Semester in Environmental Science (SES): Undergraduate Program at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL)
Opportunity Description:
The Semester in Environmental Science is a 15-week fall semester at the Ecosystems Center of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The curriculum provides an intensive field and laboratory-based introduction to ecosystem science and the biogeochemistry of coastal forests, freshwater ponds and estuaries. For 2022, the program will run from Sunday, September 4, 2022 (with first course lectures to start September 5th) to Tuesday, December 20, 2022.
More than 50 colleges participating in the MBL consortium in Environmental Science have approved SES for credit. Undergraduates from the University of Chicago can remain enrolled full-time and receive University of Chicago credit through our SES UChicago partnership program. Students from non-affiliated colleges and universities are encouraged to attend SES and may be able to receive credit from their own institutions.
Scientists at the MBL Ecosystems Center and at the MBL Josephine Bay Paul Center serve as faculty for the program. In addition to teaching fundamentals of ecosystems science, they discuss their current research, which touches on important issues of global and environmental change. The curriculum leads students to develop research questions of their own. Equipped with new knowledge and techniques learned in the first weeks of the semester, they pursue independent research during the last six weeks of the program. SES students report their findings at a final symposium that is open to the entire Woods Hole scientific community, a world center for marine and environmental sciences.
College participants in the SES program will pay regular UChicago tuition, plus a $8,000 program fee, equivalent to a study abroad fee, that covers the cost of accommodations and meal plans as well as a $900 book, lab and program excursion fee. Students are responsible for covering their own airfare and related travel expenses which are not underwritten by the Office of Financial aid. Students currently living in College housing may opt out of University housing for the semester they are away, and are not billed for that semester. Once accepted, students will be paired in dormitory-style housing with oversight provided by a residential teaching assistant.
Participants remain fully registered in the College and retain they financial aid eligibility while at the MBL. Program fees are taken into consideration in determining the financial aid package for the semester and, since students cannot be expected to work part-time while away from campus, the self-help component of the financial aid package does not include a term-time employment factor. All charges are billed by and paid to the University of Chicago.
Minimum Qualifications and/or Eligibility Requirements:
Any student currently enrolled at the University of Chicago is eligible to apply. (Students enrolled at other universities are also eligible.)
Application Process:
University of Chicago undergraduate students may attend SES directly through their course offerings. These courses are Ecology (BIOS 27710), Biogeochemical Analysis in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems (BIOS 27711), Independent Undergraduate Research in Environmental Sciences (BIOS 27712) and one elective either Quantitative Environmental Analyses (BIOS 27713) or Methods in Microbial Ecology (BIOS 27714). More information can be found on the UChicago SES site.
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The complete application should include:
- Two letters of recommendation
- An official transcript
- Completed application and uploaded information forms
Official transcripts may be uploaded or sent electronically from your college or university to ses@mbl.edu.