Field Immersion Experience (FIE)

Students in the Environmental, Marine, and Biological sciences have the opportunity to participate in our Field Immersion Experience (FIE), which pairs classroom learning during the spring semester with a three week of off-campus field excursion in May, when students travel to unique study locations across Maine and beyond.

Scenes from FIE

Students in the Environmental, Marine, and Biological sciences have the opportunity to participate in our Field Immersion Experience (FIE), which pairs classroom learning during the spring semester with a three week of off-campus field excursion in May, when students travel to unique study locations across Maine and beyond.

This full immersion model is a highly effective learning strategy that applies as much to science as it does to foreign languages. The FIE takes an experiential learning approach to environmental, marine, and biological sciences because problems, concepts, principles, and examples are vibrant and real when encountered first-hand and this results in a deeper level of learning and comprehension. Additionally, students develop confidence in themselves as scientists, which brings a new level of enthusiasm to their learning and future careers.

What do our students have to say about their experience?

Valerie Neuhausser ’22
Biology, Environmental Science

“What makes the ESS unique is that learning is done in the field which allows you to physically see and understand concepts and processes. I found that this immersive style of learning is far more effective than a traditional in-class science course and has improved my understanding of the natural world and my ability to think like a scientist.”

Amanda Darby ’23
Marine Science, Environmental Science

“Rather than learning from a classroom or online, we learned on the beaches of Cape Cod, at the top of Mount Washington, and sailed on a schooner up the coast of Maine.”

Jarrett Beaulier ’20
Biology & Environmental Science

“While on the ESS, I learned and practiced the skills necessary to properly observe and record data across multiple environmental settings, and to apply these observations in formulating potential mechanisms helpful in explaining why something is the way it is. I believe having this intuition is essential in the work of a field scientist.”

Rebecca Barulli ’20
Marine Science and Environmental Science

“The ESS has been an invaluable experience for me. It challenged me academically but also made me realize the passion I have for the world we live in. The new experiences we encountered week after week had an adventurous component to them that made the lectures seem like intriguing conversations. The observations and analyses we made completely changed the way I looked at the environment –from the beaches in the area to how climate change is affecting our planet.”

For more information, contact Greg Teegarden, gteegarden@sjcme.edu

Learn more about other Study Away opportunities.