Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Ethiopia

Application deadline: February 15, 2016.
Website: http://www.colby.edu/reu-in-ethiopia/

We are now accepting applications for a NSF Research Experiences for
Undergraduates (REU) program based at Colby College and South Gondar,
Ethiopia. This REU will provide eight American undergraduate students from
diverse academic backgrounds an opportunity to conduct path-breaking
interdisciplinary research on the ecological, economic and cultural roles of
church forests. Church forests are patches of Afromontane forest surrounding
Ethiopian Orthodox churches. Preserved for centuries by church leaders and
communities as religious sanctuaries, church forests are, in many parts of
Ethiopia, the only indigenous forests left.

Under the eight-week summer REU program students will receive training at
Colby College (Maine, USA) in ecological field methods (restoration ecology,
stream ecology), social survey research, spatial analysis using Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), and written and oral communication. They will
then travel to South Gondar, Ethiopia to conduct hands-on fieldwork with
mentors from Colby College, the California Academy of Sciences, and
Ethiopian academic and government institutions.

Completed applications including 2 letters of recommendation are due by
February 15th. The 2016 Summer REU Site program will run from July 6th –
August 24th (approximate). All travel costs will be covered by NSF and the
summer program includes a generous stipend. All participants must be U.S.
citizens or permanent residents enrolled at a U.S. college or university at
the time of the program (seniors graduating in Spring 2016 are not eligible).

Details about the project and application instructions can be found at:
http://www.colby.edu/reu-in-ethiopia/