Biological Field Station

To learn more about the URGE program click here to watch an 12-minute informational video.

As a biological field station, Pierce Cedar Creek Institute has a number of rare qualities in the natural sciences. For one, the Institute offers an ideal location for performing scientific research. Situated in Southwest Michigan, the Institute offers many of the best features of Northern Michigan... without the five-hour drive! For another, the Institute's 661 acres of wetlands, forests, and meadowlands-teeming with native flora and fauna-have vast research potential. The Institute's campus includes laboratories, classrooms, housing, dining hall, and meeting rooms. The facilities are up-to-date and comfortable. As a biological field station, Pierce Cedar Creek Institute has a number of rare qualities in the natural sciences. For one, the Institute offers an ideal location for performing scientific research. Situated in Southwest Michigan, the Institute offers many of the best features of Northern Michigan... without the five-hour drive! For another, the Institute's 661 acres of wetlands, forests, and meadowlands-teeming with native flora and fauna-have vast research potential.

The Institute’s campus includes laboratories, classrooms, housing, dining hall, and meeting rooms. The facilities are up-to-date and comfortable.

The Institute serves many purposes. It introduces students to hands-on, practical field work; deepens their understanding of the natural sciences; prepares them for graduate school; hones their research skills; and enables them to meet students and faculty with shared interests from other colleges and universities.

The Institute also provides support to colleges and universities, including prime education facilities, housing, and meal service. Institute facilities and property are available for summer-long in-residence projects and on-day or multi-day course field trips with overnight accommodations available. The Institute further offers faculty members the opportunity to expand their own knowledge by exploring largely unstudied ecosystems and taking advantage of fresh opportunities for research.

Pierce Cedar Creek Institute's Biological Field Station is a consortium of fourteen colleges and universities from Michigan and Indiana. An Advisory Board made up of two representatives from each school oversees the consortium. The focus of the Advisory Board is to oversee the research grant program, encourage the use of the Institute's facilities and land to supplement classroom learning, and to develop a curriculum of courses to be offered at the Institute.