Graduate studies

with ITES Faculty

The multi-disciplinary nature of ITES provides a unique environment for conducting graduate studies for students interested in areas of Tropical Ecology and Environmental Sciences. All ITES faculty are active members of well-established graduate programs in the Biology and Chemistry Natural Science Faculty Departments at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras and currently advise MS and Ph.D. students from those programs.

Students enrolled in the Biology Graduate Program have the opportunity to engage in research in a wide variety of areas including Forest Ecology, Soil Sciences and Biogeochemistry, Population Biology, Plant-Reproductive Ecology and Evolution, Limnology, Landscape Ecology, Plant-Animal Interactions, Species and Community Management.

Students enrolled in the Chemistry Graduate Program can opt for studies in the areas of Physical-Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry or Organic Chemistry with emphasis on Atmospheric Chemistry, Aerosols and Climate and Analysis of Environmental Pollutants

All of our graduate students are currently supported through various sources including, NSF, NASA, USDA and UPR-Rio Piedras to conduct research at a variety of tropical sites both in and off-island. In addition, students have convenient access to facilities to the El Verde Field Station, located at the Caribbean National Forest and site of the Luquillo NSF-LTER (Long-Term Ecological Research) Program and to the natural reserve of Cabezas de San Juan. Our student profile includes a variety of academic and cultural backgrounds resulting in a very diverse and rich graduate student community.

Students interested in pursuing graduate studies at ITES are encouraged to contact individual ITES faculty as well as the program officers at the graduate programs in Biology and Chemistry for more information about Graduate Studies at UPR and application procedures to these programs.