Applications are open for Summer 2021 courses.

Apply here for undergraduate courses!

Please note that all HOLDS must be taken care of before you can register for any MSU courses.

Students must apply to enroll in KBS undergraduate courses and the ELME graduate stats courses.  Due to limited on-site housing, we prioritize accepting students who plan to take multiple courses within a session, or across sessions.  So check with your adviser to see which courses will work for you!

Following your acceptance KBS will work with our partnering MSU departments to process your enrollment when summer course registration opens each March.

Note: You will need to provide a PDF of your unofficial transcript(s) so we can ensure course prerequisite requirements are met.

Non-MSU students can take courses at KBS by first filling out MSU’s FREE application to become a MSU Lifelong Education student.  After you have been accepted by MSU and your personal identification number (PID#) is assigned, you will then fill out the KBS course application.

If you have any questions please email: KBSsummer@msu.edu

Updates for 2021:

We are not offering housing to students taking courses at KBS in 2021 due to limited housing. Commuters are encouraged to join KBS courses!

We are currently unaware what MSU’s requirements for being on campus will be in 2021. It very likely will include wearing a mask and social distancing. It may include a COVID-19 vaccine and testing. You will be expected to follow all regulations.

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Room and board rates for 2020 students = $360/week (includes Breakfast: M-F, Lunch: M-F, Dinner: M-Th, Brunch: Sat-Sun).

Each summer over 100 undergraduates and graduate students from MSU and around the country live at KBS.  Resident Mentors facilitate student life activities at KBS including bonfires, volleyball games, group meals, camping trips and weekend excursions.

KBS is located on beautiful Gull Lake, which is 1.5 hours from the MSU main campus. Students can choose to live at KBS, or commute for their summer courses. There is recreation around the lake and within a 10-30 minute drive from KBS are the towns of Richland, Kalamazoo, and Battle Creek.

All student housing at KBS is shared in the KBS Apartments or the Orchard Dorm Suites.  Depending on availability, the KBS Conference Center may be able to honor a request for private housing, but additional charges will apply.

***To secure your housing, room and board scholarship, and seat in your KBS course(s) you must pay a 1-week, non-refundable deposit after you are accepted. The deposit will be deducted from your total due upon arrival at KBS.

Due to generous donations to support students at KBS, ALL students taking at least 4 credits of KBS summer courses (or a 2-week intensive) in each session the student plans to attend, will be awarded a 50% housing scholarship to offset the cost of living at KBS (reducing your cost to $180/week).

Students taking at least 4 credits of KBS summer courses (or a 2-week intensive) in each session the student plans to attend, and eligible for Federal Pell Grant awards will be awarded a 100% housing scholarship. To be considered for this scholarship, eligible students must submit a PDF of their most recent MSU Financial Aid Award letter demonstrating they are Pell Grant eligible when they apply for courses at KBSsummer@msu.edu.

***All housing scholarships will be transmitted directly to the KBS Conference Center on behalf of each student and reported to MSU Financial Aid.

For questions please contact the Academic Programs Coordinator at KBSsummer@msu.edu.

Tuition for courses at KBS is the same as tuition for courses on MSU’s main campus. Your tuition will depend on where you live, and whether you currently attend MSU.  You can estimate how much your tuition will be by using MSU’s Summer Tuition and Fees Calculator.

MSU students can apply for tuition scholarships through the MSU Office of Financial Aid and the MSU Student Affairs Advancement Office.

**Non-MSU students can take courses for credit at KBS by first becoming a MSU Lifelong Education student, and the application is FREE!  After you have been accepted by MSU and your personal identification number (PID#) is assigned, you will then fill out the KBS course application. Note that you are responsible for working with your home institution to ensure that your course credits transfer.

Update for 2021: We apologize that we cannot offer the Launch Your Major program in 2021.

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We offer a set of integrated courses BS162 (3 cr) + BS172 (2 cr) + STT224 (3 cr) during Session 1 that are requirements for several majors and fill quickly on campus.

Students can take this set of courses during Session 1, then couple them with 1 or 2 courses during Session 2.

This could put you a full semester ahead (up to 15 credits!), fill necessary prerequisites, and give you the skills needed to jump into your upper level curriculum back on campus.

Course Code: IBIO 355L (1 credit)
Dates: May 30 to July 5
Meeting time: Friday – in person
Instructors: TBA

Prerequisite: BS 162, LBS 144, LBS 148H, approval of the instructor.

Students learn about the relationships between plants, animals and the physical world. The class explores population, community and ecosystem level processes in a wide variety of habitats. Students are introduced to basic ecological principles and how they can be used to solve environmental problems. Students will learn a variety of sampling techniques, how to analyze data, and will present results of the field research to the class.

Course code: PLB 418 (3 credits)
Dates: May 30 to July 5
Meeting time: Tuesday/Thursday – in person
Instructor: Dr. Todd Barkman (Western Michigan University)

Prerequisite: PLB 105 or BS 162, LBS 144 or LBS 148H or approval of instructor.

A field-oriented systematics course, emphasizing native flora identification and classification. Each day starts with a one and one-half hour lecture on systematics and plant family characteristics. The remainder of the day is spent in the field identifying habitats and the factors controlling plant distribution, understanding biodiversity and human effects.  Skill-building for continuing new species identification are emphasized.

Textbook: Edward Voss, Anton A. Reznicek. Field Manual of Michigan Flora (2012).

OR

Part I. Gymnosperms and Monocots. Bulletin 55.
Part II. Dicots (Saururaceae – Cornaceae). Bulletin 59.
Part III. Dicots (Pyrolaceae – Compositae). Bulletin 61.

Course Code: IBIO 355L (1 credit)
Dates: July 6-August 7
Meeting time: Friday – in person
Instructors: TBA

Prerequisite: BS 162, LBS 144, LBS 148H, approval of the instructor.

Students learn about the relationships between plants, animals and the physical world. The class explores population, community and ecosystem level processes in a wide variety of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Students are introduced to basic ecological principles and how they can be used to solve environmental problems. Students will learn a variety of sampling techniques, how to analyze data, and will present results of the field research to the class.

Course Code: FW 417 (3 credits)
Dates: July 6-August 5
Meeting time: Tuesday/Thursday – in person
Instructors: Dr. Steve Hamilton and Todd Losee

Prerequisite: IBIO355 or equivalent and completion of Tier I writing requirement

Wetlands have increasingly been recognized as ecosystems of particular value, yet many of our wetlands have been lost or degraded by agricultural land conversion, river regulation, and urban development. As a result wetlands now receive special attention and protection in natural resources management and policy. This course covers the ecology of wetlands, and how this ecological knowledge can be applied to the sustainable utilization and conservation of wetlands. Students will visit a diversity of sites to learn about why wetlands are so ecologically variable, how wetlands are delineated, the plant and animal life they harbor, the ecosystem services they provide, and how they can be managed—or even created from scratch. Lead instructors are Dr. Steve Hamilton, an ecosystem ecologist with extensive experience in wetland research around the world, and Todd Losee, an environmental consultant who practices wetland restoration and formerly worked at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

Course Code: FOR 419 (4 credits)
Dates: July 6-August 7
Meeting time: Monday/Wednesday/Friday – ONLINE
Instructors: Dr. Ali Locher (GVSU), Josh Green (GIS Professional), Lisa Vormwald (GIS professional)

Prerequisite: None

Learn how to use geographic information systems, remote sensing, and global positioning systems for ecology, fisheries, wildlife, forestry, recreation, and other applications in natural resources management. This course will be online in 2021.