Program Duration

Fall semester: Mid-August - Mid-December Summer/fall: Mid-June - Mid December
Summer: Mid-June - Early August

Program Description

The Latin American Health, Nutrition, and Environmental Studies Program in the Dominican Republic is offered by the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), a group of universities (which includes the University of Wisconsin-Madison) dedicated to fostering cultural and academic growth in the United States and beyond. This program provides undergraduate students an opportunity to study a broad range of health, nutrition, and environmental issues through interdisciplinary, field-based studies in Jarabacoa and at a Dominican university in Santiago.

The Dominican Republic is a Spanish-speaking Caribbean country comprising the eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. With cultural influences of Native American, European, and African origins, it is a country of contrasts and diversity. Rugged mountains, lush valleys, beautiful coastlines, and bustling towns and cities are all a part of its varied geography.

The Dominican Republic is an excellent site for a study abroad program on Latin American health, nutrition, and related environmental and development issues. The country, a microcosm of Latin America and the Caribbean, faces health and nutrition problems common to the entire region. Through firsthand experiences, program participants learn about these problems and their proposed solutions.

Academics

This program offers three different academic options for students to choose from: a summer program from mid-June to mid-August worth 8 credits; a fall program from mid-August to mid-December worth 12-18 credits; or a summer/fall program from mid-June to mid-December. The summer/fall option combines the summer and fall programs.

The summer program is based in the city of Jarabacoa with assistance provided by ENTRENA, a private, professional service and training organization that specializes in management of development projects throughout the Dominican Republic. The summer program is an intensive experientially-based, practical program designed for self-starting students who are interested in health and nutrition and desire enriching academic and cross-cultural challenges. The first half of the summer program is comprised of an intensive Spanish language course and a seminar focusing on health, nutrition, and related environmental issues of the Latin American and Caribbean region. The second half of the summer program continues with educational field trips that deepen students' knowledge of health and nutrition, provide information for individual or partnered research projects, and allow students to experience the country's different regions. Time is also allotted for field and library research for the write-up of individual papers due at the end of the program.

The fall program is based at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) in Santiago, the Dominican Republic's second largest city. PUCMM is a private university founded in 1962 that now enjoys a reputation as the best academic institution of higher learning in the Dominican Republic. Program participants take courses at PUCMM, and choose from advanced Spanish language classes, courses in the health sciences, and elective courses for foreigners in social sciences and humanities. University health courses may include: Community Medicine, Medical Sociology, and Introduction to Basic Healthcare Services. University elective courses may include course such as: Afro-Caribbean Culture, History of the Caribbean, Latin American Film, Latin American Culture and Society, Contemporary Hispanic Literature, and Short Stories of the Hispanic Caribbean. Program participants also complete a field-based independent study project.

Housing

Students reside with Spanish-speaking Dominican families and are provided with their own bedrooms in Jarabacoa and Santiago. Meals are provided by host families. Most students are housed in middle-income homes, though households vary and students should be prepared to adapt.

Excursions and Activities

Upon arrival in the Dominican Republic, there is an on-site orientation for all program participants. Throughout the program there are field excursions that correspond to the academic content of the program and have recently included visits to nutrition centers, health facilities, government and non-governmental organization project sites, community health centers and a reforestation project.