Fundamentals of Marine Conservation

Turks and Caicos Islands

Summer Session 1

4 Weeks

4 Credits

Summer 2025

Jun 2 - Jul 1

Open

Program Costs

Tuition$6,400
Room & Board$2,550
Total$8,950

Application Deadlines

Summer 2025

March 15, 2025

Resources

TCI Field Guide + Financial Planner

SFS Policies and Procedures (2023)

SFS Academic Handbook (2024)

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Summer Session 1 Program

Fundamentals of Marine Conservation

South Caicos Islands,

Turks and Caicos Islands

Dive under the waves and study marine conservation. Explore the spectacular reefs and turquoise waters of South Caicos, snorkeling or diving with rays, turtles, brilliantly colored fish, and other marine life. In this fundamentals course, you’ll learn about the environmental issues and policies affecting these ecosystems and the island community, and gain the skills needed to conduct marine research.

Swim, dive, or snorkel nearly every day in the tropical western Atlantic – learn marine species identification and population assessment techniques while visiting coral reefs, sea grass beds, mangrove nurseries, sand bars, and small uninhabited cays.
Discuss the ecological impacts of marine protected areas (MPAs) and participate in an assessment survey of the queen conch, an important economic and cultural resource.
Earn your Open Water SCUBA certification. This lifelong certification unlocks years of underwater exploration! Learn more here.

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Academics

This academically rigorous program follows a six-day/week schedule. Each program combines theory learned during classroom sessions with field-based applications. The interdisciplinary curriculum is designed to help students actively discover and understand the complexities of environmental, social, and economic issues in the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Major academic themes include:

Marine ecology and conservation
Climate change and ocean acidification
Marine protected areas
Coastal management
Marine resource management strategies
Sustainable tourism and fisheries practices

Courses

On the Fundamentals of Marine Conservation program, you will take one 4-credit course. This course is participatory in nature and is designed to foster inquiry and active learning combining lectures, field exercises, assignments, and tests. This course is taught in English.

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to view a description and download the syllabus.

SFS 3530

Tropical Marine Ecosystems: Monitoring and Management

4 credits

Core Skills

You will gain practical skills in the field such as: marine species identification and population monitoring, habitat and biodiversity assessment, underwater transects and quadrats, snorkel and scuba skills, coral health survey, quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, and PADI Open Water Diver certification (offered at an additional cost, upon request).

Field Sites

You will visit different ecosystems and communities which may include coral reefs, mangrove islands, seagrass beds, fishing communities, carbonate platform flats, coastal ecosystems, beaches, marine protected areas, numerous shallow-water snorkeling sites, and the historical tourist hub of Providenciales.