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Costa Rica: Field Research in the Environment, Social Sciences, & Humanities

San José & field sites, Costa Rica

Local research advisors & potential areas of research

There are a wide variety of student research areas available in Costa Rica, across the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.  These local advisors are an intergral part of the research process.  For more detailed information about potential student research areas and complete advisor biographies, click on the photo or name of each advisor below:

Nicolas Boeglin 

Areas of expertise:

International Environmental Law, International Watercourses Management, Human Rights and Environmental Law

Jorge Cortés

Areas of expertise:

Marine Biology, Coral Reef Ecology, Marine Biodiversity

Quince Duncan 

Areas of expertise:

Latin American Studies, Literature, Black History and Culture in Latin America, Human Rights issues, Natural and Homeopathic medicine

 

Paul Hanson 

Area of expertise:

Entomology

Hugo Hermelink 

Area of expertise:

Agricultural Economics

  

Ana Istarú

Area of expertise:

Theater and poetry

Ivelina Romagosa Jiménez 

Area of expertise:

Socio-cultural anthropology

  

Michael McCoy Colton 

Areas of expertise:

Control of Agricultural Damage by Wildlife Species, Wetland Ecology and Rehabilitation, Tropical Dry Forest Ecology

Manuel Monestel 

Area of expertise:

Sociology, Music

  

Julián Monge-Nájera

Areas of expertise:
Ecology and Evolutionary Psychology

Mónica Retamosa 

Areas of expertise:

Wildlife Ecology and Management, Landscape Ecology, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Applications to Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Planning		  

Bernal Rodríguez Herrera

Area of expertise:

Mammal ecology

Carlos Manuel Rodriguez

Areas of expertise:

Law and Environmental Policy, Biodiversity Conservation, Climate Change, Financial Mechanisms, Sustainability

  

Rafael Ocampo Sánchez 

Areas of expertise:

Ethnobotany on useful plants, Domestication of medicinal plants

Claudine Sierra 

Areas of expertise:

Community Based Conservation, Introduced Species, Sustainable Tourism, Protected Areas Management, Yoga

  

Manuel Spínola 

Areas of expertise:

Widlife Ecology & Conservation, Environmental Study Design & Data Analysis, Statistical Ecology, Mammal Ecology, Carnivore Ecology, Wildlife-Habitat Relationships, Habitat Evaluation, Biodiversity Monitoring

Monika Springer 

Areas of expertise:

Aquatic Ecology & Entomology, Aquatic Biomonitoring & Conservation

  

Freddy Ulate

Areas of expertise:

Child health issues and children's issues related to human rights

Christopher Vaughan 

Areas of expertise:

Wildlife, Wildlands & Ecosystem Management

      

 

Costa Rica: Field Research in the Environment, Social Sciences, & Humanities

Michael Pignone, Asst. Professor of Medicine and Medical Researcher, University of North Carolina The ACM Costa Rica Field Research program has had a profound effect on my career. The research I did in Costa Rica served as the basis for my undergraduate honors thesis and helped me decide to pursue a career in academic medicine. My language training has allowed me to continue to serve Spanish-speaking patients here in the U.S. throughout medical school, residency, and as a faculty member now at the University of North Carolina.

—Michael Pignone, Asst. Professor of Medicine and Medical Researcher, University of North Carolina, Costa Rica, Spring 1987

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  1. Japan Study Announces New Intensive Language + Spring Semester Option (Posted: Mar 5, 2010)
  2. FaCE Grants Support Research and Workshops Aimed at Improving Curricula, Teaching, and Student Learning (Posted: Feb 23, 2010)
  3. Chicago Area High School Counselors Invited to ACM Admissions Breakfasts (Posted: Feb 19, 2010)

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