Costa Rica

New Program for 2027!

Program fee will be posted in October. Students will be responsible for their own airfare and tuition costs, in addition to meals that are not part of the group schedule.

Financial Aid:  All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply for relevant scholarships through the CASH system: 

Note that the priority deadline for scholarships is Dec 1 and the CASH final deadline is Feb 1.

Dr. Amanda Minks and Dr. Sarah Tracy 

As the world faces dire problems of climate change and sustainability, this course explores the holistic relations between health and the environment in Costa Rica. Human health depends on the environment (for food, water, air, etc.) and both depend on political-economic structures of care. We draw inspiration from two channels: the emerging discourses of Planetary Health and One Health, and the cultural and historical worlds of communities living on the margins of power structures. These marginalized communities are not isolated, but rather caught up in global networks of capital, communication, migration, law, and development, all of which have ramifications for health. The course takes a community-engaged approach to foster direct dialogue with people who are pushing the health-environment nexus forward to imagine and enact better futures. Our approach also involves engagement with cultural and historical research to understand contemporary problems and consider pathways toward solutions.

Spanish language skills are not necessary, but there will be daily opportunities to practice speaking Spanish for those who wish to do so.

Costa Rica is a very safe country with excellent infrastructure and healthcare. Two Honors College professors and a staff member will accompany the students throughout the trip, including during weekend program activities. Students may use the buddy system to explore cafés and parks in the quiet town of Turrialba during free time.

• Explore sustainable coffee farms, archaeological sites, and volcanoes.
• Learn from grassroots organizations that facilitate Indigenous access to healthcare.
• Visit an Indigenous Bribri community and learn about their environmental and health activities.
• Walk, read, and relax in the botanical gardens of our homebase at CATIE, which is an agricultural research center in Turrialba, a quiet and safe town in eastern Costa Rica.
• Take a walking tour of the Caribbean port city of Limón, where railroads and export crops contributed to the formation of transnational companies and West Indian labor migration in the 19^th century.
• Visit the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, national museums, and Chinatown in the capital city of San José.