PELLSTON, Mich. — Picture yourself at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS), where the Northwoods aren’t just scenery.
They’re your classroom, your laboratory and your launchpad for the future.
At UMBS, the hands-on, immersive experience is all about discovering what makes you tick, stretching your academic wings, and connecting with a community of passionate experts.
Here, undergraduates explore, experiment and build lifelong friendships surrounded by the wild beauty of northern Michigan.
The results are transformational. UMBS alumni have careers as diverse as the ecosystems they study. Whether they end up tracking wildlife, healing medical patients, teaching classrooms, arguing legal cases, or capturing stories on camera, they carry a little piece of the Northwoods with them wherever they go.
As you plot your next steps, faculty and researchers at UMBS are sharing the wisdom they've picked up along their own journeys. Their advice is rooted in real-life experiences and meant to help guide you as you navigate the exciting adventure of launching your career.
Dr. Marjorie Weber
"You have the rest of your life to be busy. Take this opportunity to pause, immerse yourself in nature, and really learn from the environment.
Nothing can replace the opportunity to live and work at UMBS. Where else can you spend the morning learning about incredible Michigan ecosystems, talk to other students about sustainability solutions at lunch, swim in the afternoon, and rub elbows with artists and biologists at dinner?
A summer at UMBS gives students an immersive environmental living-learning experience. It gives them an opportunity to make lifelong friendships and break free from the daily grind of campus and the city. It offers students a chance to meet other artists, scientists, and students who care deeply about biological wonders and environmental solutions. But ultimately, the most valuable gift UMBS gives students is that it reminds them that a sustainable future is possible and empowers them to be central to that future."
Dr. Marjorie Weber is an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan, a researcher at the U-M Biological Station, and instructor of the UMBS course titled “Insights From Trees".
Dr. Jessica Light
“Taking academic courses at a field research station can be life-changing for college students, especially those that have not decided on a career path. Field-based opportunities can help students determine not only their passions, but also things they are not so passionate about. Any step that can assist in narrowing down potential career options is a good step; it's immensely important to find out what you like, maybe even more importantly, what you don't like. Additionally, being at a field station to take courses or conduct research is an unique experience, one where students can get to know their peers, instructors, and supervisors really well. Life-long friendships and collaborators can begin at field research stations. Don't pass up the opportunity to experience all that there is to offer at UMBS!”
Dr. Jessica Light is a professor and curator of mammals at Texas A&M University, a researcher at the U-M Biological Station, and instructor of the UMBS course titled “Field Mammalogy”.
Dr. Gil Bohrer
“UMBS is where serendipity happens. Nearly 20 years ago, in 2009, during my first summer research visit to UMBS I met Ben Sulman, then a graduate fellow of the UMBS summer research program. Ben was not my student. My first graduate student was also a summer research fellow. That group of graduate students from all over the US was engaged in many research projects in broad topics and was very collegial and many of them are still friends. Most of them are currently professors. But ever since the deep research conversations we had by the beach around the anti-mosquito candles (substituting a campfire), I've been chatting with Ben about science and, as both our careers progressed, we started to collaborate and are codeveloping an advanced wetland model. This summer, Sarah Bungard, an undergraduate student that I supervised in the previous summer research project in UMBS and a student in the inaugural class of 'Climate Change Biology', has been admitted to the Department of Energy fellowship program. She will spend the summer in Oak Ridge National Laboratory supervised by Ben Sulman, closing a serendipitous loop that started in a UMBS summer research encounter. The unique nature of UMBS station life is the part of the magic sauce that makes it happen.”
Dr. Gil Bohrer is a professor of civil, environmental and geodetic engineering at Ohio State University, a researcher at the U-M Biological Station, and instructor of the UMBS course titled “Observation and Modeling of Climate Change Biology”.
