The Intensive Spanish Study in Costa Rica with BIO 202 is a 4-week program designed to provide students with an immersion experience.  Students attend four hours of language instruction each morning at Conversa Language Center in Santa Ana. Spanish language is of utmost importance for Science students, as much professional fieldwork is currently in Central or South America. During the last two weeks of the program, students will complete the lab component of the spring semester BIO 202 course in the afternoons/evenings. For additional cultural experiences, students live with host families and have the option of participating in excursions.
BIO 202: Organisms, Adaptation, and Diversity Lab—How better can one address the question “How do organisms solve the problems of survival, and how are the solutions that have evolved influenced by environment?” than by exploring the vast diversity of organisms and life Costa Rica has to offer.
Costa Rica, although a small country, boasts to having 6% of the world’s biodiversity. Also, Costa Ricans are known worldwide for their enormous pride in preserving
biodiversity and their striving to create sustainable communities that live in harmony with the natural environment. Field experiences, ranging from visits to tropical cloud forests in Monteverde to the reefs of the National Marine Park provide participants with opportunities to experience directly a variety of different organisms.
The course is designed so the student will fulfill the lecture component during spring semester followed by the lab content being completed in Costa Rica. BIO 202: Organisms, Adaptation, and Diversity is required for science majors and a Core Natural Science class that often taken by Science Education majors.