Students in the program conduct their dissertation research as part of interdisciplinary teams addressing problems of fragmentation in temperate and tropical settings. Students are mentored in these efforts by participating faculty from four disciplinary areas: Conservation Biology and Ecological Genetics,
Agricultural and Forest Ecology and Agroforestry, Soil and Watershed Sciences, and Sociology and Environmental Economics. The research projects are being conducted in one of four geographic regions with diverse ecologies, one in Idaho, USA and three in Costa Rica. These locations are sites of ongoing projects by participating faculty. Each student will produce a dissertation that includes linking chapters involving two or more disciplines within each team and co-authored by other team members. The students work together within the teams but also among teams through conferences and interactive courses at the University of Idaho and at CATIE. Graduates of the program will be uniquely prepared to contribute effectively to interdisciplinary teams addressing conservation and sustainability as they begin their careers.