CONNECT WITH SFS
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT STUDIES,
TANZANIA
PROGRAM DETAILS
- Terms: Fall, Spring
- Credits: 18 semester-hour credits
- Prerequisites: One semester of college-level ecology, biology, or environmental studies/science; 18 years of age
- Application Deadline: Rolling admissions. Early applications encouraged
- Financial Aid: All accepted students can apply for need-based scholarships, grants, and loans
OVERVIEW
Northern Tanzania is a hub of wildlife tourism. Home to world-famous national parks such as Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, this remarkably scenic area is the center of tourism in East Africa. It has also been the home of the Maasai, Iraqw, and other groups for centuries.
Our curriculum and research focus on how changes in land use and resource availability in the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem can be managed to foster the well-being of local communities while safeguarding and promoting biodiversity conservation.
Students learn about the socioeconomic, policy, and environmental drivers and implications of demographic change and land reform for wildlife conservation and rural development.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
- Multi-day field expedition and camping trip to Serengeti National Park, studying large mammal ecology, wildlife migrations, and tourist behavior in the park
- During game drives and field activities, students observe elephants, lions, giraffes, cheetahs, jaguars, hyenas, rhinoceroses, and even African wild dogs, one of the most endangered mammals in the world
- Practice a variety of exercises in wildlife conservation and management: observing predator-prey interactions; surveying bird and ungulate populations; evaluating species’ habitat preferences and use; and assessing tourists’ wildlife viewing patterns
- Multi-day trip to Tarangire National Park and surrounding areas for field exercises on wildlife population counting, lion ecology and behavior, conservation models, and human-wildlife conflicts
- Visit cultural manyatta (settlements), an opportunity to glimpse Maasai and Iraqw cultures: traditional ceremonies, demonstrations of fire-making, and dances by Maasai morans (warriors)
DIRECTED RESEARCH
Through Directed Research (DR)—as opposed to basic, applied, or independent research—students conduct research on a specific topic that is part of the SFS Center’s long-term strategic research plan, which has been developed in partnership with local community stakeholders and clients.
The course, taught by resident SFS faculty, provides students with the opportunity to apply the scientific process in a mentored field research project that addresses a local environmental issue. Through the DR project, students contribute to a growing body of scientific research that informs local conservation and resource management decisions.
