Let biology—and Calvin’s biology professors—take you around the world to study diverse ecosystems, from the Great Lakes forest of northern Michigan to the sugarcane fields of Hawaii.
As a biology student you can study off campus for a semester in a Calvin-sponsored or non-Calvin program, or you can study a specific topic related to biology for three weeks in January.
Three types of off-campus experiences include:
- Semester programs: Several of Calvin's semester-long study abroad programs have biology-related course options. Talk with your advisor about these programs.
- January interim programs:The biology department also offers several special off-campus courses each January. Past courses have studied traditional medicine and bioethics in China, tropical ecosystems in Costa Rica and Belize, food systems in Hawaii and eye care in Mexico.
- Non-Calvin programs: With the biology department’s close associations with national and local research and environmental studies organizations, you may be able to study off-campus in other programs as well. Biology students regularly go to the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, the Creation Care Study Program and the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute for Environmental Education.
Semester in Ghana
- Find yourself standing in a crowd full of surprising contrasts: a young woman wearing traditional clothing is text-messaging a friend while a suited businessman walks by, carrying a traditional offering to a tribal chief. This is Ghana, where the country's diverse peoples and cultures are finding ways to coexist in a rapidly modernizing country.
Semester in Honduras: Spanish Studies
- Don't just study Latin American culture—immerse yourself in it. In this semester program, you'll improve your language skills while also learning about the challenges facing one of the Western Hemisphere's poorest countries.
Semester in Hungary
- You could spend an entire day traversing the seven bridges that span the beautiful blue Danube, connecting one side of Budapest to the other. On your way, you'll see an old-world-meets-new-world city emerging from centuries of foreign invasion and rule.
IDIS W60 Sustaining Hawaii
- How do you feed a million people, not to mention plane loads of tourists, in an archipelago that is 2500 miles from everywhere else?
IDIS W80 Eye Care in Mexico
- Lack of access to corrective lenses is a major problem for people in areas that are medically underserved. In contrast, in the US thousands of glasses are discarded everyday as prescriptions change.
BIOL W80 Puerto Rico: Viral Infections, Vaccine Development, and Valued Biodiversity
- Puerto Rico has one of the highest HIV incidence and death rates in the US, and has had many outbreaks of Dengue Fever. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a Dengue Branch on the island, and Puerto Rico became a national center for HIV/AIDS vaccine development in 2014.
CHEM W10 Introduction to Medical Missions in Nepal
- In this course students get exposed to third world medicine in a secular context and in a mission context.
Harness the Wind: Learn to Sail
- Immerse yourself in the Florida marine environment while learning the essential techniques of sailing and the physics behind harnessing the wind.
IDIS W83 China: Culture, Medicine & Bioethics
- The world's most populous country has a long, rich cultural tradition with unique views of life, persons, the human body, medicine, nature and the environment. As China has sought to modernize over the last half century, some of its traditions and practices have persisted, while others have become westernized.
History of Science, Medicine and Religion: London
- Travel to the historically and culturally rich city of London to thoroughly explore the city while learning about the great scientists who pioneered scientific thought.
BIOL W80 Ecology of the Amazon Rainforest
- Participants in this course investigate the ecology, evolution, and natural history of the Amazon rainforest and are introduced to some of the customs and diverse cultures of the Ecuadorian people.
Galapagos Islands/Amazon Rainforest
- Travel to Ecuador and spend seven days on the Galapagos archipelago and six days living in the Amazon jungle.
Creation Care Study Program
- In this non-Calvin program, you will study creation care in either Belize or New Zealand/Samoa during the fall or spring semester with students from other Christian colleges and universities.
Pierce Cedar Creek Institute for Environmental Education
- In this non-Calvin program, undergraduate research grants are available for summer internships at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute for teams of students and their faculty mentors.
Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies
- In this non-Calvin semester program, you will take courses and work in internships related to environmental studies. Study in northern Michigan with its forests, wetlands, lakes and rivers, on the west coast, in Latin America or in Southern India.