Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Queensland, Australia Term 1996
- Background Information on the 1996 Queensland Term
- Index of Links for the 1996 Queensland Term Web Site
- Information on Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Admissions, and its
Off-Campus Study Programs
- Post Cards from the 1998 HWS Trip to Australia
- Links to Related Australian Sites
Pademelons at Lamington National Park
This document consists of a series of linked pages which describe
a Term Abroad Program in Queensland, Australia
which took place from September to December 1996 organized by
Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Hobart College for men and
William Smith College for women are coordinate, four-year, private, liberal
arts colleges located in Geneva, New York with a combined enrollment of approximately 1800
students. A prominent feature of the curriculum is study off-campus.
The Colleges organize or are affiliated with
more than 20 different study-abroad programs world-wide. Most of these programs
are directed by Hobart and William Smith faculty.
During the Fall Term of 1996, 36 Hobart and William Smith Colleges' students
participated in a term abroad program
based at the University of Queensland
in Brisbane, Australia.
The students, staff, and staff families at
Lady Elliot Island, December 1996.
The focus of the academic program for the Queensland, Australia Science Term Abroad was the
marine and terrestrial ecology of Australia. The program integrated its field and
lecture components. Courses on statistics and data analysis were included to
provide the necessary background for students to do field-based projects that
include a substantial quantitative component. Additionally, a
course on the society and cultural
history of Australia helped put contemporary social issues in
Australia in perspective.
The University of Queensland location provided for easy access to an extremely wide
array of different ecosystems. The program included major trips to four
field sites: a sand island, a subtropical rainforest, a coral reef, and an
arid bush habitat.
The program ran during Hobart and William
Smith Colleges Fall Academic term: form mid September to early December, 1996.
The program was based at the
University of Queensland
(Australia's largest university) in Brisbane.
Queensland
is a state on the east coast of
Australia
and Brisbane is its capital city. With a current population of about 1.25
million, Brisbane is Australia's third largest city, but has a "small town"
feel. It holds many attractions for visitors, including its abundant sunshine
and tropical climate.
The Great Court at the University of Queensland.
The Hobart and William Smith directors for the term were
The program directors were Professor Thomas Glover of
the Department of Biology and
Professor Kevin Mitchell of the Department
of Mathematics and Computer Science. Professor Mitchell directed a similar
program in the Spring of 1994. Two faculty from the
University of Queensland,
David Yates in the
Department of Botany and
Ian Tibbetts of the
School of
Marine Science, will direct one course and the field work. Both were associated
with the 1994 program.
A major feature of the program were the field trips of five to seven days to each of
these four locations:
There were also three half-day field trips. The first trip was to
Mt Coot-tha
in Brisbane.
It occurred on the second day of the program and served as an orientation to
some of the ecological features of Australia. The other trip was the University
of Queensland's Vet Farm at Pinjarra Hills for a lecture
on marsupial biology and some hands on experience with koalas. The final
trip at the end of the program was to the Queensland Parliament in Brisbane.
Waterfall at Lamington National Park.
A. The Biology of Australian Plants and Animals (Biology 231)
This course was organized by David Yates (Botany Dept, U of Q) and Ian Tibbetts
(School of Marine Science, U of Q) in conjunction with the staff of the
University of Queensland. Lectures were given by several University
of Queensland faculty from the Science Division. It
served, in part,as preparation for the field trips.
B. Statistics and Data Analysis (Biology 212, Biology 312)
Courses were offered by Professors Glover and Mitchell at two levels:
an advanced section for students who had taken Biology 212 (Biostatistics)
or Math 251 (Applied Statistics) and an introductory section for students with
little or no statistics background.
David Yates (left) and Tom Glover at 18-mile Swamp, North Stradbroke Island.
C. Australian Culture, Society, and Contemporary Issues (BD 231)
The course organized by Dr Richard Nile, head of the
Australian Studies Program at UQ, featured lectures
and films on topics from the views of the Aboriginal
peoples of Australia, to the European imaginings and colonization of the continent,
the mythology of the Australian battler and the
role of Gallipoli in the country's identity, up through issues of modern multicultural
Australia.
Red ochre stencil at Carnarvon Gorge.
- Academic Program
- North Stradbroke Island
- Lamington National Park
- Lady Elliot Island
- Carnarvon Gorge and Saddler Springs
- Mt Coot-tha
- UQ Vet Farm
- Background on the University of Queensland
- "Field Notes from Oz" from the Pulteney St. Survey, 1994
Different species of coral and clams compete for light and
nutrients in the protected inner reef flat at Lady Elliot Island,
General Information
For more information about the Colleges, see the
Hobart and William Smith Colleges Home Page.
Admissions Information
For admissions information,
contact The Office of Admissions.
Off-Campus Study Information
For more information on the Colleges'
Off-Campus Study Programs,
or contact
Dr. Gary Johnston (johnston@hws.edu)
Director, Off-Campus Studies
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Geneva, New York 14456
USA
Author: Kevin Mitchell (mitchell@hws.edu)
Last Update: 17 June 1997.