About

The Marine Biology Camp at Roger Williams University is a one-week residential program on RWU's waterfront campus in Bristol, Rhode Island, offered in five identical sessions across July and early August 2026 (July 5–11, July 12–18, July 19–25, July 26–August 1, and August 2–8). The camp is aimed at rising high school juniors and seniors, though rising sophomores may indicate interest and are admitted if space allows; RWU does not restrict the program to U.S. citizens, so international students are explicitly welcome, though the university does not provide airport transportation or off-dates housing for anyone.

Each session runs a mix of field excursions and lab work: students learn oceanographic sampling techniques, explore Narragansett Bay ecosystems by sea kayak, snorkel barrier beaches and tidal pools, take a whale-watching boat trip off Cape Cod, and work hands-on with plankton sampling, shellfish/finfish/seaweed biology, nutrient and productivity measurement, and aquaculture. Field and lab work is built around RWU's Marine and Natural Sciences building — a 3,000-square-foot wet lab with flowing seawater and a 200-foot learning platform extending into Mount Hope Bay — plus time aboard the InVinceble Spirit, RWU's NSF-funded 30-foot research vessel. Guest seminars from RWU marine scientists cover topics like marine mammal protection, invasive species, overfishing, and toxic plankton blooms. Students reside double-occupancy in a waterside dorm, supervised 24 hours a day by three Resident Assistants who live alongside them plus a faculty or staff Director.

The program costs $2,195 (a $500 deposit, refundable through April 1, plus a $1,695 balance due May 10), which covers lodging, meals, instruction, materials, lab and equipment use, and all field trips. Enrollment is capped at 18 students per session for close faculty attention. Students who qualify for free or reduced school lunch may apply for a limited number of camp scholarships, verified through their school. RWU's own FAQ is unusually candid that this camp isn't for every student: it explicitly discourages families from signing a reluctant teenager up "because my parents made me do this," on the grounds that disinterested campers both have a worse time and take a spot from a genuinely interested one.

For a student who wants a concentrated, hands-on taste of marine biology — real boat time, real sampling, real lab work — without committing to a multi-week program, this is a well-built one-week option, and its five identical sessions make it easier to slot around other summer plans than most residential science camps. RWU itself reports that roughly one in five campers go on to enroll at RWU, which says as much about the camp's function as a pipeline as it does about its content. A student who already knows they want sustained, mentored original research over many weeks — rather than a structured survey — will get more out of a longer and more immersive program.