Tropical Adventures Africa

APPLY FOR A COURSE

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APPLY FOR A COURSE

General Information

Field Courses. Our Conservation Field study programs offer field courses at the Cameroonian Congobasin forest ecosystem; Somalomo and Bouamir Research Staions, protected reserves comprising national parks, zoos, forest reserves and sanctuaries. During the summer and over winter break. Summer Sessions are approximately four-weeks (26 days) in duration. Winter session is three-weeks (21 days) in duration. We can also arrange two-weeks Summer/Winter sessions. These courses are available to all college students, undergraduate and graduate students or faculty. For liability reasons, participants in all our courses and programs must be at least 18 years of age.

Course Size. Courses are limited to a maximum of 10 students each. Teaching Assistants (TAs) are provided to courses having more than nine students enrolled. Course professors have a PhD. in their area of study (or candidates), and TAs are pursuing Masters or PhD. degrees.

APPLY FOR A COURSE

Study Abroad in Cameroon. How to Apply for a Course:

Read the General Information section, below.
Choose a coursefrom our list. You will find course descriptions here. Field Course Descriptions
Check the course schedule for availability. Current Course Schedule
Fill out an application. You may submit your application by mail or email. Along with the application, each student is required to submit:
a) A brief Statement of Interest(limit 1 typed page) that provides information on your academic background and interests, your reasons for taking the field course, and goals to be achieved by participating in the course.
b) A Letter of Recommendationfrom your academic adviser, sponsor for the course or other professor. If you are not currently a student a letter from someone who knows you well, an employer or friend would be good. This letter should be confidential and sent in a sealed envelope independently or may be sent with the student’s application materials. We will accept letters sent directly to us in a separate email. These letters may be provided to course instructors for final evaluation.
c) Send $100 Registration Fee/Depositwhen your application is submitted. Your application will not be processed until this deposit is received. The registration fee/deposit will be applied to your tuition and is refundable to within 30 days of the course starting date. See #6 below for payment options. Download Course Application
Make your travel plans– once you have been accepted, you can book your tickets and other reservations.
Pay your tuition. There are a few ways to make a payment. You may pay by credit card through PayPal using our account. You may also pay by money order, mailed to our office or bank wire transfer. If you choose to pay by wire transfer, please contact us for the banking information.
Pack! And here’s a list of what you’ll need. What to Bring

Course tuition includes:

Course tuition includes all instruction, room and meals, Biological Station, local transportation and the mid-session field trip to the Dja Forest Reserve (see below).

Course tuition include all instruction, room and board, meals, all within-country transportation, biological station, and mid-session field trip expenses. (see below).

Course tuition excludes:

The fee does not cover international airfare, university credit fees and travel insurance, soft drinks, beer or other snacks while at the station, or other incidental travel expenses not directly related to the course.

Deposit:

A non-refundable deposit of $100 is required immediately following acceptance into the program in order to secure your place in the course.

Obtaining credit:

Tropical Adventures is a private institution and not directly affiliated with any university. Therefore, we cannot issue academic credit directly. However, most universities have various mechanisms that allow students to obtain credit for field courses taken away from campus. If you are going to take the course for credit you must arrange this through your professor or academic adviser and university. In most cases this must be done prior to coming to Cameroon. When the our course is over the course instructor and our administrator will provide an official grade transcript to the student and his/her academic institution or adviser.

The student will be responsible for providing direct evidence of course participation such as lecture notes, proposals, reports, exams, etc. It is up to the university how many credits to grant. Normally, up to six units of credit are awarded for each course, three for the lecture portion and three for the field portion. Please contact us for details.

Refund Policy. If you withdraw from your course within 30 days of the course starting date, all deposits and tuition will be completely refunded. If you withdraw from your course less than 30 days before the start of your course, only the portion of your tuition used for lodging, meals and local transportation ($1000 plus any lab fees paid) will be refunded.

This policy is necessary because enrollment numbers at 30 days prior to the start of each course are used to determine the hiring of faculty, teaching assistants, program directors and staff. Thus, we will have to expend your share of course cost regardless of whether you attend. Students wishing to withdraw late may use their tuition towards another FSCT course in a subsequent session or year. If we cancel a course, all deposits and tuition will be completely refunded, or students may transfer to a different course, subsequent session or year.

Cancellation Policy:

Course fees must be received by the registration deadline. We reserve the right to cancel a course due to insufficient enrollment up to within 30 days of the course starting date.

Refund Policy:

If a participant cancels after the registration deadline, we will refund 40% of the total tuition fee up to 2 weeks prior to the course. After this time no refund is possible.

This policy is necessary because enrollment numbers at 30 days prior to the start of each course are used to determine the hiring of faculty, teaching assistants, program directors and staff. Thus, we will have to expend your share of course cost regardless of whether you attend. Students wishing to withdraw late may use their tuition towards another course in a subsequent session or year. If we cancel a course, all deposits and tuition will be completely refunded, or students may transfer to a different course, subsequent session or year.

Dja Forest Trips. This eco-tourism package will take you to the discovery of a forest that is dense and preserved since time immemorial; the Dja Fauna Reserve. The tour gives you the opportunity to stay in camping in the open air within tents, in the heart of the equatorial forest and also at the leaves huts of the Ba’Aka pygmies. These are the authentic forest dwellers and within 7 days they are going to immerse you in their world. They have the oldest civilisations in Cameroon and the world at large. Within the Dja reserve area, we will discover from village to village, the way of life, beliefs, as well as the ancestral practices of these native people.

We shall discover amongst others a magnificent virgin forest, with giant trees, an extraordinary nature which shelters men, the animals and the ecology.

We shall traverse the equatorial rainforest through several indescribable landscapes, exceptional canopies formed by the leaves and branches of the triennial trees and be seduced by the sounds of the birds, monkeys and other wild animals in the virgin forest all through the day. Visitors and others who are not enrolled can join the trip by paying $150 to cover hotel and transportation.

Important: If you are applying for a field course, please include a $100 registration fee/deposit when your application is submitted. Your application will not be processed until this deposit is received. The registration fee/deposit will be applied to your tuition and is refundable within 30 days of the course starting date.

Tuition must be received by the registration deadline. Please note that we reserve the right to cancel a course if student enrollment is less than five at the date of the registration deadline. (See Course Cancellation Policy info, above.)