Graduate/Professional Training at Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation The Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation offers professional and graduate student training in a range of topics in applied ecology and conservation biology. These courses are 5 to 12-day intensive residential programs hosted in our sustainably-built Academic Center on the grounds of Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, USA. All courses offer continuing education credits (CEUs) and some can be taken for graduate credit. Limited scholarships are available for eligible applicants. See our upcoming offerings below and check out our website (smconservation.gmu.edu/programs/graduate-and-professional/) for more course details and pricing.
Ecology and Conservation of Migratory Birds (September 17-28, 2018) - apply before July 9 for first consideration! Led by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, this course teaches the most current methods in the research of migratory birds including theoretical concepts, field and laboratory methods (e.g. mist-netting, banding, tissue sampling, stable isotope geochemistry, geolocators and radio telemetry), data analysis (including distance sampling and mark-recapture statistics) and applied conservation strategies. Participants will be mist-netting and handling birds during many mornings of the course, and will also learn to prepare museum voucher study skins. Bioinformatics Analysis for Conservation Genomics (October 10-19, 2018) - NEW COURSE This course is designed to provide attendees at any career stage with a theoretical understanding of the methods used in conservation genomics along with the practical skills necessary to design and carry out the analysis component of a conservation genomics study. While an introduction to the theoretical aspects of each of the analytical steps will be given, the emphasis of the course will be on hands-on training, enabling the participants to complete the analysis steps behind a conservation genomics study. The course will begin with an overview of conservation genomics, comparison of different next generation sequencing platforms, and the analytical factors to consider when beginning a conservation genomics study. The rest of the course will focus on the bioinformatics analysis behind a conservation study, including: genome assembly (trimming, assembly techniques, quality assessment), genome annotation, mapping low coverage genome data to a reference genome, SNP calling, demographic analysis, and estimation of genome-wide diversity. By the end of the course, attendees will have acquired the necessary background and applied knowledge to implement genomic analyses for the conservation of endangered species. Applications will open soon for the following 2019 courses: *Statistics for Ecology and Conservation Biology (March 11-22, 2019) *Communication and Facilitation for Conservation Managers (April 8-12, 2019) *Camera Trapping Study Design and Data Analysis for Occupancy and Density Estimation (June 10-21, 2019)
