Take a Class

Enroll in a course at the UC Center for Field Studies (UCCFS) and learn from our award-winning faculty and research staff. With more than four thousand acres to explore, students can engage in hands-on learning opportunities in a variety of environments. Courses at the field station provide students with the necessary tools to become leaders in conservation and sustainability. 

The following are courses that have been taught, in total or in part, at the UC field station since it began in 2008.

• BIOL 3051C/7051C: Flowering Plant Classification
  •  Take a crash course in the taxonomy of angiosperms, or flowering plants. This lecture/lab course, taught by Dr. Denis Conover, is available for both undergraduate and graduate credit. Capstone options available. Enrollment is open for Fall 2022!!!
   
   
• BIOL 1009C: Wild Flowers and Trees of Ohio                      
  
  • This field study course, designed for non-science majors, offers students the opportunity to learn about the anatomy of plants, the identification of different types of plants, plant evolution, and about the characteristics of different plant families. Through active learning, students will come to appreciate the natural history of this region. Topics to be covered: Introduction to plant identification Phylogeny and Classification (How plants get their names) Plant Form Plant Evolution and Life Cycles Flowering Plant Reproduction Plant Identification Terminology Floral Diagrams and Floral Formulas Plant Families (Dicots and Monocots)
• BIOL 3011C: Environmental Field Techniques
  • This course focuses on ecological research techniques with the goal of providing students a hands-on experience in planning and conducting scientific research using modern and traditional methods in a natural, field-based setting. Students conduct studies on plant and animal systems and gain experience in developing hypotheses, designing field experiments and analyzing results. Students will develop, conduct and analyze the results of a small group project. This course meets at the Cincinnati Center for Field Studies (Miami Whitewater Forest). - Prerequisite Definition: To take this course you must: Have taken the following Courses BIOL2082C min grade C-, or BIOL2084C min grade C-.
• BIOL 3012C: Ornithology
  • The scientific study of birds has driven and continues to drive key innovations in biology and conservation. Ornithology (BIOL 3012C), an upper level field course for biology majors, will explore bird biology with detailed lectures and interactive field labs. Lectures will focus on avian morphology, physiology, evolution, systematics, ecology and conservation. Field labs will provide students with practical knowledge of the local avifauna and will focus on relevant methods used in modern ornithology. During lab, students will identify local birds by sight and sound, classify birds to order level using prepared study skins, conduct mark-recapture studies of wild birds, estimate population size of birds, and assess habitat quality. - Prerequisite Definition: To take this course you must: Have taken the following Courses BIOL2082C min grade C-, or BIOL2084C min grade C-.
• BIOL 3090/7090C and EVST 3090C: Interdisciplinary Field Experiences
  • This course integrates concepts of biology, conservation, sustainability and sociopolitics. Students will work in groups to develop a research project and execute the project at a remote field site. One particular field location serves as a focus, but a comparative strategy is encouraged, where concepts, processes and policies from other locations around the world that face similar challenges are brought to bear on the focal system. During the term, groups present their project ideas at various stages in their development for peer evaluation and feedback. Articles from the primary literature will be read and discussed in class sessions with students as discussion leaders. Travel from the UC campus can be arranged upon request.
• BIOL 5142: Toxicology
  • The course examines the nature of toxicants in the environment and the risk they pose to human health. Coverage includes: sources and regulation of toxic chemicals, chemical fate in the environment, routes of human exposure, toxicity testing, toxicity pathways in the body, individual and population effects. Basic information is introduced through brief lectures, pre-class assignments, and field trips.  Concurrent with class, students conduct an independent project where they identify an issue and contact appropriate individuals or facilities within the community to interview, tour, and observe.
• ANTH 4039/8039: Field Research in Midwest Archaeology         
  • Discover and explore an archaeological site. Learn how to find and map an archaeological site, excavate ancient artifacts, and keep proper records. This class is 100% hands-on, in the field, and learn-by-doing experience. It introduces students to archaeological field and laboratory techniques. Students will conduct an archaeological survey and excavation of an archaeological site located in the greater Cincinnati area. Artifacts will be analyzed at the Court Archaeological Research Facility located at the University of Cincinnati Center for Field Studies. This course provides important field and laboratory skills for anyone considering a career in archaeology, environmental studies, environmental engineering, and historic preservation.
• GEOL 1018C: Field Geology of Cincinnati         
  • Students will explore and discover first-hand through field trips and field-based exercises our landscape and geologic history, as well as our local geologic hazards of landslides, hillslope mass movement, and flooding. The region’s limestone and shale bedrock and its world-renowned fossils will be examined, collected, and described; evidence of the tri-state region’s glacial history will be explored; and modern stream processes will be surveyed and sediments analyzed. The goal of this field-based course is to understand how our landscape formed/ its inherent hazards, and the geologic foundation upon which it is built.
• CI 6008: Experiential Learning in Environmental Research      
  • The Environmental Research Training Program for Teachers trains middle and high school teachers in the fundamentals of environmental research through a hands-on summer experience with practicing scientists in the field. Teachers will work directly with field scientists in various environmental and biological disciplines. Teachers will learn how scientists formulate working hypotheses; design experiments; observe changes; and record, analyze, and report data. In turn, successful applicants will use inquiry-based learning and project-oriented methods to design their own curriculum to be used in conjunction with UC field station equipment as well as supplied school-based environmental monitoring stations.