Study Abroad
"Madagascar Past and Present: Biodiversity, Extinction and Conservation" offers an immersive, field-based experience in one of the world’s most unique biodiversity hotspots.
What You'll Study
- Primate biodiversity, including more than 100 species
- Recent extinctions and fossil evidence
- Forest fragmentation and conservation challenges
Field Experience
Begin in Antananarivo with guest lectures and fossil study, then visit Parc Zoologique d’Ivoloina to observe lemurs and practice data collection methods.
Spend the majority of the program in Tsinjoarivo conducting hands-on ecological and behavioral research.
Why Tsinjoarivo?
This high-altitude rainforest offers a rare east–west fragmentation gradient, making it ideal for studying habitat disturbance, biodiversity and conservation in action.
Our Faculty
Mitchell Irwin | Anthropology
Professor Irwin has studied the ecology of living lemurs for more than 10 years, focusing on how habitat disturbance affects the ecology, behavior and health of individuals and populations. This work has included feeding ecology, nutrition, body mass and condition, and parasitology, mainly focusing on the diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema).
Karen Samonds | Biological Sciences
Professor Samonds is a paleontologist whose research integrates comparative anatomy, systematics, and biogeography with field paleontology to address topics in vertebrate evolution. Her paleontological field research aims to shed light on the origin and evolutionary history of Madagascar’s modern fauna, one of the most unique and endemic on the planet.
Program Information
Questions about this program can be directed to Short-term Study Abroad, International Programs at niuabroad@niu.edu or 815-753-0700.
To explore additional opportunities, visit the NIU Study Abroad website. You can also learn more about in-country research and conservation efforts through Sadabe Madagascar, an organization connected to this program.
Contact Us
Department of Biological SciencesMontgomery Hall 349
815-753-1753
815-753-0461 (fax)
General questions can be directed to kmeyer5@niu.edu.
Student enrollment questions can be directed to sfarley@niu.edu.