Dr. Aimée Classen
“If you have the opportunity to take a course at a field research station—take it. Experiences like those at the University of Michigan Biological Station are different because you don’t just learn about a place; you learn from a place. That distinction matters. When you are immersed in an ecosystem day after day, the forest, lake, or field becomes your classroom, your lab and your instructor. Concepts move from abstract ideas in a textbook to patterns you can see, measure, and question. You begin to understand not just what we know about environmental systems, but how we come to know it. It’s an experience that you will draw on across your life no matter what you end up pursuing.”
Dr. Aimée Classen is the director of the University of Michigan Biological Station, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at U-M, and a researcher at the U-M Biological Station.
Dr. Hernán López-Fernández
“Our image of University learning tends to be reading books or sitting in a classroom. We study our favorite animals or plants, the impacts humans have on the environment, or the biological intricacies that drive ecological and evolutionary processes. We learn to ask abstract questions and the best methods to answer them. But when we see a heron catch a fish in the lake, a pair of sunfishes taking care of their nest, or the myriad types of mushrooms in the understory of a pine forest, we start understanding that what the books say is based on what generations of biologists have learned from being out in nature, armed with their curiosity and sense of wonder. So, a month at the UMBS is a gateway to discovery and understanding, both of nature and of the true nature of science as observation and collaboration. The books and our theoretical knowledge take a backseat and give us a chance to really understand nature and develop an instinct about how it works. We learn what no number of classes or books can teach us: Nature is out there, and if we want to understand it, we need to go out and meet her.”
Dr. Hernán López-Fernández is a professor and curator of fishes at the University of Michigan, a researcher at the U-M Biological Station, and an instructor of the UMBS course titled “Field Studies of Freshwater Fishes".
Dr. Mariano Rodriguez-Cabal
"Taking courses at UMBS gives students the chance to actually do science, not just hear and read about it. I focus on getting students out in the field, asking their own questions, collecting and analyzing real data, and thinking critically about what it all means. These experiences build science literacy, quantitative skills, and a deeper curiosity about how nature works. By participating in hands-on ecology, students leave the course not just with knowledge, but with the confidence and tools to tackle real-world environmental problems.”
Dr. Mariano Rodriguez-Cabal is a research assistant professor at the University of Vermont, a researcher at the U-M Biological Station, and instructor of the UMBS course titled "General Ecology Lecture”.
Eva Roos
“Taking field courses at the Bio Station will change the way you learn and experience the world. Your classroom is no longer an indoor room, but the environments of your surroundings. You are immersed in-community, in and outside of class hours, not just with students, but with the trees, lake, birds, and insects who also call Douglas Lake home. When I was an undergraduate, being brave enough to take a field course changed the trajectory of my life, helping me discover my passions and purpose.”
Eva Roos teaches the UMBS course titled "Learning From the Landscape".
Apply Today
Ready to join the adventure? The application for 2026 field-based courses at the University of Michigan Biological Station is open.
Old favorites like Field Mammalogy, Freshwater Fishes, and Ethnobotany are back. And there are exciting new additions including Introduction to Data Science, Great Lakes Policy and Management, and Michigan: People and Place in a Changing Climate.
The spring term runs May 19 through June 18, 2026, and summer term runs June 30 through July 30, 2026, on the campus located about 20 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge.
From microbiology to English and general ecology options, check out the full menu of 2026 classes and apply today on the UMBS Courses website. That’s where you can discover how UMBS courses satisfy academic requirements and learn about scholarships, which are open to guest and international students too.
The priority application deadline is March 15, 2026.
UMBS welcomes undergraduates, graduate students and visiting scholars from around the globe. Most courses include research, but no prior field experience is required. If you’re ready for hands-on science, lasting friendships and memories that stretch beyond the woods, UMBS is waiting for you.
To hear directly from students who have experienced UMBS, read Student Testimonials and Alumni Success Stories.
The University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world, advance research and education, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.
Our vast campus engages all of the senses. Its remote, natural setting nurtures deep thought and scientific discovery.
Founded in 1909, UMBS supports long-term research and education through immersive, field-based courses and features state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for data collection and analysis to help any field researcher be productive. It is where students and scientists from across the globe live and work as a community to learn from the place.
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