ACM Programs
The Associated Colleges of the Midwest, a consortium of liberal arts colleges including Monmouth, offers several off-campus study programs which may be of interest to Biology majors. Monmouth students have participated in all of the programs except the relatively recent Tanzania program.

ACM Costa Rica - Tropical Field Research (spring semester)
In one of the more popular and established ACM programs, students begin by spending a month in language and culture orientation in San Jose. After selecting an adviser and research topic, they spend the rest of the semester in the field doing research on a specific topic in biology, ecology, or environmental science. For instance, a recent Monmouth graduate studied the foraging behavior of tapirs in a lowland tropical rain forest.

ACM Tanzania - Human Evolution and Ecology (fall semester)
This new program (established 1998) offers students the chance to do research in paleoanthropology or ecology at such world-famous research sites as the Olduvai gorge, Laetoli, and the Serengeti plains. Ecological studies at the latter site are of particular interest to environmental science and biology majors.

ACM/GLCA Oak Ridge Science Semester (fall semester)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a leading center for energy-related research, but the research programs cover a breadth of areas in biology and environmental science. Students conduct intensive research in a national lab and have the option to take a course from a resident ACM faculty member. Research topics include cancer treatment and causation, hazardous waste treatment and disposal, and radiation effects to name a few. Dr. Cramer was a resident faculty in the program in Fall 2000. He taught a course in conservation biology and research on the response of macro-invertebrate communities in the leaf litter to a large-scale global warming experiment.

Summer Internships
Monmouth students are encouraged to apply for independent summer research internships at a variety of research universities. Monmouth students have received competitive internships at the University of Chicago, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Illinois, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Iowa, and the University of California-San Diego. 

Students have also pursued work experience internships for a variety of local organizations and businesses as well as the government. Working internships usually qualify a student to receive 1-2 hours of academic credit. Some organizations Monmouth students have interned for in the past five years are: USDA, The Nature Conservancy, Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources, Illinois State Police (forensics), Monsanto, Monmouth Water Treatment plant, US Dept. of Interior, Illinois Natural History Survey, Community Memorial Hospital, Cottage Hospital, Kirkwood Veterinary Clinic.