Environmental Studies Study Abroad Programs in Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Earn 3 credits studying the 2-week environmental science program in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador with AIFS Abroad. The course, "Ecosystems and Biodiversity in the Galápagos", at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, introduces the major ecosystems in the Galápagos Islands and their ecological complexity. Students will participate in academic field excursions to learn about the environmental characteristics, biodiversity, ecological niche, and environmental issues of the archipelago. Stay in hotels in Quito and Santa Cruz and a homestay while on San Cristóbal Island. Visits and field trips are a key part of your academic study in the Galápagos, while social and cultural activities in Quito give you a better understanding of Ecuador – the South American country governing the islands. In the Galápagos, students visit La Lobería Beach, La Galapaguera, Kicker Rock, and Frigate Bird Hill. USFQ was founded in 1988, one of Ecuador's top-ranked universities and the only private, liberal arts university in the country. USFQ opened its extension campus on San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos, in 2002 to promote conservation in the archipelago through education and research.

Seamester is the educational adventure of a lifetime! For more than 40 years, we have offered unparalleled educational voyages where students spend a semester at sea sailing between islands, countries, and even continents. We design our programs to provide engaging learning experiences with real outcomes in ways that are impossible to replicate in the traditional classroom. Living as part of a close-knit team on an ocean-going vessel, our students learn fundamental lessons beyond academics: teamwork, leadership, and personal responsibility. They receive academic credit from the University of South Florida, along with PADI scuba certifications and IYT sailing certifications. Our programs are designed to inspire students to realize that it’s the journey, not the destination, that matters the most.

With the IES Abroad Galapagos Islands Direct Enrollment program, students get to experience the islands and animals that changed the world's view on science, religion, and evolution. Students can study Biology, Ecology, Environmental Studies, Sociology, and many more fields up close. Students choose between three academic tracks: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation; Marine Ecology; and People, Politics, and the Environment. Each has a five-course module, and up to two courses can be substituted with courses from another track if desired, and there are no scheduling conflicts. The program begins with a month in the capital city of Quito, participating in orientation, courses, and field studies before moving to the Galapagos Academic Institute for the Arts and Sciences on the remote island of San Cristobal. There may also be non-credit elective courses in Spanish and Photography available. There are no language prerequisites, and courses are taught in English.

You will live like a biologist as you explore the Amazon basin, the Andes, cloud forests, Pacific Ocean coastline, and the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador—unique climatic niches that harbor ecological treasures and a wealth of flora and fauna. Within these diverse and vulnerable settings, you will conduct fieldwork and live with homestay families in Quito and the rural cloud forest. Excursions include the Andean páramo, the Amazon, and a week in the Galápagos Islands. SIT's program in Ecuador offers the choice to do a minor in environmental science or conservation biology. MONEY MATTERS SIT has given an average of over $1.3 million in scholarships and grants to SIT Study Abroad students in recent years and is committed to ensuring you have the information necessary to apply for such funding. Our program costs include academics, excursions, accommodations, airport transfers, meals, and health insurance. Be sure to discuss how study abroad costs are handled at your school with your study abroad advisor and read the website for more specific information.

The Galápagos Islands are a spectacular natural treasure and one of the best places on Earth to appreciate change. To biologists, a trip to the Galápagos is something of a pilgrimage to sacred evolutionary ground, for it was here in 1835 that Charles Darwin witnessed how giant tortoises, finches, and other taxa each varied from island to island across the archipelago—observations that, among many others, shaped Darwin’s ideas on evolution. For this course, we will be working with Ecology Project International (EPI), which championed inquiry-driven field science and sustainability for many years and made tremendous progress working with the Galápagos National Parks Service and others on ecological education. This course is also offered in partnership with the Houston Zoo. Students in this course should be prepared to explore the forces of change in the Galápagos and contribute directly to sustainable solutions to current issues. Before and following the field experience in Galápagos, students will complete coursework via Dragonfly Workshops' Web-Based Learning Community as they apply these experiences to their home institutions.

The Tropical Conservation Semester offers a once-in-a-lifetime adventure in Ecuador, where you will immerse yourself in Latin American culture and language, and explore some of the most pristine and wildlife-packed sites on the planet. You will experience the immense biodiversity of Ecuador from the Amazon Rainforest, to the Andes Mountains, to the Galápagos Islands. Ceiba has partnered with the University of Wisconsin to offer an unparalleled semester in applied tropical ecology, conservation, and rural community development. We join real-world conservation projects, and encourage you to blend the academic and applied realms, bridging the gap between classroom science and practical conservation. This one-of-a-kind semester is ideal for undergraduate students in biological and social fields who seek interdisciplinary training for careers in habitat protection, tropical ecology, environmental education, and international development.

Snorkel in crystal-clear waters alongside sea lions, sea turtles, and marine iguanas, and observe the iconic wildlife that inspired the theory of evolution. This unique program takes you aboard the National Geographic Islander II, an intimate expedition ship designed for daily exploration across the Galápagos Islands. Led by National Geographic Explorer and professor Dr. Alizé Carrère, you’ll experience the Galápagos both on land and beneath the waves. Each day brings new opportunities to engage with this extraordinary ecosystem—through guided hikes, snorkeling, and close-up wildlife encounters. This once-in-a-lifetime journey offers more than just travel; it’s a deep dive into one of the world’s most biologically significant regions, designed to inspire curiosity, scientific thinking, and a lifelong connection to the natural world.