Highlights

This program takes advantage of the unparalleled resources provided by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the largest and most important tropical biology research center in the world. Learning occurs continuously--in the field, in homestays, and in the classroom. Students quickly discover the extraordinary ecological and cultural attributes of Panama, home to one of the world's most diverse wildlife and plant environments.

Visit research stations, renewable energy projects, watersheds, tropical rainforests, and marine ecosystems.
Seminar lectures are paired with field components in order to give students direct experience with the multidimensional factors, challenges, and demands involved in building a more sustainable future.

Lectures will take place on large- and small-scale farms, in coastal ecosystems, tropical rain forests, research labs, and other relevant venues. Examples of field work could include:

Learning about overfishing in relation to globalization and sustainability through field work in Bocas del Toro
A field day at an estuary to take water measurements as part of the unit on water science.
The Smithsonian Institute has research stations in multiple provinces throughout Panama, which students will be able to access during the program.

Study in the historic city of David. Take advantage of the ecological treasures of Chiriqui.
The program spends two weeks in David, a 400 year old provincial city and the third largest urban population in Panama. Situated in the western-most province of Chiriqui, bordering Costa Rica and the Pacific Ocean, the city's proximity to the La Amistad UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the Gulf of Chiriqui National Marine Park make it an ideal setting from which to study the environment.

Chiriqui is an exceptional location to examine resource management. The province is home to agricultural production, hydropower generation, and industrial shrimping, as well as artisanal fishing, subsistence farming, forest conservation, and mangrove clamming. The myriad ways in which Chiricanos interact with their environment and perceive the natural resource base provide students unique opportunities to gain insight into diverse views of sustainability, globalization, and their conceptual applications.

While in Chiriqui Province, students focus on water science, renewable energy, and food security. Onsite components include visits to major river watersheds, farms that run exclusively on renewable energy, controversial hydroelectric projects, subsistence farms, artisanal fisherman, and organic producers who cultivate their land inside the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

During this period, students will live with homestay families near the program center.

Advance your Spanish
Regardless of level, all students can gain new skills in Spanish through the program's intensive language component. Held in David, instruction is provided in small group formats by local university professors. Students can also improve their speaking skills through conversations with host family members and during field visits.

Extend your stay to conduct field research or a service learning project
If desired, students have the option to remain in Panama for up to eight weeks to carry out a service learning project or an academic research project. Students will be assigned a field advisor who will supervise their work remotely and evaluate their performance. Students may craft their own projects with the approval of SIT and the advisor or potentially work on an existing project.

Sample topics for the field research project include:

* Population inventory of an endangered primate species in a protected area
* Tree species distribution in a threatened forest
* Changes in water quality on a downstream transect in a populated watershed.

Service learning project examples include:
* Helping organize an urban community garden
* Building latrines in a rural village
* Assisting on a water distribution project in a community that resides within a protected area.
* Students will be expected to devote 30 hours per week to their project.

Degree Level

Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$:

please contact us

Cost Includes:

Cost Include Description:

SIT Study Abroad program fees include all courses, educational excursions, health insurance, and full room and board (all meals and accommodation) for the entire program period. Fees and additional expenses are based on all known circumstances at the time of calculation. Due to the unique nature of our programs and the economics of host countries, SIT reserves the right to change its fees or additional expenses without notice.

Credit Available

no

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participant.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Guest House
• Home-stays

Participants Travel to Panama

Independently

Application Process Involves

• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Physical Exam/Health Records

Typically The Application Process Time is

Post Services Include

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Job and Internship Network

SIT Study Abroad's Mission Statement

A pioneer in experiential, field-based study abroad, SIT offers semester, summer, and academic year programs for undergraduate students in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as comparative programs in multiple locations.

Programs focus on critical global issues in specific geographical and cultural contexts using an interdisciplinary approach. Studying with host country faculty and living with families, students gain a deep appreciation for local cultures and become immersed in diverse topics ranging from the politics of identity to post-conflict transformation, from global health to environmental policy. 

Year Founded

1932