Are you looking for summer coursework or are interested in gaining new experience and skills in a field-related biological science? With summer registration just around the corner, we encourage you to consider the IUP Summer Field Biology Courses at the Pymatuning Lab of Ecology!
Courses offered in summer 2026 by IUP are in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh’s Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology. This unique opportunity will provide you with invaluable field experience and new skills at a world-class biology station less than 2.5 hours from Indiana. These courses are extremely popular with students, and they provide an immersive outdoor setting focused on engagement with nature.
Watch this video for info about PLE.
This summer, PLE will offer seven different courses: Ecology, Wildlife Ecology and Management, Conservation Biology, Field Botany, Field Entomology, Ecology of Fish, and Field Techniques in Ecology and Conservation (taught by IUP’s Prof. Janetski). All courses count individually as controlled electives in biology. See flyer for details.
Courses are taught during three different three-week sessions over the course of the summer and are taught by experienced faculty from IUP, Pitt, Clarion, Slippery Rock, Chatham, Ohio State, and the National Aviary. See a full list of classes and instructors.
Students pay normal IUP tuition for the course, for which you will earn four credits in only three weeks. (Note that if you take six or more credits during the summer, you can qualify for financial aid.) The PLE courses run from Monday morning through Friday afternoon each week, and students are encouraged to take in the full “field station experience” by staying at the station during the week. You can receive full lodging and food for an additional cost, a relative bargain considering the quality of the facility on-site, not to mention the added opportunities for recreation and socializing available to those staying at PLE.
For more information, please contact David Janetski at janetski@iup.edu (Kopchick 367).
These courses are an excellent opportunity to gain valuable field experience at a world-class biological station, and we hope you will consider taking advantage of IUP's partnership with Pitt and PLE.
