Academics
Learning objectives
The fall ACM Costa Rica: Language, Society, & the Environment program aims to help students comprehend the many dimensions of life in Latin America and understand the broad questions, challenges, and opportunities faced by societies in this region.
The program has three sets of learning goals:
- To develop Spanish language proficiency to the advanced level;
- To develop broad understanding of Latin American society and intercultural literacy through cultural immersion; and
- To deepen knowledge of Latin American development, environmental, and cultural issues through coursework, first-hand experience, and field inquiry.
Course offerings build on the framework of a liberal arts education and focus on analyzing Latin American culture, politics, and environment, as well as Spanish language acquisition. Courses are discussion-centered, enrollments are small, and faculty work closely with students. A two-week rural stay gives students first-hand experience participating in and studying the work of local communities. The housing arrangements, with host families both in San José and in the countryside during the rural stay, enhance the immersive aspect of the program, as do excursions to sites in and around San José.
When students return to campus after the fall Costa Rica program, they should have the skills in language, intercultural literacy, and field inquiry to arrive in or study a new country – especially in Latin America – and to engage with the major issues of the day with cultural understanding and experiential sophistication.
Language requirement
Second-year level college coursework in Spanish, taken in the year prior to the start of the program, is recommended. ACM will review applications on a case-by-case basis and may recommend that a student arrange to refresh or augment his/her level of Spanish prior to the start of the program.