Questions? (212) 986-0989
"This program offers so much: from its unique classes to its passionate professors. It's the Mecca of Biology, an opportunity to practice Spanish, and a constant classroom for problems of the Galapagos. From helpful staff to friendly locals, educated guides to unique classmates, all really helped to make lasting memories by the bonds created."
- Pamela
The Galápagos Islands are a world-renowned ecological treasure—important in world history as the place where Charles Darwin began his work on the theory of evolution, but known equally today for unparalleled beauty and ecological diversity. Here, wildlife not only reverberates above and below the sea surface, but most plants, animals and other forms of biodiversity are unique to the region.
Service-learning in the Galápagos offers an opportunity available nowhere else to live in and learn about a delicate and complex natural environment and the impacts—both positive and negative—of human settlement, fisheries, and tourism in that setting and, at the same time, contribute through service to maintaining this unique environment.
You may choose one of two concurrent tracks of study, with either a biology focus or a social science focus. After an initial period on the campus of the Universidad San Francisco in Quito, and traveling to the Ecuadorian highlands and the Amazon jungle, you will attend a full schedule of classes at the Galápagos Academic Institute for the Arts and Sciences (GAIAS) on Isla San Cristobal, learn from world-class faculty, and engage in service related to island ecology and/or the local island community. All program courses are taught in English.
