Jun 2 - Jul 2
Jun 3 - Jul 2
None
Rainforests are shrinking, but hope is not lost. In this program, you’ll learn how environmental and social factors have contributed to forest fragmentation in the spectacular, once-vast rainforests of Australia. Learn about endangered species management practices, natural resource use in indigenous communities, and approaches to ecosystem restoration.
Application deadlines:
Summer 1 – April 1
Follow SFS Australia on Instagram
SFS provides a comprehensive study abroad experience during a 6-day/week program schedule. SFS delivers the highest level of support and an unparalleled academic experience. This program is not running during Summer 2021. Summer 2022 pricing will be released in late 2021.
In addition to the SFS program costs listed to the left, students should plan for additional expenses such as airfare, a passport, visas, medical costs, and personal spending.
Check out the Financial Planner below for an estimated breakdown of these costs along with more information about financially planning for your program abroad with SFS.
All students are welcome to apply for our need-based financial aid. Students who exhibit financial need for their program will be offered SFS financial aid. SFS aid is offered through a combination of scholarships, grants and loans.
Pell Grant Match
SFS matches Federal Pell Grant funding for students applying to an SFS semester program.
Many SFS students receive aid through their home institutions or other outside sources, so check with your financial aid office to see what aid may apply to an SFS program.
Learn More about Financial AidThis academically rigorous program follows a six-day/week schedule. The interdisciplinary curriculum is designed to help students actively discover and understand the complexities of environmental, social, and economic issues in Australia. Read more about the SFS program model.
Major academic themes include:
On the Rainforests of Australia 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.
Click on the course to view a description and download the syllabus
SFS 3262 | Rainforests of Australia | 4 Credits |
In Rainforests of Australia, you will obtain a broad appreciation of the diversity and dynamics of tropical terrestrial biomes and marine life. You will be introduced to the current and past distributions of tropical rainforests, their biodiversity, and their relationships with the abiotic environment, human use, present threats, and restoration practices. This course aims to bring together an understanding of the underlying ecological processes that affect rainforests (and other tropical vegetation) with the role of human society in shaping the present and future rainforests of the Wet Tropics. The course will take the Australian Wet Tropics as a case study to investigate this field, yet many of the skills you learn here can be transferred to other systems. Topics covered will include: biophysical determinants of which vegetation type occurs where; past, present, and future threats to Wet Tropics rainforests; and the theory and practice of rainforest restoration.
You will gain practical skills in the field such as: GIS use and applications, species identification and population monitoring, forest survey methods, and quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis.
You will visit different ecosystems and communities which may include primary/old-growth rainforests, Indigenous protected areas, rainforest restoration projects, fruit farms and other agricultural sites, and an eco-lodge in the rainforest.
Take back-to-back summer sessions and get the hands-on learning and skill-building experiences of an internship, while going off the beaten path and exploring the world. Each summer session focuses on a different topic, and you’ll have time to travel independently between sessions.
RECOMMENDED PROGRAM COMBO
Marsupials of the Ancient Rainforest (Australia Summer II)
In Australia, at the end of a narrow, winding road, in the middle of a lush rainforest, lies the field station, a 153-acre property surrounded by protected World Heritage forests and the nearby town of Yungaburra 20 minutes away. At the Australia Center you can expect: