turned over, rules have gotten stricter, and overall program quality seems to have decreased (unfortunately). Academics aren't too difficult but lots of busy work and boring class time restricts your time out in the field (classes are 8am to 6pm M, T, Th, F while the semester is in full swing). Lectures could have been cut in half with the same content covered. On Wednesday and Saturday you have waterfront and community service time, but due to bad planning we lost our Wednesdays during the second half of the semester. Directed research projects, advertised as a highlight for the program, only have 10 field days and really only happen during the last two weeks of the semester. Added on to this is the way the staff treats you- like a middle schooler. Curfew, no kitchen entry, have to sign out if you want to swim, not allowed to stand or move in boats (even though many students can drive boats better than the staff), etc... Its degrading and endlessly frustrating (they even went as far as to put up barbed wire and security cameras because they didn't trust us). As someone who just wanted to explore South Caicos and participate in a field studies focused program, I felt this program did not live up to many of my expectations. I had tons of fun times on South and may be a little harsh in my review, but it was hard to look past all these shortcomings during my time abroad with SFS.

The SFS Turks and Caicos staff are for the most part great people, but unfortunately, you are treated like you are a little kid on the program. No, you cannot go in the kitchen unless you are supervised. No, you cannot go out past 10pm. Additionally, you have very little freedom to explore the local culture and do what you would like to do because you are in the classroom from 8am to 5pm most days and on top of that you have multiple group projects a week along with extensive readings each day (and no the class time, readings, and group projects don't slow down or stop at any point in the semester). Did I mention that there is a curfew so as soon as you finish with that a**load of work, it is already past the time when you are able to engage with the local culture? Yeah, this program made many people cry because of how difficult it was. If you're going abroad to learn about marine biology rather than to experience a local culture and enjoy yourself, go ahead. However, even if you are going solely to learn, this program lies to you about the field research you have to complete. If you think this program is great because of the large amount of field research you get to do--you're wrong. Throughout the program you're told that the last month is dedicated entirely to field research--LIE. You get a single weeks worth of field research and many people get field assignments that they hate. Just want to throw in this quote that an SFS staff member told several students halfway through the program--"Most people end up hating this program by Thanksgiving." Don't go. You'll regret it. I hear great things about the School for International Training if you'd like to not hate your program but still do field research.

Studying abroad in South Caicos was an absolutely life changing experience. From being surrounded and immersed by living in the beautiful Caribbean, to meeting lifelong friends, I would recommend anyone even remotely interested giving it a chance. Detached from the "real world" and not always glued to our phones or computers also put many of us in a position to really take time to develop personally, something I am forever grateful for. This coupled with a group of students and staff who feel like family, make the whole program entirely worthwhile. South Caicos stole my heart and I have no doubt I'll be back soon!

I began looking into studying abroad between my freshmen and sophomore year. My study abroad office and academic advisor gave me the SFS program and I saw that they had a program in Turks and Caicos. At first, I was wary of going to a secluded island where they don't have a major town or city near by, but after going on a dive trip I decided that I needed to go to TCI because I loved diving and being in the water so much; and let me tell you it was the best decision I have ever made. The staff are all amazing people who are genuine and want to help you succeed. I loved being able to be out in the field almost every day. The locals are so nice and I really recommend getting to know them. The field station itself truly became home. I loved all the little events that our SAM put on for us like spa night, volleyball tournaments, and of course trivia night. This experience was definitely life changing for the better! When I tell people about my experience, I tell them I cried on my way there (I was nervous) and I cried on the way back (I didn't want to leave my second family). This program has helped me determine that I do want to go into the marine field, pursue grad school, and who knows, maybe even end up back on South as an intern.

When I was looking for study abroad programs I had my heart set on going somewhere like London or Sydney. My mom found this program and told me I should look into it more. I ended up choosing this program because of the unique opportunities that it provided. The appeal of studying in a place like London is that you have the ability to travel in Europe. Well, you can do that at any age. There are extremely limited opportunities for you to live on an island in the Caribbean for three and a half months while scuba diving and exploring the coral reefs. This is the adventure everyone needs while they're growing up. This trip changed so many of my perspectives from a cultural view and really provided the unparalleled adventure that I was looking for. I am not a Marine Science major or even a Biology major, I'm and Environmental Studies major, so you should not be worried about not having the proper educational foundation when entering the program. If you're on the fence about it, all I have to say is do it! You just might surprise yourself.

The Turks and Caicos program offered through the School for Field Studies is one of the most unique and rewarding experiences I have ever had. Essentially, you are grouped together with 35ish other students who will become some of your best friends, 10 or so faculty members that will become some of your most helpful advisors, professors, and friends you will have as well as 1,200 local residents, fisherman, shop owners, and children who will accept you as soon as you step onto their island.
The facilities were perfect for the experience I was looking for: a place where I could unplug, relax, perform rewarding research and learning how to dive. The diving was fantastic and extremely unique. While people may give you weird looks when you tell them where you went abroad but that just gives you an excuse to brag.
You will not regret going to this program. It's life changing.

This study abroad program was an amazing experience. I gained so much knowledge and experience at the Center for Marine Resource Studies. I was able to go snorkeling almost everyday as part of class work and just for fun. I swam with turtles, sharks, spotted eagle rays, and so many other types of fish. As part of the semester each student works on a directed research project. For mine I spent every night catching lemon sharks. I had an amazing time throughout the semester. I learned a lot about the ocean, marine resources, and myself.

It was our last snorkel before the storm was going to hit and our whole class went out. We were expecting stronger currents and not much marine life, but we were wrong! Right as we jumped off the side of the boat into the warm ocean water we were greeted by a group of spotted eagle rays. They are such majestic and graceful creatures as they seamlessly cut through the water. As we swam around, the rays swam through and past us without even giving us a second thought. I remember at one point I swam over one and it's wing span was as long as I was tall! It was incredible.