Participate

Are you a student or teacher? See how you can get involved with our projects.

University of Miami Students

If you are an undergraduate or graduate student at the University of Miami, we can provide you with opportunities to get involved in hands-on field learning experiences which help advance ocean conservation.

We offer opportunities for students to conduct:

• Class Projects
• Volunteer Internships
• Independent Study Projects
• Thesis Projects (Senior thesis, Master or PhD)
• Field Courses

Class Projects

Need help making your class project exciting? If you are a University of Miami student with the need to conduct a unique class project, we can offer you the opportunity to join one of our field trips to complete your assignment. Our field trips are perfect for a variety of interdisciplinary class assignments, including photo essays, journalistic reporting, science experiments, film documentaries, etc. Explore our website and see what projects you think would fit your needs, then send a description of your assignment to Laura Bracken, , so we can help plan your trip.

Volunteer Internships

Interested in volunteering? We offer several opportunities for University of Miami students to volunteer on our projects. This is a great situation for students interested in getting hands-on research experience, but do not want or need to do a full research project for credit. If this is the case, please fill out the attached application and send to Laura Bracken, .

Independent Study Projects

Want to conduct an independent study for course credit? If you are a University of Miami student and would like to conduct an independent study project, we offer opportunities to do this with our projects. Together with your professor and our staff, you will create research project that can be conducted through our projects. For more information, contact Laura Bracken, .

Thesis Projects

Want to conduct a Senior Thesis, Masters or Dissertation? If you are a University of Miami student and would like to conduct a thesis project, we can offer opportunities to do this with our Program. You will need to find a professor to supervise your thesis but we offer opportunities to conduct your thesis through our projects over the course of two or three semesters. For more information, contact Laura Bracken, E-mail: ; Phone: 305-421-4207.

Field Courses

In the near future we will offer exciting field courses both locally and abroad.

Coming Soon:

1. Marine & Coastal Zone Management — Stillstville, Florida

   Course Description: Stillstville is a group of wooden houses, supported by stilts, directly over the ocean in the middle of Biscayne Bay. Based out of Stillstville, Florida, the proposed field course is an intensive, field-based, immersion course on tropical coral reef ecology and land-sea habitat connectivity. This course will directly expose university undergraduate students to a mosaic of local marine and coastal environments and the influence of anthropogenic sources on these habitats. Students will be taught about concepts of multiple habitat connectivity within our local, subtropical coral reef ecosystem, the scientific method, and principles in land-sea conservation and management. With proof of concept, this program can be greatly expanded to provide extensive research and educational opportunities to a variety of users. The proposed course will be based out of Stillstville, providing almost instant access to the mangroves, seagrass, coral reef, shoreline and the species that occupy these habitats including turtles, dolphins, sharks, fishes and birds.

2. Shark Biology and Conservation — South Africa

   Course Description: Based out of Cape Town South Africa, the proposed course is a field-based course focused on the biology, ecology and conservation of sharks. This course will focus on the hunting and social behavior of Great White Sharks. During the day, students will spend their time on boats witnessing the awesome hunting behaviors of the legendary Great White Shark as well as get in the water and dive with these amazing animals at Seal Island, in False Bay, South Africa. In the evenings, students will be provided lectures on shark biology and conservation. Lecture topics will include diversity, anatomy, physiology, sensory biology, locomotion, feeding, reproduction, life history, behavior, distribution, ecology, and conservation.

High School Participation

We provide field experiences for hundreds of high school students throughout the country. If you are a high school student interested in getting involved, please share our website with your teacher. If you are a teacher interested in providing your student with a unique field experience in marine conservation research, please contact:

Laura Bracken
E-mail:
Phone: 305-421-4207

Teacher Workshops

Interested in doing scientific research activities that you can take back to your classrooms? In the near future, we will provide training opportunities, workshops, and professional development for teachers. You can actively participate in on-going research projects with University scientists, and inspire your students through your experiences.