International Internships for Science Students
in partnership with San Diego State University
Customized Packages
Tailored to suit your needs
We work with you to create the ideal package for your needs at the best price. All options are a la carte. You don't have to take on more
than you want, and we try to give you everything you need to reach your professional, academic, and personal goals.
Sample package:
2 months sea turtle data collection on the Baja California peninsula.
from $2000 for room/board, SDSU credit, equipment insurance, and fees.
Scholarships are available.
Extra options: air fare, cell phone, language classes, tours/expeditions.
Compare our prices to other volunteer/study abroad programs.
Internship Opportunities Spring and Summer 2009
• A sea turtle camp near Puerta Vallarta, Mexico has a year-long
education and monitoring program for international volunteers, Mexican
high school students, and college students. Sleep in a permanent tent
on the beach, eat your meals with the staff, and learn everything about
turtles from the experts. This state of the art camp even has a weather
station, boats, and ATVs. Some Spanish may be required.
• Tecate, Baja California is only one hour away from San Diego,
so the intern could live in San Diego and commute if desired. There is
an opportunity to help local biologists monitor the health of the first
artificial wetlands in the Tecate River Park. Learn to do bird surveys
using transects under the supervision of a San Diego ornithologist. Take
water samples to the Tecate laboratory and learn to the test water quality.
Cabin accommodations are available or you can commute to San Diego. Some
Spanish may be required.
• A student or pair of students may be placed at a leatherback nest
protection camp in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur with a qualified
Mexican researcher. Leatherbacks are the largest sea turtles weighing
up to a ton. Students may be trained to monitor the nesting beaches, to
measure and tag nesting females, to translocate sea turtle nests to hatcheries,
and to collect environmental data on the nesting habitat. Potential research
questions include, “What is the sand grain size, sand temperature,
climate, and slopes of beaches where turtles nest?”, “Can
translocation practices be altered to even out the sex ratios and maximize
survival rates?” Spanish may be required.
• A student or pair of students may be placed with a professor
at the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS) in La Paz,
Baja California Sur. Our students will have access to the university facilities,
including SCUBA equipment, boats, and decompression chambers. While SCUBA
diving, students can help map sea turtle foraging, breeding, and juvenile
habitat around La Paz using GIS. Certification programs are offered in
La Paz. There are other positions in the genetics and toxicology laboratories,
on monitoring boats, and with monitoring teams looking for turtle shells.
Potential research questions include, “What policy or enforcement
recommendations can minimize sea turtle mortality?” or “What
are turtles eating?” Live with Mexican university students, alone,
or with a host family. Spanish may not be required (depends on the mentor).
• A student or student pair may be placed with a Baja California
Sea Turtle Network researcher at Bahia Magdalena, Bahía de los
Ángeles, Loreto, Laguna Ojo de Liebre, Punta Abreojos, Laguna de
San Ignacio, Bahía Magdalena, Cabo Pulmo, Mulegé, or Canal
del Infiernillo. The student can learn to set on-the-water monitoring
nets from boats, take GPS points, turtle measurements, tag turtles, monitor
by catch on fishing boats, and record environmental data. The student
will have access to 7 years of monthly monitoring data from around the
peninsula as well as community attitudes survey data. This is an intensive
Spanish immersion experience living with a host family. Spanish may be
required at some locations.
• Costa Rica has many sites with year round activities such as beach patrolling, GPSing,
slope profiling, collection of environmental data, and performing environmental
education outreach. Spanish is not required.
• In Honduras help local conservationists monitor the beaches,
build houses out of recyclables, perform SCUBA surveys, and participate
in educational outreach.
Please call Katherine Comer Santos at 619-519-9876 to discuss any of the
above options, and we welcome your own ideas!
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For more information on becoming an intern or hosting an intern
contact The Science
Exchange.
