Why you should attend FLBS Summer Session

• World-class researchers and professors
• Excellent return on investment - $315/credit and $197.50/week for food and double lodging
• Fees are the same for residents and nonresidents
• Low student to professor ratios - most classes are held to no more than 13 students
• Numerous generous academic scholarships available up to $5,000
• Geographically diverse student population - typical summers see students from over 25 universities across the U.S.
• Challenging and intense short courses of 2 or 4 weeks accelerate degree coursework
• Field-oriented courses are held in an outdoor classroom rather than a traditional classroom
• Real field experience prepares you for ecology and other field careers
• Credits transfer to most major universities
• Glacier National Park is only 60 minutes up the road!
• Students live and work in one of the most beautiful areas of Montana
• Backpacking, camping, fishing, hiking, kayaking, and more during Northwest Montana summers

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About FLBS

Ecology class gathers for a field lecture

Researchers and students live and study together in a pristine, mountain setting on the shores of Flathead Lake, 85 miles north of Missoula, Montana. Our academic session has something for everyone interested in learning ecology. We emphasize hands-on learning outside under the open sky, as opposed to traditional college courses in lecture halls and stuffy laboratories. Each course involves multiple field trips to relevant sites within the Flathead Basin, including Glacier National Park and the National Bison Range.

Direct observation of biota and ecological processes is stressed. Hiking, boating and outdoor scholarly fun are an everyday part of these novel courses. Overnight camping, often in backcountry settings, is a part of most classes. 

Students and faculty live in cabins or in a modern dormitory on the Flathead Lake Biological Station grounds, where the mountains merge with the cool, clear waters of Flathead Lake. Our facilities are fantastic! Backpacking into the wilderness areas and Glacier National Park typically occupies most of the spare time of students and staff. The area is a photographer's paradise and superb fishing delights the angler. Visitors enjoy swimming and boating on Flathead Lake and kayaking and canoeing on the rivers.

Enrollment in courses at Flathead Lake Biological Station is limited. Contact us to learn more about how Ecology courses at FLBS can enhance your current course of study!