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SUMMER 2021 PROGRAM UPDATE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, SFS has shifted this program, which is normally offered at our Tanzania Center, to be based at our Kenya Center for Summer 2021. To check out the Summer 2021 Kenya-based program page, click here . Check out a list of other available Summer 2021 programs here.
Tanzania is home to more than 35 species of carnivores, including the African lion, cheetah, leopard, and wild dog – all of which are on the IUCN Red List. Study the behavioral ecology and conservation challenges facing these incredible creatures, while observing some of Africa’s largest remaining carnivore guilds up close.
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.
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.
Download the Financial PlannerAll 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 AidAmy was raised in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. She joined the SFS team after graduating in 2010 from Boston University with a degree in environmental analysis and policy. Her life-long passion for the environment and exploration was piqued by her own personal experience with SFS while participating in the Summer 2009 Session in Kenya, where she and her fellow classmates studied the national parks near Nairobi and Lake Nakuru and their relationship with the surrounding communities. Her study abroad experience enriched her passion and interest in the environment and society’s role in its conservation, and she is excited to help students benefit in the same way.
Itinerary varies from term to term and is subject to change. Program activities take place 6 days a week with one day free.
This 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 Tanzania.
Major academic themes include:
On the Carnivores of the African Plains 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 3121 | African Large Carnivores: Ecology and Conservation | 4 credits |
This course focuses on the behavioral ecology and conservation challenges facing large carnivores using Northern Tanzania’s parks and protected areas as investigated landscapes. Students learn about carnivore conservation and apply techniques for studying and managing carnivores. This is done through lectures from large carnivore experts and field-based ecological and social investigation. The field training is conducted in parks and wildlife dispersal areas, and the social surveys include participatory social science techniques in the villages adjacent to protected areas. The data collected will be analyzed using advanced techniques, offering students social and ecological analytical skills that are vital for research and conservation.
You will gain practical skills in the field such as: animal behavior observation, radio telemetry and camera trapping, species identification, wildlife census techniques, basic Swahili language skills, and quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis.
You will visit different ecosystems and communities which may include national parks and wildlife management areas, the vast plains of the Serengeti, Tarangire Lion Project, rural villages, Indigenous Iraqw, Hadzabe, and Maasai communities, freshwater wetlands around Lake Manyara, wildlife migratory corridors, the volcanic caldera of Ngorongoro, and ranches and farms.
Take back-to-back summer sessions and get the hands-on learning and skill-building experiences of an internship, while also 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. Receive a $1,000 discount on your second session (effective for Summer 2020).
RECOMMENDED PROGRAM COMBO
Fundamentals of Wildlife Management (Kenya/Tanzania Summer I)
Learn to live the pole pole lifestyle at SFS’ Moyo Hill Camp. Surrounded by Tanzania’s world-famous national parks and wildlife, it’s the perfect base camp for expeditions into the field. Campus is reminiscent of summer camp, with plenty of outdoor and communal spaces, while the small, friendly community of Rhotia is a short walk away.