Whatever enchants you—the damp breezes of a tropical rainforest, meeting new people full of heart-warming hospitality, or learning first-hand about topics that really interest you—Costa Rica is sure to offer it.
Based in Heredia, a suburb of San José, our English-taught study abroad program in Costa Rica allows you to engage in experiential, hands-on learning as you examine topics in Environmental Studies, Sustainable Business Practices, and Human Rights.
Through our field study trips and day trips, Costa Rica will become your classroom. Imagine working alongside a scientist in the Monteverde cloud forest or learning about sustainable business at a local coffee plantation. Welcome to study abroad!
Your experience will begin with an intensive Spanish language module at Universidad Nacional that will also teach you about Costa Rican society. Your second module allows you to choose a course focusing on your specific areas of interest. The third module expands this focus by applying concepts you have learned to specific challenges in Costa Rican society. The final capstone module puts your newfound knowledge into action as you participate in an internship, service-learning placement, or research project.
Most modules are conducted at the IES Abroad Center in Heredia, but participation in specific modules will allow you to study for four weeks in other parts of Costa Rica at our esteemed partner institutions, UGA Costa Rica in Monteverde and EARTH University in Limón province.
Finally, we want you to feel at home in Costa Rica, so we will do everything we can to help you integrate into life in San José and Heredia. From cultural events at our Center to extracurricular activities at Universidad Nacional, you will have numerous opportunities to get to know Costa Rica.
These dates are preliminary and are subject to change. Students should not book flights according to these dates.
Our mission is simple: to provide you with the best study abroad program possible—which includes the highest quality academic and cultural experiences.
We offer unparalleled courses that explore issues in Environmental Studies, Human Rights, and Sustainable Business Practices through an in-depth and hands-on approach. Our world-class professors and modules at prestigious partner institutions enhance your academic experience and provide you with new perspectives each day in class.
You take 15-16 credit hours per semester, and all courses are worth 4 credits unless otherwise specified. You will take one course per module. All courses are taught in English, excluding the Spanish language courses, and are offered both Fall and Spring semesters.
You craft your own academic experience by selecting from the following required and optional program components:
Modular Curriculum Structure The Social and Environmental Change Program comprises four 4-week modules.
Course Options
BL/ES 300 Biodiversity and Conservation in Costa Rica
IR/LS 305 Conflict Transformation and Peacemaking in Central America
BS/ES 305 Sustainable Development: Integrating Community, Entrepreneurship, And Natural Resources
BL/ES 310 Tropical Cloud Forest Ecology and Conservation
PO/LS 300 Human Rights in Central America: Poverty, Promise, and Possibility
BS/ES 302 (formerly BS/ES 300) Business and the Environment in Latin America
BS/ES/IN 395 Internship Seminar
SO/SL 395 Learning through Service
BS/ES/SO 390 Independent Research Project
Below is a list of potential course offerings. A final course list will be available in your MyIESabroad account after you are accepted to the program.
Spanish Courses Spanish courses will be taught at various levels through the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica. Classes meet four hours a day, five days a week for four weeks (total of 80 hours) during Module 1.
IES Abroad has formed partnerships with many educational and nonprofit organizations throughout Costa Rica that specialize in sustainability, biodiversity, economic development, and human rights.
Universidad Nacionalwww.una.ac.cr Dedicated to equality, well-being, sustainability, and deomocracy, Universidad Nacional is a public research university located in Heredia.
Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio)www.inbio.ac.cr The IES Abroad Center is located at INBio, a non-profit research and biodiversity management center in Heredia, Costa Rica.
Coursework and field study opportunities are also available at EARTH University and UGA Costa Rica.
During Module 4, you have the opportunity to participate in an internship or service learning placement.
While adding study abroad to your resume is impressive enough, adding an international internship or service learning experience is even more powerful, and can help distinguish your application for graduate school or a job opportunity in today’s competitive job market.
An IES Abroad San José internship or service learning placement also provides an invaluable cultural experience and helps you develop professional and personal skills.
Our field study opportunities get you outside the classroom to learn hands-on in new and exciting locations outside of Heredia and San José. These trips are included in the program fee. Possible destinations are listed below.
Limón Province at EARTH University If you take BS/ES305, you will spend a month studying at EARTH University in the Limón province, a non-profit university dedicated to social and environmental well-being. During your month in Limón, you’ll have the opportunity to spend time learning about sustainable agriculture and development on three working farms, including a sustainable banana plantation.
