Study Abroad in Costa Rica

Immerse Yourself in Costa Rica's Culture and Environment 

Join USCB for an unforgettable 10-day study abroad and service learning experience in Costa Rica, where you'll live with local host families, work alongside educators and students in a bilingual school, participate in environmental projects, and explore one of the world's most biodiverse countries.

Travel Dates: June 12-21, 2027  

Program Cost: Approximately $2,400 (plus tuition and personal expenses).
Tuition for 3 credit hours is $1, 650 for in-state students (includes $300 USCB study abroad fee)

Includes: 

• All flights and ground transportation. Airfare is round trip: Savannah airport (SAV) — San Jose, Costa Rica airport (SJO)
• Three days of school visits and collaboration with Costa Rican students and teachers
• Accommodations with host family
• Two days of environmental service projects
• Beach day
• A day in a private rainforest reserve, featuring opportunities to:
  • Walk canopy suspension bridges
  • Observe tropical wildlife
  • Zipline through the rainforest
  • Hike rainforest trails
• Tours of a coffee farm and cultural sites

Course Options

Students will enroll in one of these for the Summer I term:

• EDCI B400: Teaching Multilingual Learners (3 credits).This course examines culturally and linguistically responsive teaching practices and provides students with firsthand experience in a bilingual educational setting.
• GLST B398: Global Studies (3 credits, open to students of all majors) This course explores the intersections of culture, language, education, community, and global citizenship. The course fulfills elective needs for students across a wide variety of majors.

Learn Through Immersion

This service learning study abroad experience is open to all majors. It is not a formal language-learning program, but students will have daily opportunities to improve their Spanish through interactions with their host families, teachers and students at the school where we will volunteer, members of the enviornmental organization where we will serve, and others.

Service Learning at a Bilingual School

A cornerstone of the program is three days of service learning at Sun Valley Bilingual School, a Pre-K through 12th-grade school in Santa Ana, Costa Rica.

Students will:

• Observe classrooms across grade levels
• Learn about bilingual and multilingual education
• Support teachers and students through classroom activities
• Explore project-based and hands-on learning approaches
• Compare educational practices in Costa Rica and the United States
• Gain experience working with culturally and linguistically diverse learners

Education majors will gain valuable insight into teaching multilingual students, while students from other majors will develop leadership, communication, and cross-cultural collaboration skills that are highly valued in today's workforce.

Environmental Service and Sustainability

Costa Rica is internationally recognized for its commitment to conservation and sustainable development. During the program, students will participate in two days of environmental service projects, making a direct impact on local communities and ecosystems.

Projects include:

• A river clean-up initiative in partnership with community organizations
• A rainforest reforestation project that supports habitat restoration and environmental sustainability

These experiences provide hands-on opportunities to learn about environmental stewardship while giving back to the communities that host our program.

 

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