Undergraduate Opportunities
A commitment to providing practical, rigorous, and unique learning activities for tomorrow’s conservation-minded professionals is evident throughout the work of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI). Training undergraduates reflects SCBI’s commitment to providing educational opportunities for students throughout their academic tenure.
Undergraduate training is a crucial piece of the mission to prepare tomorrow’s conservation leaders, a necessary complement to the long-standing graduate and professional educational programs. These opportunities answer the contemporary calls for more integrative undergraduate conservation curricula with emphasis on problem-solving, critical thinking, experiential learning, and contextual comprehension of biological issues, within a social, political and economic context.
Smithsonian-Mason Undergraduate Semester in Conservation Studies
The Smithsonian Institution and George Mason University have formed the Smithsonian-Mason Global Conservation Studies Program, which prides itself on providing unique academic conservation experiences. A highlight of this collaboration is the Smithsonian-Mason Undergraduate Semester in Conservation Studies conducted at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, USA. The curriculum of 16 credit hours is an interdisciplinary set of classes designed to comprise as an experiential, hands-on learning environment.
All undergraduate university students in biological, wildlife, environmental and ecology sciences are encouraged to apply, as are those individuals seeking to gain a broad conservation perspective to apply to other fields, such as economics, business, journalism, and others. The semester constitutes a minor in conservation studies, and faculty will work together with home institutions in the transfer of credit hours.
With unparalleled interactions with the scientists, researchers, and resource managers of SCBI and George Mason University, who also serve as guest lecturers, these undergraduates are introduced to the nuances and challenges of conservation through a semester as immersive as many abroad.