Monteverde Cloud Forest at UGA Costa Rica The course BL/ES310 includes a 2-week field study at UGA Costa Rica, a tropical forest research station located near Santa Elena and operated by the University of Georgia. UGA Costa Rica is dedicated to the study of ecology and conservation, and offers you the opportunity to explore topics in biodiversity and ecology first-hand as you do research alongside working scientists.
Panamanian Islands As a part of IR/LS305, you will visit Panama for a multi-day field study focused on conflict transformation and human rights.
Our job is to make sure that your greatest challenge is deciding what landmarks to see first or discovering the best café—not finding a place to live where you feel comfortable. We do our best to locate housing that is reflective of how the local students are living. Our goal is that when you leave San José, it will feel like home.
Homestays - You live in a private home in Heredia, a suburb of San José, with a family or señora. Homestay hosts provide three meals daily. During extended field study, you will live in rural homestays, residence halls, or cabins and receive three meals daily.
Part of making you feel at home in San José is doing our best to help you feel safe and cared for. Whether it is an orientation program that makes you feel prepared, housing that is well-located and comfortable, or the field trips that take you to places off the beaten path—we’re all about our student services. This is just one of the things we’re known for.
The program begins with a week-long orientation that introduces you to the IES Abroad San José staff, your fellow students, the city of San José, and Heredia, the suburb where the program is located. Topics such as academics, housing, transportation, and health and safety are covered.
Additionally, CORE™, IES Abroad’s Comprehensive Orientation & Re-entry Experience, begins during orientation and continues throughout the semester with activities focusing on cultural adjustment, goal achievement, and preparing for the return home.
Redefine the way you live and learn in San José through our cultural events, such as:
Field Trips Although your adventure begins in the San José area, our day trips take you to other great destinations in Costa Rica to provide contrast and context for what you are learning in San José. IES Abroad San José day trips are included in the program fee.
Destinations may include:
Field Study Our field study opportunities get you outside the classroom to learn hands-on in new and exciting locations outside of Heredia and San José. These trips are included in the program fee. Possible destinations are listed below.
Limón Province at EARTH University 1 month If you choose to participate in BS/ES305, you will spend a month studying at EARTH University in the Limón Province, a non-profit university dedicated to social and environmental well-being. During your month in Limón, you’ll have the opportunity to spend time learning about sustainable agriculture and development on three working farms, including a sustainable banana plantation.
Monteverde Cloud Forest at UGA Costa Rica 2 weeks If you take BL/ES310, you will spend two weeks at UGA Costa Rica where you will explore topics in biodiversity and ecology first-hand, as you do research alongside working scientists. UGA Costa Rica, a tropical forest research station located near Santa Elena, is operated by the University of Georgia and dedicated to the study of ecology and conservation.
Bocas del Toro, Panama 3 days The Human Rights academic track will take you to Panama to learn about human rights issues in the beautiful Bocas del Toro archipelago.
The IES Abroad Center is located is located within the beautiful botanic garden at the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio), a biological park in Heredia designed to educate the public on the rich biodiversity of Costa Rica and issues of sustainability.
Features of the Center include:
Sarah Cordero PinchanskyCenter Director Sarah Cordero Pichansky holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Costa Rica and a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School at Harvard. She is currently completing her doctorate at MIT with a focus on economic development and sustainability. She served previously as Profesora Asesora of Management Consulting practice at INCAE, one of the leading business schools in Latin America, where she also directed an INCAE - Carlson School of Management joint workshop on business and sustainability for eight years. She also served as Dean of the faculty of the Business School at the Latin American University of Science and Technology (ULACIT) in San José. Sarah's academic interests parallel two of the primary themes of our San José Center: Sustainability and development, and environmental protection.
Faculty
Sharon SpringerEnvironmental Studies Ed.D., Master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language
Mildred LinkimerEnvironmental Studies & Biology Master's in Tropical Agroforestry
Alvaro HerreraEnvironmental Studies & Biology Master's in Biology
Rodolfo Meoño SotoLatin American Studies Ph.D. in Human Rights and Development, Master's in Educational Sciences, Licenciatura in Philosophy
Francisco Robles RiveraLatin American Studies Master's in Latin American Studies
Jane YeomansEnvironmental Studies & Biology Ph.D. in Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry
Ramón LeónEnvironmental Studies & Biology M.Sc. & Ph.D. in Crop Production & Physiology, PhD. in Genetics
Vertical Tabs