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perth - sustainability + the environment

Is this program right for you?

This program is designed for students interested in learning and studying about sound tropical conservation and sustainable development to ensure future biodiversity and human welfare. Students study the intersection of humans and their impact on natural systems and how environmental issues influence economics and society. This is done through coursework and an internship in the Monteverde region, as well as visits to national parks throughout Costa Rica.

Program Snapshot

  • Specially designed CIEE courses on environment, sustainability, and conservation
  • Visits to businesses, NGOs, and grassroots projects that practice sustainability and effective conservation
  • Field trips to national parks and reserves to learn about tropical ecosystems
  • Excursions to agricultural, conservation, biological, and natural history sites
  • Internship in environmental education, conservation, or organic farming
  • Opportunity to live with a Costa Rican family to improve Spanish language skills

Subject Areas

  • Conservation
  • Environmental Studies
  • Internship
  • Spanish Language
  • Sustainability

About Monteverde

Monteverde is a small community of 4,000 that accommodates up to 200,000 tourists each year. Its forest is located in the largest private reserve in Central America and reflects a long heritage of grassroots conservation. Despite its economic benefits, ecotourism has associated costs: immigration, disparity of wealth, increased consumption, and many other factors that put pressure on the forest and the economy. As Monteverde has grown as an eco-tourist site, other activities have flourished, including a K-12 bilingual school focusing on environmental education, a fair trade coffee cooperative, and women’s cooperatives.

Where You'll Study

CIEE Study Center in Monteverde, Costa Rica

The CIEE Study Center in Monteverde is located in a small, friendly, bilingual community surrounded by a cloud forest. Monteverde is free of biting insects and green all year-round. Monteverde’s Cloud Forest has been studied for over 25 years by both visiting and Costa Rican biologists. This widens the research opportunities available and acquaints students with practical biological problems associated with agricultural development, eco-tourism, and grassroots conservation efforts in developing countries.

Thoughts From Abroad

This program is for students who are as passionate about saving the world as they are willing to get dirty and sweaty while doing it. It is for the idealist who wants to understand the complexities of the pressures that affront global biodiversity such as population growth, consumption, urbanization, and globalization, but also wants to experience possible solutions firsthand.

This is possible in Costa Rica, home to astounding biological richness, a model nation for conservation in practice, yet also an example of a developing tropical country with the associated troubles of rampant, unregulated development and consumption. Our program is for serious students who want a challenging semester in which they come to know and understand the biodiversity that needs our protection, the scientific principles of conservation biology, the basics of sustainable development, and how to incorporate human society into conservation solutions, all while having the opportunity to intern in a conservation-related field. All of this, plus intensive exposure to the Spanish language and Costa Rican culture awaits students at Monteverde. We promise you an exhilarating, academically demanding, potentially life-changing semester as you explore some of the greatest challenges that humanity currently faces.

— Karen Masters, Resident Director

Staff Bios

Dr. Karen Masters, Resident Director, has a B.S. from the University of Michigan, an M.S. from the University of Florida, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University. She has lived in Monteverde for over 20 years and has been teaching at the CIEE Study Center in Monteverde since 1997. She currently studies the effects of climate change on epiphytic orchids in Monteverde and has published papers on a host of conservation-related research.

Kathy Rockwell, Logistics Coordinator, is a lifelong Monteverde resident and daughter of Quaker settlers in the region. Prior to working with CIEE, Kathy was the Assistant Manager at the Monteverde butterfly garden. In addition to several teaching faculty, there are two teacher assistants, normally past participants, who work with program participants.

Recommended Credit

semester: 17 semester/25.5 quarter hours

Eligibility Requirements

  • Overall GPA 2.75
  • 3 semesters of college-level environmental studies
  • Some college-level Spanish language recommended

Program Dates

Fall 20098/23/2009 - 12/2/2009
Spring 20102/9/2010 - 5/20/2010

Application Deadlines

Fall 20094/1/2009
Spring 201011/1/2009

Click here to check for deadline extensions.

