Study at IOI
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Through our partner the Polytechnic University of Guayaquil – ESPOL – IOI offers a rare opportunity to study abroad in the Galapagos. Our undergraduate program is designed in two ways: short programs for winter intersession, Spring Break and Summer and full exchange semesters in the Fall and Spring. |
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IOI offers a rare opportunity to study abroad in the Galapagos. Our undergraduate program is designed in two ways: we offer short programs for winter intersession, Spring Break and Summer and full exchange semesters in the Fall and Spring.
Monique G. (19) says IOI “makes this trip a life experience that all should have. The two weeks I spent on Isabela was definitely the most fun I’ve had anywhere in my life and I can’t wait to go back!”
The classes are taught by a rotating group of internationally renowned professors coming from the best universities in marine and environmental sciences worldwide (USA, Europe, Ecuador). The curriculum concentrates on the specific uniqueness of Isabela and the Galapagos Islands. It is a hands-on, field course-based experience with emphasis on cultural exchange and immersion. We take the classroom to the field. From penguins to iguanas, from sharks to tortoises, from salt marshes and beaches to volcano peeks – all hands on in areas no tourist ever gets to see!
The cap on students each semester is 15 in order to provide for a size group with an effective Professor – Student interaction.
Our short programs are 2 – 3 weeks long, worth 3 credits. During the full semester abroad experience students earn 15 credits (+3 optional internship credits) and live in host families for full cultural immersion. Accreditation and academic stewardship is provided via a transcript through one of the leading universities in South America, the Escuela Politecnica Superior de Litoral (a polytechnic university headquartered in Guayaquil, Ecuador).
Christine Q. (20) says her experience at IOI “was truly amazing, different, beautiful, informational, fun, peaceful, funny, surprising, volcanic, oceanic, and Galapagonian all at the same time. I would go back in a second!”
The program is designed in 5 course blocks and each course is 3 weeks long – the professors rotate, the students stay. Upon arrival in Galapagos students get an important cultural orientation to prepare for living with families in Galapagos with respect and understanding for the people and the environment. The homestay is a basic principle of IOI that gives each student and host family intensive intercultural and Spanish/English language exchange.
A regular day at IOI looks like this: a seminar/lecture in the morning including theoretical background material and then time for individual projects; fieldwork during the afternoon; and an overview discussion of the day's work before dinner. Throughout the 12 weeks on Isabela, every interning student under the mentorship of community members and IOI staff will participate in community service and conservation projects.
*Note: A homestay coordinator who keep in close contact with IOI staff will be available to council both the host families and the students.
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS
The Isabela Oceanographic Institute admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.