• 
A Conservation Challenge Biology Lost Paradise Conservation Opportunity Education is Key
• 
• 
• 
The Program Spring 2012 Curriculum Summer 2012 Curriculum Fall 2012 Curriculum Living Arrangements Request Application Material Cost Pay Tuition/App. Fees Online
• 
• 
General Info How to get to Isabela Before You Leave Packing List Handling Your Money Request More Info
• 
• 
Staff Contact Us By Laws Nondiscriminatory Policy 2006 Financial Report 2007 Financial Report 2008 Financial Report 2009 Financial Report 2010 Financial Report

Summer 2012 Curriculum

The 2012 summer program at IOI is run in affiliation with the University of Miami.

Three intensive short courses will be offered for students interested in Latin American studies, Ecosystem Science and Policy, Epidemiology, Global Public Health, Geography, Acoustics and Journalism.

Tuition costs are standard UM tuition and financial aid applies if applicable. All credits and UM credits and transfer easily to other higher educational institutions. The modest program fee is at cost and comparable to room, board and living costs in the states plus flights and covers housing in Galapagos, all meals, hotels, airport/ferry transfers and excursion costs.

Non-UM students are welcome to join the program and are encouraged to apply.

Our program emphasizes cultural exchange and foreign language immersion, complimented by field-based and hands-on experiences in this unique natural and social environment. Our curricula concentrate on the specific uniqueness of Isabela and the Galapagos Islands.

All our programs are small, competitive, highest academic standard and very personal. Furthermore, all our programs rely on a total cultural immersion concept offering Spanish learning and civic engagement opportunities.

Preliminary Spring Calendar 2012: June 1st – July 2012

Though these are high level classes lower classmen students are encouraged to apply and will be allowed with permission of instructor.

Further Course Descriptions

Syllabus abstract: Ecuador & Galapagos: Managing Mega-diversity

This course introduces Ecuador’s stunning cultural and biological diversity and reflects on how such heritage is currently put to use in the service of national development and a better living for its 16 million people. Combining field activities through the Andes, the Amazon and Galapagos regions, classroom discussions and readings, the course explores the opportunities of cultural and ecological tourism, non-traditional exports and participatory sustainable development. We will also reflect on threats arising from the epidemiological transition and resource over-extraction in a developing society, which lives in an environment with ever-present risks of natural disasters and disruptions.
With an emphasis on practical learning, course participants are expected to develop proposals for sustainable local development that may address issues such as e.g. economic growth, environmental management and conservation, social inclusion, public health, advancement of cultural rights, infrastructure upgrades, education, etc. Students enrolled in the graduate track (500 level) are expected to support their recommendations with reliable primary data collected during the course. Projects that include geo-spatial techniques and analysis are eligible to apply course credits to the Department of Geography’s GIS Certificate. Longer-stay, volunteer and internship opportunities are available for additional credits.

Syllabus abstract: Environment, Culture and the Music of Darwin - research, writing and environmental acoustics
The six-credit course integrates every aspect of the environment and culture of the Galapagos Islands into the daily life of students. It is designed to provide an unparalleled learning experience for students working at close quarters with giant land tortoises, marine iguanas, penguins, sea lions and blue-footed boobies. Students and professors work on the beaches and in the lava fields of the Galapagos, on the slopes of volcanoes, among the shops and trades people and fishermen in the few towns and with farmers growing vegetables in the highlands. They record the sounds of the exotic creatures of the Galapagos and the sounds of the wind, the rain and the sea and then intensively and extensively write about their experience. It heightens their awareness and sensitivity to the sounds of the wild and it makes them better analysts and writers.

Students learn about and practice individual and group interviews, observation techniques and a range of writing formats across all platforms, from Twitter blasts to chapters in books, essays, office memos and news and news feature articles. They learn to capture and analyze the sounds of nature and how to make them accessible to others. They keep daily journals and write reports. Students will write material that will be distributed with the DVD, including a booklet intended to capture the entire student experience.

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.