UCEAP home page  
 

Biological Sciences

Biology on EAP

Summary

Through EAP, you can examine unique organisms, habitats, and ecosystems while benefiting from new perspectives and approaches in all subfields of biology. Many of today’s most pressing biological and environmental issues—such as invasive and endangered species, epidemic disease, biodiversity preservation, genetic engineering, and harmful algal blooms—traverse national boundaries. Finding solutions to these issues requires scientists with the kind of international understanding and cross-cultural competency that are fostered by studying abroad. Your EAP experiences will help distinguish you in a globally competitive world.

Imagine the possibilities when the world is your campus...

  • Immerse yourself in the marine ecosystems of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
  • Explore the molecular biology of cancer and the applications of gene therapy in the United Kingdom
  • Conduct research and investigate tropical community ecology in the cloud forests of Costa Rica
  • Study the application of plant biotechnology to traditional Chinese medicine in Hong Kong
  • Discover the diversity of South Africa’s wildlife and Cape Floral Kingdom (fynbos)

These are only a few of the opportunities available to you on EAP!

“EAP presents biology students with diverse opportunities to experience how different cultures view and teach science. Students can benefit from new perspectives, ecological concepts, conservation strategies, and modern biochemical research. Because EAP has a transformational impact on participating students, I believe that it is one of the most worthwhile things that students can do while at UC.”

—Professor Scott Cooper
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
UC Santa Barbara

 

Program Options

Biology courses are available at many of EAP’s partner universities worldwide. You can choose from a wide variety of short-term and year programs taught in English or in a foreign language. In addition, EAP offers special-focus programs designed specifically for biology majors in Australia and Costa Rica.

Use the following resources to find the right programs for you:

  • Review information provided by Your Department about study abroad.
  • View a chart of which EAP programs offer biology courses.
  • Browse the EAP Course Catalog for biology courses previously taken by EAP students. Additional courses may be available and not all courses may still be offered.
  • For additional course information, check the Academic Focus section found on all the program summary pages for each country.

Related Pages: Agricultural Sciences; Environmental Studies/Sciences

Your Department

Many departments provide information specifically for their students interested in study abroad. Where available, these resources are linked below.

Berkeley

Davis

Irvine

Los Angeles

San Diego

Santa Barbara

Santa Cruz

 

Internships & Research

While on EAP, you can extend your education beyond the classroom through an internship or research project focused on your specific interests. Below are some examples. Check the main Internships, Research, & Independent Study page for EAP's policies governing academic credit for such activities.

Sample Internships

Internship opportunities vary term to term and placements CANNOT be guaranteed or arranged prior to arrival at your program site. The following are past examples only and do not indicate future availability.
  • The West African Primate Conservation Action at the Accra Zoo. Duties focused on public education and awareness of biological conservation projects undertaken by the zoo. (Ghana)

Sample Research or Independent Study Projects

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

  • Demographic and diet analyses of the toadfish (Tetractenos hamiltoni) in temperate and tropical mangrove systems. Research focused on resource and habitat utilization of toadfish between and within estuary systems in Moreton Bay. (Australia)
  • Antibiotic levels in sponges as predictors of antibiotic resistance in pathogens. Research focused on whether leakage of antibiotics from fish farms impacts the natural production of antibiotics in Bread Crumb (Halichondria panacea) and Red Encrusting (Ophlitaspongia pennata) sponges. (Canada)
  • Distribution in the Monteverde region of Chagas’ bug (Triatoma dimidiata) and the associated protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, which spends part of its life cycle in the digestive tract of Chagas’ bug and is responsible for Chagas’ disease (trypanosomiasis). (Costa Rica)
  • The parturition (birth) process in goats. This project included working with a veterinarian and observing pre-birth behavior, giving birth, and after-birth characteristics and behavior of the newborn and mother. (Mexico)
  • Damselfly populations in Sweden. Read more.

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

  • Gene expression of the apicoplast in the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Lab research focused on general apicoplast gene expression at different maturation stages of the parasite, as well as the differences between tachyzoite and bradyzoite gene expression. (France)
  • Checkpoints in cell-cycle regulation of Xenopus (frogs). Research focused on the role of the gene cut5, including laboratory experiments on the effects of mutations there on the cell’s checkpoint functions. (Japan)
  • The role of Natural Killer T cells in the autoimmune disease diabetes. Research focused on levels of CDld expression in the mouse model, called NOD (non-obese diabetic), of this human disease. (Sweden)
  • Molecular and cellular analysis of chemokine receptors in the plasma membrane. Research focused on the association of certain receptors (CD4 and CCR5) with lipid rafts on the membrane. These receptors play a significant role in recruitment and function of immune response cells, and are crucial components for HIV and other viral infection. (United Kingdom)

 

Student Comments

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

"In a small group, we designed and executed our own experiment testing if soldier crabs had a preference toward a certain sand redox level. Going abroad not only benefited me in my professional goals, but it truly helped me to appreciate the wide spectrum of my major. When I applied to medical school, my interviewers seemed genuinely interested and impressed with my experience abroad."
—Marissa Camilon, Australia

"You’ll never experience biology in the same way. Imagine living in a 10-week episode of the Discovery Channel. Few things will ever change your perspective on life, your studies, and your own definition of challenge like Monteverde will."
—Brian Gray, Costa Rica

"I took a field class that focused on the ecology of South Africa. We stayed on a nature reserve for two weeks to study plants and animals in that specific ecosystem. EAP is a life changing experience and an investment in your future, so get a passport and study abroad!"
—Inga Wilder, South Africa

Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

"I took a cell biology course that gave me my first exposure to world-class equipment, techniques, and
theories in cell biology and immunology. After returning home, this experience was a determining factor in my acceptance to an immunology lab and staff research associate position in a pathology department."
—Caitlin Sorensen, Denmark

"A lot of biology majors don't think it's possible to graduate on time and study abroad. That was my impression too, but I made it happen. I am definitely glad I went and I think it was my best semester at Berkeley. I would definitely recommend it to every biology major."
—Zinta Zarins, Denmark

"I took a medicinal chemistry course and participated in an extensive research project that involved nearly every step of the drug design process, including thorough investigation and development of a biologically active compound. This is something that I could never have done at home."
—Gregory Starek, Sweden

 

 
x

Copyright © the Regents of the University of California
Site map | Webmaster e-mail