Duration

Fall 200915 weeks
mid-August - late November
Spring 201015 weeks
early February - late May

CIEE Costs

CIEE program fees, inclusions, and estimated additional costs, are outlined below. Please note that CIEE reserves the right to adjust its fees in the event of significant change in exchange rates or other factors beyond its control. The actual cost of the programs may vary slightly for students from different institutions.

For comprehensive fee breakdowns and estimated additional costs, click the costs below:

  • Fall 2009 $12,900
    The CIEE fee includes tuition, scientific equipment and lab fees, housing, all meals, local transportation, optional on-site airport meet and greet, full-time leadership and support, orientation, cultural activities, local excursions, field trips, national park entry fees, outdoor camping equipment, a comprehensive student handbook, pre-departure advising, and a CIEE iNext travel card which provides insurance and other travel benefits.  

    Program Fees

    This breakdown has been prepared from the program budget for the purpose of calculating eligibility for financial aid. During the course of program operations, actual figures may vary. It should not, therefore, be used as a basis for calculation of refunds. CIEE reserves the right to adjust fees at any time.

    Students required to study on CIEE programs through a School of Record will be charged a $340 administrative fee in addition to the Program Fees listed below.

    Educational Costs (direct cost of education charged uniformly to all students; including $300 non-refundable Participation Confirmation Fee)$11,076
    Housing and Meals$1,750
    Medical Insurance$74
    Total$12,900

    The CIEE fee includes tuition, scientific equipment and lab fees, housing, all meals, local transportation, optional on-site airport meet and greet, full-time leadership and support, orientation, cultural activities, local excursions, field trips, national park entry fees, outdoor camping equipment, a comprehensive student handbook, pre-departure advising, and a CIEE iNext travel card which provides insurance and other travel benefits.  



    Estimated Additional Costs

    The estimated additional costs indicated below are intended to assist students and parents in budgeting for those additional living and discretionary expenses not included in the program fee. Actual expenses will vary according to student interests and spending habits.

    Books and Supplies$40
    Transportation (round-trip based on U.S. East Coast departure)$700
    Personal Expenses$800
    Total$1,540


  • Spring 2010 $13,100
    The CIEE fee includes tuition, scientific equipment and lab fees, housing, all meals, local transportation, optional on-site airport meet and greet, full-time leadership and support, orientation, cultural activities, local excursions, field trips, national park entry fees, outdoor camping equipment, a comprehensive student handbook, pre-departure advising, and a CIEE iNext travel card which provides insurance and other travel benefits.

    Program Fees

    This breakdown has been prepared from the program budget for the purpose of calculating eligibility for financial aid. During the course of program operations, actual figures may vary. It should not, therefore, be used as a basis for calculation of refunds. CIEE reserves the right to adjust fees at any time.

    Students required to study on CIEE programs through a School of Record will be charged a $340 administrative fee in addition to the Program Fees listed below.

    Educational Costs (direct cost of education charged uniformly to all students; including $300 non-refundable Participation Confirmation Fee)$11,666
    Housing and Meals$1,360
    Medical Insurance$74
    Total$13,100

    The CIEE fee includes tuition, scientific equipment and lab fees, housing, all meals, local transportation, optional on-site airport meet and greet, full-time leadership and support, orientation, cultural activities, local excursions, field trips, national park entry fees, outdoor camping equipment, a comprehensive student handbook, pre-departure advising, and a CIEE iNext travel card which provides insurance and other travel benefits.



    Estimated Additional Costs

    The estimated additional costs indicated below are intended to assist students and parents in budgeting for those additional living and discretionary expenses not included in the program fee. Actual expenses will vary according to student interests and spending habits.

    Transportation (round-trip based on U.S. East Coast departure)$700
    Personal Expenses$800
    Books and Supplies$60
    Total$1,560


Scholarship Information

For a complete list of scholarships available, please vist our Scholarships section.