The McGill-Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) Neotropical Environment Option (NEO) is a research-based concentration for M.Sc. or Ph.D. students in the departments of Anthropology, Biology, Bioresource Engineering, Geography, Natural Resource Sciences, Plant Science, and Political Science at McGill University. The NEO is aimed at students who wish to focus their graduate research on environmental issues relevant to the Neotropics and Latin American countries. The typical NEO student has a very strong interest in conservation because NEO courses focus on conservation issues. Students in the program have diverse backgrounds, including both Latin American and Canadian students, and must either speak Spanish or enrol in a Spanish course when they enter the program. NEO favours interdisciplinary approaches to research and learning through the participation of researchers from McGill and from STRI. Accordingly, each student will have two co-supervisors, one from McGill and one from STRI. Students will complete their research in Latin America, and the NEO\'s core and complementary courses will be taught in Panama. Participation in the MSE-Panama Symposium presentation in Montreal is also required. Through this educational approach, NEO seeks to facilitate a broader understanding of tropical environmental issues and the development of skills relevant to working in the tropics.
麦吉尔史密斯热带研究院（STRI）新热带环境项目（NEO）是麦吉尔大学人类学，生物学，生物资源工程，地理，自然资源科学，植物科学以及政治学学院，面向硕士生和博士生的的研究型项目。新热带环境项目的目标学生是那些专注于研究有关新热带和拉丁美洲环境问题的研究生。典型的新热带环境项目的学生对保护十分感兴趣，因为新热带环境课程注重保护问题。该项目的学生有着多元的背景，包括拉丁美洲和加拿大的学生，并且在他们加入该项目前必须能够说西班牙语或是参加西班牙语课程的学习。
通过麦吉尔大学和史密斯热带研究院中研究人员的参与，新热带环境项目支持用跨学科方法进行研究和学习。因此，每个学生都会有两个合作监督者，一个来自麦吉尔大学，另一个则来自于史密斯热带研究院。学生将会在拉丁美洲完成他们的研究，并且新热带环境项目的核心和必修课程将会于巴拿马进行授课。通过这种教育方法，新热带环境项目将会促进对热带环境问题的更广泛理解，并推动有关热带环境工作技能的发展。