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Service-Learning Program in Galapagos, Ecuador

Study Abroad integrated with Volunteer Service Volunter in Ecuador, Volunteer Service Combined with Academic Study

Deeper, More Meaningful Study Abroad

The Galápagos Islands are a world-renowned ecological treasure—important in world history as the place where Charles Darwin began his work on the theory of evolution, but known equally today for unparalleled beauty and ecological diversity. Here, wildlife not only reverberates above and below the sea surface, but most plants, animals and other forms of biodiversity are unique to the region.

Service-learning in the Galápagos offers an opportunity available nowhere else to live in and learn about a delicate and complex natural environment and the impacts—both positive and negative—of human settlement, fisheries, and tourism in that setting and, at the same time, contribute through service to maintaining this unique environment.

You may choose one of two concurrent tracks of study, with either a biology focus or a social science focus. After an initial period on the campus of the Universidad San Francisco in Quito, and traveling to the Ecuadorian highlands and the Amazon jungle, you will attend a full schedule of classes at the Galápagos Academic Institute for the Arts and Sciences (GAIAS) on Isla San Cristobal, learn from world-class faculty, and engage in service related to island ecology and/or the local island community. All program courses are taught in English.

Language of Instruction English
Affiliated institution: Galapagos Academic Institute for the Arts and Sciences / Universidad San Francisco de Quito
Courses & Credits:
Service Opportunities:
  • conservation
  • introduced species control
  • pest control
  • reforestation
  • sustainable agriculture
  • waste management
  • working in day care centers, elementary or high schools
  • teaching in languages and mathematics in the community college
  • More...
Housing: Homestay
Dates, Costs & Deadlines:
Fall 2009 08/22/2009 - 12/20/2009 $14,740 Application Due 06/01/2009
Spring 2010 01/02/2010 - 05/10/2010 $14,740 Application Due 12/01/2009
Why IPSL?
  • Field trips & fieldwork as an integral part of every GAIAS course
  • Small class size & individualized attention
  • Optional Basic Spanish course
  • Optional 1-credit course in digital photography
  • Trip to Riobamba (Ecuadorian highlands)
  • Trip to Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the Amazon jungle
  • Extended visits to other islands of the Archipelago
  • Quito city tour
  • Excursion to the indigenous market of Otavalo and lagoon at Cuicocha volcano
  • Excursion to the snow-capped volcano Cotopaxi
Program Director(s): Prof. Tania Ledergerber
Eligibility: The program welcomes students of any nation. TOEFL equivalent 550. Applicants should have completed at least one year of university-level studies and must have at least a 3.0 GPA. Students applying for the Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation in Galapagos program should have completed one course each in general biology and ecology. We recommend that students have had at least 2 years of high school Spanish or 1 year of college/university Spanish to facilitate the service experience.
What's Included: Fees include: tuition (15 credits); pre-departure materials; service placement and supervision; health insurance; administrative fees; airport transfers; private transport to/from the university during your stay in Quito; mainland trips; room and most meals in Quito and the Galapagos (3 meals per day); domestic airfare (Quito-Galapagos-Quito); National Park fee; program-related trips in the Galapagos; boat tour of the islands; Resident Coordinators in Quito and Galapagos. Personal expenses not covered by fees include: international airfare; textbooks (approximately $300-500 per semester); personal expenses and spending money. Students are also strongly encouraged to buy dive accident insurance (available from Divers Alert Network [DAN] and other sources) to cover the diving portion of the program.

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