Programs > Brochure
Programs : Brochure
WU Drimolen Cave Field School Summer Program (South Africa)
Krugersdorp, South Africa
(Outgoing Program)
Program Terms: |
Summer |
---|
Dates / Deadlines:
|
---|
Term
|
Year
|
App Deadline
|
WU Decision Date |
Start Date
|
End Date
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Summer | 2019 | 02/22/2019 ** | Rolling Admission | 06/05/2019 | 06/26/2019 |
** Early application is strongly recommended for all programs. Deadlines that fall on a weekend or holiday are automatically extended to the next workday. |
Fact Sheet:
|
---|
Glossary entry for program parameter 10009 Program Adviser:
|
John Milstead |
---|
Program Description: |
---|
WU's Drimolen Cave Field School Summer Program Krugersdorp, South Africa |
|
PROGRAM OVERVIEW |
|
ACADEMICS | |
EXCURSIONS | |
HOUSING | |
OTHER INFORMATION |
PROGRAM OVERVIEW | |||||||
The most distinctive quality of the field school is that it allows students to excavate at a site that has yielded extremely important fossils relevant to human evolution. These include the most complete skull ever found of Paranthropus robustus, an early human relative from South Africa dating to nearly 2 million years ago. The site has also produce fossils of some of the earliest known members of the genus Homo, the group to which we belong. In recent years, students themselves have discovered important human fossils. For anyone interested in paleoanthropology, human evolution, or the evolutionary sciences in general, this can be a transformative experience. Typically, human fossils are discovered every year. Eligibility: 3.0 GPA Minimum.
Program Dates:
* All applications must be completed online by the application deadline. Incomplete applications will not be considered
|
|||||||
ACADEMICS | |||||||
Approved Departments: All students welcome
Anthropology & Archaeology The course includes practical exposure to exca |
|||||||
EXCURSIONS | |||||||
The second excursion will be full-day trip that entails a visit to the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, and also to the Ditsong Museum (formerly the Transvaal Museum) where students will have the opportunity to observe in a private setting some of the most important fossils relevant to human evolution. These fossils are international treasures usually only accessible to researchers. Dr. Strait will provide a narrative of what the students are looking at. This is scheduled at the very beginning of the field season so that students have an appreciation of what they are searching for, and also what fossil bone looks like. The third excursion will be a full-day-trip to visit several of the famous paleontological sites in the “Cradle of Humankind”, a region within which Drimolen is found that contains several paleontological sites that are of international significance. This will serve to contextualize the students’ experience digging at Drimolen, and also provide an opportunity to appreciate variation in the complexity of South African paleontological sites. The fourth excursion will be an over-night trip to Pilanesberg National Park , a game reserve about 2.5 hours drive from the field site. We will drive to the park in the morning, have lunch, and participate in an afternoon game drive. The team will stay overnight in the lodge, and then participate in a morning game drive as well. |
|||||||
STUDENT LIFE | |||||||
OTHER INFORMATION | |||||||
Estimated Summer 2019 Program Price: $4,400 program fee + $44.20 approx. insurance - includes three units of Washington University academic credit, housing, meals and ground transportation during the program and mandatory International Health Insurance coverage during the program. Students are responsible for own airfare. For more information, contact Prof. David Strait (dstrait@wustl.edu) |
|||||||
Questions
Email the appropriate Overseas Programs Coordinator, visit us during our walk-in hours, join us for an information session, or call (314) 935-5958 to schedule an appointment. |