Hawai'i, HI
Catch a flight OutdoorsField sites Sci., Engineering, & Tech
If you like hands-on learning in a sublimely beautiful location, what better place to do it than Hawai'i! Experience 12 days of hands-on learning on Hawai'i's Big Island where you'll study lava formations, microbes, tea, farming practices, and aquaculture.
14 days travel at
$3,750 plus tuition
BISC 380 / ENVS 399
3 or 4 Credit Hours
Instructed by
Dr. Erik Hom
& Dr. Becks Prescott
Priority Deadline
October 3, 2025
Travel Overview
Go beyond textbooks and lecture halls. Study USA’s travel courses combine academic learning with hands-on, real world experiences. Every class maximizes its unique location with immersive activities.
You’ll earn academic credit, apply what you’re learning directly to your surroundings, and engage in lively class experiences—all guided by Ole Miss faculty.
What You'll Learn
- Deeper understanding of microbes, scientific research, and scientific advancement.
- Hands on experience processing samples for the cultivation and analysis of microbial communities.
- Conduct sampling for microbes from lichens, plants, and seaweeds in this exotic environment.
What You'll Do
- Stay within Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park at Kilauea Military Camp (KMC).
- Discover tea forest ecology and collect samples at Big Island Tea.
- Process samples using lab space at the University of Hawaii Hilo.
- Sample volcanic soils for microbes across several differently aged flows.
- Plus, visit the southernmost point in the U.S., home to one of only four green sand beaches in the world.
All activities are tentative and subject to change depending on scheduling, booking availability, and course adjustments.
Meet Your Instructors
All Study USA courses are designed and led by Ole Miss faculty. Your instructor(s) will be your first point of contact during your travels and lead you through all the class experiences.
Dr. Erik Hom
Associate Professor
erik@olemiss.edu
"I have taught this experiential learning field course in Hawai'i during UM's Winter Intersession since 2017, and Hawai'i is such a magical melting pot of cultures that's profoundly different and yet familiar for us mainlanders.
Students can experience life outside of Mississippi and study "abroad" in a safe and interesting way. Many have expressed how positively impactful their time in Hawai'i has been, making it even more rewarding for me to lead the course each year.
I study microbes and their social lives: how they interact, persist, and evolve in community. Microbes are often unseen, but their impacts on our planet and on human, animal, and plant health is profound. While microbes have gotten a bad rap for years as 'germs,' we now realize that they are on the whole more important and positive than most of us have ever realized, and we love to research how."
“Not only did I learn about the biology and geology of Hawai'i, I learned a lot about myself... I realized I had more valuable strengths than I originally thought. I was able to be nicer to myself when I realized that most of the weaknesses that I see in myself, do not in fact inhibit my strengths.”
– Nellani S., Winter 2024 student
From the Field
