Abstract
Students enrolled in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) at the University of Georgia traditionally had not participated in study abroad programs at a rate similar to the rest of the student body at the University. This lack of study abroad involvement by students in the College was related to the shortage of study abroad opportunities with content geared towards them. Therefore, an Avian Biology Study Abroad Program in Costa Rica was created in 2008 to complement and enhance the avian biology major offered through the Department of Poultry Science within CAES. Student participation has reached the targeted goal each year of 15, 18, and 20, for a total of 53 students. Testing and survey results indicate that student learning objectives have been met and that students have been very satisfied with the overall experience of the program. Pre/posttest results show a 43% gain in knowledge from the study abroad experience. The mean overall rating of the course by students for years 2008-2010 was 5.0 out of 5.0 and the mean rating of overall quality of the program, for the same period of time, was 4.8 out of 5.0. All but five of the participating students have been fulltime enrolled CAES students. In addition, 19 of the participants were avian biology majors and seven more
became avian biology majors after participating in the program. Thus, the Costa Rica Avian Biology Program has provided a capstone opportunity to avian biology majors and increased the study abroad participation of CAES students.
Keywords
Avian study abroad program, Costa Rica, capstone opportunity, University of Georgia
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