Madagascar - Biodiversity, Culture, and Conservation

Location: Madagascar

Dates: July 5 – August 1, 2020

Credits Offered: 6 credits

• Undergraduates: ANTHP 401.80 (Comparative Primate Ecosystems) and ANTHP 401.81 (Madagascar Biodiversity, Culture, and Conversation)
• Graduates: ANTHP 791.66 (Comparative Primate Ecosystems) and ANTHP 791.67 (Madagascar Biodiversity, Culture, and Conversation)

Application Deadline: March 17, 2020

Program Fee: $2,100 (estimate) includes housing, food, books, supplies, local transportation, excursions, and international health and travel insurance. TUITION and AIRFARE are NOT included in the program fee. All students are responsible for arriving at their study abroad location by the first day of the program; this may mean flying the day before.

Payment Schedule: $350 application fee and deposit is due with the application. $1,750 (program fee balance; estimate) is due March 31, 2020. Payments must be made with certified check or money order. No cash, personal checks, or credit cards. Payments should be made at the Office of Education Abroad during office hours.

Students are responsible for meeting the payment deadline regardless of funding source, i.e. Macaulay Opportunities Fund, scholarships, loans, or any other type of financial aid. Late fees will be applied to all delayed payments.

Financial Aid: Please be sure to meet with the Financial Aid Office to discuss your particular financial aid package.

Scholarships: Students interested in applying for the Gilman Scholarship should email Stephen Lassonde at ops@hunter.cuny.edu. Visit our Scholarships Page for more opportunities.

This program offers students the unique opportunity to explore Madagascar's rich biological and cultural diversity, and learn about the major conservation challenges to preserving both people and place. Students will learn and implement methods used to measure, catalogue, and monitor biodiversity across diverse ecosystems, including rainforest, dry deciduous tropical forest, spiny desert, mangrove swamps and coral reefs. Instruction will occur via formal lectures and hands-on field recitations, where students will participate in stream ecology assessment, botanical sampling methods, pitfall trapping of invertebrates, herpetological assessments, mist netting of understory birds, small mammal trapping, and surveys of non-human primates.

Students will also spend two weeks studying lemurs in contrasting ecosystems: Ranomafana National Park, a montane rain forest site located in southeastern Madagascar, and Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, a lowland dry forest site located in southwestern Madagascar. Throughout the program, students will be exposed to Malagasy language and culture, visit several local historical sites, receive informal training in the Malagasy language, meet with local conservation experts and authorities, interact with international field biologists, and participate in a variety of cultural activities.

Credits & Grades

Students in this program will receive both credits and letter grades. Grades will count toward their Hunter GPA.

Requirements

Students applying to this program must be comfortable with modest living accommodations that include both dormitory-style living (bunk beds, communal meals, shared access to showers and bathrooms, regular electricity) and tent camping (minimal infrastructure, drop latrines, solar electricity in the evenings). Access to internet will be limited or absent during parts of the trip.

Students must be physically fit enough to walk for several hours on uneven and sometimes mountainous terrain. Students must also be able to cope with extended periods of cold and rain, as this trip will take place during Madagascar's austral winter (temperatures range from 50 to 60º F). Students participating in the program must be vaccinated for typhoid, and comply with any health requirements from their doctors, as malaria is a risk.

Application Requirements: In addition to completing the study abroad application forms, those wishing to apply must complete the following requirements:

• One recommendation from a faculty member who has worked with or taught the student within the last 2 years. Faculty should use the Faculty Recommendation (PDF) to submit their recommendation.
• Interview and approval from the faculty member(s) teaching the course.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites with respect to major/minor, etc. No specific language or lab experience required.

All applicants must fulfill the general eligibility requirements along with this program's prerequisites.