PELLSTON — The 2024 lineup of field-based courses at the University of Michigan Biological Station in northern Michigan has been finalized and features a variety of options for the four-week spring and summer terms.

Immersed in nature, the slate includes the return of cutting-edge educational programming at the 10,000-acre research and teaching campus along Douglas Lake and the debut of “Insights from Trees: Science, Art, and Observation in a Noisy World.”

“We are thrilled to launch our 116th season of discovery,” said Dr. Aimée Classen, director of the U-M Biological Station and a professor in the U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. “I encourage students from all majors and minors to explore the fascinating courses we are offering at our remote campus in the Northwoods and apply to be part of an experience that alters the way you see the world.”

Applications are open for courses and scholarships.

The Spring 2024 Term is from May 21 through June 20. The Summer 2024 Term is from July 2 through Aug. 1.

UMBS welcomes all majors and minors. Most courses have a research component. No prior field experience is required.

All students can be considered for UMBS scholarship funding, including guest and international students.

“In these critical times of human history, scientific discovery is both awe-inspiring and urgent,” Classen said. “Now in our second century of operations, the Biological Station is redefining how the world perceives field-based education. We look forward to meeting our next cohort who will seize the opportunity for extraordinary experiential learning and eventually leave our campus as environmental problem solvers in any career path they choose.”

Learn about available courses, review schedule structure and apply on the UMBS course website.

Students interested in spending four weeks living and learning at the field station in northern Michigan are invited to an Information Session from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28, in Dana Building Room 1028 on U-M Main Campus.

A virtual option also is available. Registration is required in advance for the Information Session on Zoom at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31.

2024 courses include:

Microbiology (BIOLOGY 207)
Forest Ecosystems (EEB 348/ENVIRON 348)
General Ecology Lecture (BIOLOGY 282)
General Ecology Lab (EEB 373)
Field Mammalogy (EEB 453)
Ethnobotany (EEB 455)
Field Studies of Freshwater Fishes (EEB 486)
Agroecology (EEB 405)
Eco-Evo-Devo: How Genome and Environment Affect Organismal Development (EEB 405)
Limnology: Freshwater Ecosystems (EEB 482)
Insights from Trees: Science, Art, and Observation in a Noisy World (EEB 405)

Founded in 1909, the U-M Biological Station located just south of the Mackinac Bridge is one of the nation’s largest and longest continuously operating field research stations.

Students and scientists live and work as a community to learn from the place in northern Michigan.

Laboratories and cabins are tucked in along Douglas Lake in Pellston to support long-term climate research and education.

Students, faculty and researchers from around the world have studied and monitored the impact of environmental changes on northern Michigan ecosystems for 115 years.

An estimated 10,500 students have passed through to be immersed in nature and engage in scientific discovery needed to understand and sustain ecosystems from local to global scales.

Community traditions include free, public lectures every Wednesday evening featuring renowned scientists from across the country, a Fourth of July picnic and parade, Saturday night square dances along the lake with live callers and bands, and shared meals in the dining hall.

The historic field station is about a three-and-a-half hour drive north from Ann Arbor.