Scholarships and Tuition Assistance

Money is a barrier like any other. If tuition is what stands between you and the course, there are several routes through it — and none of them require paperwork.

What’s free, always

A Primer on Reptiles & Amphibians — the award-winning textbook most of the course material comes from — is a free download and always will be. It comes in a high-resolution edition and a low-resolution one for slower connections and limited data, and it prints cleanly on ordinary paper. Not being able to afford a textbook should not decide how much someone gets to understand about these animals. See all the free resources.

Payment plans

A Pay Later option is available at checkout, which splits tuition into smaller payments rather than one charge. For some people that is the whole problem solved, and it needs no conversation with us at all. Course tuition

Tuition assistance

Scholarship funds exist for our courses. There is no application to fill in, no documentation to send, and no need to prove anything about your finances. If the course seems right for you and price is the barrier, get in touch and we will talk it through.

We can’t guarantee funding — the pot is not bottomless — but we will tell you plainly what is currently available rather than leaving you guessing.

How to ask

Any of these reach Micha directly. A sentence or two about what is in the way is enough to start — you do not need to compose a case.

If splitting tuition into smaller payments would make the difference rather than a discount, mention that too — it is often the easier fix.

Supporting the fund

Every dollar donated to the scholarship fund is matched by THC, so a $50 gift puts $100 toward a seat.

Donate to the scholarship fund · or send directly via PayPal to learnaboutcritters@gmail.com, noting it’s for the youth scholarship fund.

If the barrier isn’t money

Cost is only one of the things that can get in the way. Pace, deadlines, reading format, screens, bandwidth, fieldwork requirements, location, and a good many other circumstances are covered on our Accessibility and Inclusivity page — most of it already built into how the course works, so there is nothing to request.

And if we can’t find an arrangement you’re comfortable with, our refund policy applies to you the same as anyone. Refunds