- The course is aimed at advanced undergraduates, recent graduates currently active in biological research, and postgraduate entry-level students.
- Travel, food, accommodation and course fees will be funded for tropical (Austral-)Asian nationals (including PNG, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China) who are currently resident in Asia, although some students may be requested to pay their international travel. Students will be responsible for obtaining and paying for their travel documents, and for their personal equipment.
- Some places may be available for non-Harvard, non-Asian, paying students.
- Students will be selected to provide broad international representation.
- English will be the language of the course and students will need to be sufficiently proficient in spoken English.
- We may conduct phone interviews. These will preferably be using Skype, so please get an account (http://www.skype.com).
- Students should be able to hike for a minimum of 2 hours over uneven terrain. To get full benefit from this course, students should be prepared to attempt to climb Mount Kinabalu (4,095 m), and should be able to swim competently. Snorkeling and diving experience are not required.
- Please also see a flyer for the course. Feel free to print and post this flyer.
Application documents
Please prepare two documents:
- a current CV, formatted, saved as a PDF file (NOT Microsoft Word),
- an application form (see below), saved as plain text (NOT Microsoft Word).
These should be sent via email to bb09app@phylodiversity.net no later than 15 Mar 2009.
Application form for Southeast Asian students
Please copy the following lines into your document and answer the questions, leaving single blank lines between each question and your answer.
*** Application form for 2009 Harvard/CTFS-AA `Biodiversity of Borneo' course (version 2) ***
01. Full name
02. Preferred, informal name
03. Date of birth
04. Gender
05. Nationality
06. Handphone number (with country prefix)
07. Can your phone send and receive international SMS?
08. Land-line number (or N/A)
09. Email address (give one that works! i.e., your private one, not necessarily your institutional one)
10. Skype name (please get yourself one, if you can)
11. Mailing address
12. Undergraduate institution
13. Date of undergraduate graduation (either completed, or estimated if you are still attending the institution)
14. Undergraduate course of study
15. Undergraduate supervisor's name (if you have/had one)
16. Describe in 5-10 sentences your undergraduate research project (i.e., honors project; or N/A if you did not conduct one)
17. Overall undergraduate grade obtained (e.g., GPA or Honors class; or N/A)
18. If you are between undergraduate and graduate school, what is your current occupation? Give details of your research activities (10 sentences maximum; or N/A)
19. If you are between undergraduate and graduate schools, do you already have a graduate program planned? (or N/A)
20. Graduate institution currently attended (or N/A)
21. Graduate degree being followed (e.g., M.Sc., Ph.D., or N/A)
22. Graduate course of study (or N/A)
23. Graduate supervisor's name (or N/A)
24. Year graduate studies begun (or N/A)
25. Expected date of graduation from graduate institution (or N/A; NOTE: the course is not open to those who have already completed either a Masters or Doctorate)
26. Describe in 5-10 sentences your graduate research project (or N/A if you are not yet conducting one)
27. How would you rate your proficiency in spoken English?
28. How would you rate your proficiency in written English?
29. Give any official evidence of your English proficiency (e.g., TOEFL score; or N/A)
30. Is there a taxonomic group of special interest to you? (i.e., are you a bird-watcher, a fish-keeper, or an orchid fan)
31. Apart from college and science, what are you interested in?
32. Could you comfortably swim 100 m in open water (NOTE: This is not a requirement, but please see notes above)
33. What is the longest hike you have done and/or tallest mountain you have climbed (NOTE: great physical ability is not a requirement, but please see notes above)
34. In no more than 10 sentences, explain why you would like to participate in this course (NOTE: this section is very important)
35. In no more than 10 sentences, state your long-term academic and other goals. What are your dreams for your life? NOTE: this section is very important)
36. How did you hear about this course?
37. Please give the names and email addresses of two advisors or teachers we could contact as references