Aerial panorama of El Morro Fort in San Juan Puerto Rico.

Science Honors

Experience hands-on research in Puerto Rico.

Begin your college career with a hands-on research experience where you actually DO science. Working with a team of peers, you will have the unique opportunity to design your own research project. In May, you will travel to Puerto Rico to use a Drone for Remote Environmental Assessment and Monitoring (DREAM) on the tropical coastline or mountainous rainforest, gathering and assessing data to explore your research question.

Timing

Research during your spring semester and then travel during Mayterm, a two week period after spring term of your first year.

Travel

Travel as a group with faculty.

Stay

Enjoy staying in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.

Cost

Pay a one time $1,500 fee above regular tuition and fees. This includes airfare, your stay in Puerto Rico, and all your laboratory equipment.

Rain forests and sandy beaches in Puerto Rico on a cloudy day

The Environment is Your Classroom

Becoming a scientist requires more than learning facts from a textbook. Spend your semester studying the environment around you while being in the environment around you, unlocking the key elements that affect our ecosystem.

Two students prep an orange drone on a beach in Puerto Rico on a sunny day

Use Cutting-Edge Technology

Work in teams to engineer, construct, and evaluate your own environmental sensor package, securing it to a drone, piloting it in Puerto Rico's coastal region, and accurately quantifying the impact on the environment through the gathered data.

Houghton student standing at podium during biology lecture.

Integrated Learning

You'll work closely with biology, chemistry, physics, and math professors as you develop your research project. Build your public speaking skills by sharing your research with diverse audiences. Classes in the humanities help you think about how science and technology affect our world.

A Typical Day in Puerto Rico

Mornings: Travel to various locations across the island and fly your drones in a variety of environments, gathering data.

Afternoons: Visit ecologically-diverse sites, like coral reefs, bioluminescent bays, caves, rainforests, dry forests, mountains, and mangroves.

Before Dinner: Enjoy time to relax and hang out on the beach.

Evenings: Data analysis with your team of the research you did that day.

Additional Details

two students handling drone outdoors

While much of the focus of the program is on student teams proposing and executing a self-designed research project, the professors are also along for the ride… I often needed support while learning programming and collaborated with a biology professor to determine the best method of data collection... Don’t be afraid to approach them! They are your friends, I promise. They love it when people show an interest in learning... If you feel any ounce of excitement about Science Honors, I encourage you to do it! Don’t let the fear of a challenge or rigorous program scare you away. You are capable of more than you think!

Anna Mummert '25

The professors strongly encouraged teamwork and cooperation throughout the entirety of the course… There were aspects of the course that were quite difficult, but working together with other students on confusing code and through difficult data collections made everything very manageable... Traveling (with Science Honors) was the first time that I had travelled with a group other than my family somewhere across the country. We had all gotten close as friends throughout the course, but those two weeks made us a family… through my time in the program I learned that working with the people around you is vital for success - and Science Honors provided me with those people.

Noah Harley '25

Ready for what's next?

Discover if the Science Honors program at Houghton University is right for you.

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Questions?

Contact Undergraduate Admission

Email: admission@houghton.edu
Call 1-800-777-2556