The application deadline for the Summer 2018 UC Natural Reserve System Field Studies Program: California Ecology and Conservation is drawing near! Applications can be found here and are due on February 5, 2018 so please spread the word!

California Ecology and Conservation brings together 27 students from across the UC system for seven weeks of intensive learning at NRS reserves. Guided by experienced field instructors, undergraduates transform into scientists by conducting independent research studies. Students learn to notice natural patterns, frame questions into feasible research projects, and practice standard techniques such as surveys of animal and plant populations. At the conclusion of each project, students analyze their data and present their findings to the class in oral presentations, posters, and reports. Students hone their research, public speaking, and scientific writing skills with constant practice and feedback. All the while, students gain a working familiarity with California’s diverse ecosystems while immersed in the NRS’s classrooms without walls.

Students requesting scholarship consideration apply to both the program and the scholarship application links at the application site.

This relatively new program, launched in Fall 2015, has been a tremendous success. Students from across the UC system have gained strong independent scientific research skills while immersed in the training grounds of the UC natural reserves, from Big Sur to the Mojave Desert, from coastal redwoods to California grasslands to high altitude bristlecone pines.