ABOUT

The Primate Behavior and Ecology program provides students with interdisciplinary perspectives on the relationships between non-human primates and the environment in both captive and free-range settings. Learn more about where we work! 

This undergraduate program is unique in the state of Washington (and the United States more broadly) and prepares students for graduate programs in primate behavior, behavioral ecology, animal behavior and related fields, for conservation careers in governmental and nongovernmental organizations, or for careers in primate laboratories, zoos, and other captive facilities.

In 2018 with the help of Dr. Lori Sheeran and Dr. Kathleen Barlow, an exciting collaboration formed between Central Washington University and the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environmental Research (UWICER) in Central Bhutan. In September 2019, students traveled to UWICER with Drs. Sheeran and Barlow to attend the first Bhutan Biodiversity Field School session where they had the unique opportunity to learn primatology field techniques focused on Central Himalayan langurs. Students had the chance to immerse themselves in Bhutan's wildlife and conservation practices, prepared scientific field projects exploring the human-nonhuman primate interface, and collaborated with an international team. For more information about the field site and field school, contact Dr. Lori Sheeran or Dr. Kathleen Barlow.

OUR RESEARCH

Primate Behavior and Ecology Program students have the opportunity to complete internships and research with non-human primates in both captive and free-living settings.

Undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate students have the amazing opportunity to gain chimpanzee care and husbandry training at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest located just 20 miles west of Ellensburg.	Photo Credit: CSNW
Ethnoprimatological research opportunities focused on Tibetan macaques are available at Mount Huangshan in China.
A number of students have carried out internships and research projects at the Gibbon Conservation Center in Santa Clarita, CA.	Photo Credit: Gibbon Conservation Center

Opportunities are not limited to the above, as students and faculty conduct research around the world. Find out more about our research. 

STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS

Learn about undergraduate Miranda's experience in the program thus far here.

PROGRAM EVENTS

Together with our student-run club, the Primate Awareness Network, we regularly invite experts in the field to campus as guest speakers each year.

2020

2019

Dr. Krishna Balasubramaniam
Dr. Katharine Jack

2018

An Evening with Dr. Biruté Galdikas, the world's foremost authority on the orangutan	Photo Credit: National Geographic
Patti Ragan, President and Founder of Center for Great Apes
Ashley Stone, President and Founder of the Bonobo Project Listen to her talk here.

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