TCD Certificate & Concentration
Introduction
The Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD) Program
offers an interdisciplinary certificate and concentration program focused
on integrative approaches to conservation and development in Latin America
and other tropical regions. The program is open to students enrolled in
Master's and Ph.D. programs in TCD’s affiliate departments at the
University of Florida (UF).
Program coursework includes social science theory, principles of tropical
ecology, patterns and trends of tropical resource use and conservation,
and research design. The TCD core courses also allow students to gain essential
practical skills. Emphasis is placed on communication and presentation techniques,
proposal writing, facilitation and conflict management, participatory methods
for research and project implementation, and project design, analysis and
evaluation.
Graduates of the TCD academic program have an in-depth understanding of
the relationships between biological conservation, resource management,
and the livelihood needs of rural communities and, they have the appropriate
professional skills for a career in conservation and development research,
field practice, or both.