Study, intern, and immerse yourself in biodiversity conservation with field specialists throughout Brazil, while exploring developments in environmental problem-solving.

Program Highlights

• Spend 3 months in Brazil visiting nine different sites in six different states, while completing 4 courses and earning 16 undergraduate semester credits.
• Enjoy hands-on, experiential learning in the Amazon, Atlantic Coastal Forest, subtropical forests, cerrado (savannah), and wetland environments.
• Work in a field internship that fits your area of interest.
• Study resource management and biodiversity issues with Brazilian scientists and activists.
• Immerse yourself in local conservation issues in a small group setting.
• Gain valuable skills in research, adaptability, and cross-cultural understanding.

“…the best academic experience of my life and one which I will never forget.”

- Brian Yates, Rowan University

Program Description

Established in 1989, Antioch’s Brazilian Ecosystems Program enables students to engage in field studies across a variety of biomes in Brazil. Over the course of three months, students travel throughout Brazil to study ecology, field methodology, and natural resource management. From lectures on restoration ecology to meetings with rural farmers and rubber tappers, and seminars with policy specialists, this program offers a complete overview of complex issues involved in conservation and natural resource management. During the final four weeks of the program, students are placed on an internship according to their academic interest ranging from global carbon monitoring to entomology. Program Director, Dr. Suzanne Kolb, leads the program and is assisted by local professors, research scientists, graduate students, and activists, who provide expertise on current environmental issues facing each region.

The program is affiliated with two Brazilian universities: the Universidade Federal do Paraná, and the Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso. Support is also provided by the Society for Wildlife Research and Protection (SPVS), the National Institute for Research in the Amazon (INPA), and many local and national non-governmental organizations.

Since 2008, students from a wide variety of schools have participated in the Brazilian Ecosystems program, including: Alma College, Amherst College, Boston University, College of the Atlantic, Fort Lewis College, Goucher College, Johns Hopkins University, Kenyon College, Marywood University, Ohio University, Paul Smith’s College, Prescott College, Rowan University, Southwest Minnesota State University, St. Olaf College,  SUNY-ESF, Swarthmore College, Temple University, Trinity University, UC-Davis, UMass-Amherst, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wesleyan University.