Panama: Biodiversity in the Tropics -- Summer

Gain new knowledge, perspectives, and tools for building a more sustainable future in an exceptional ecological and cultural environment.

SIT and Smithsonian Journeys have come together to offer a four-week summer study abroad program in Panama for students age 18 and older. The program will provide firsthand experience in biodiversity, sustainability, and conservation in Central America’s southernmost nation.

Coursework will be taught by international scientists and local professionals at world-renowned locations, including the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Classroom lectures will be paired with research experiments, lab exercises, and field visits to renewable energy projects, hydroelectric dams, sensitive ecological sites, subsistence farms, and industrial plantations.

Participants will explore issues critical to Panama and to all of Central America in creating a more sustainable future, including:

Climate change, politics, and environmental services
Water, contamination, and sanitation
Energy, landscape, and resource use
Fisheries, endangered species, and human consumption
Food security, land use, and innovation.

The program participants will spend time in some of Latin America’s most diverse socioeconomic, ecological, and cultural settings, which are located throughout Panama. These include urban environments, such as David, the capital of Chiriquí Province, and Panama City, as well as tropical rain forests and remote marine ecosystems.

Intensive instruction in Spanish and homestays with Panamanian families will enable students to become integrated into the local culture in more meaningful ways.

Please note that some field work is conducted in the water. Swimming proficiency is highly recommended for this program.

“Panama is an outstanding place to study tropical ecology due to the range of vastly biodiverse ecosystems that occur within close distances.” Read Smithsonian Journeys’ complete interview with program lecturer and SIT Associate Academic Dean Aly Dagang to learn more.