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A Pan-American exploration of identity, expression and our sustainable future.
12 CREDITS | 16 WEEKS
Empower yourself to author the story you want told and enact the change you want made during an intercontinental journey through Colorado, Costa Rica, Panama, and Mexico. You’ll explore prominent issues alongside professors from Colorado State University (CSU) and the United Nation’s University for Peace while learning from local communities, nonprofits, and businesses. Out in the world, you’ll find that self-discovery creates purpose with staying power and new perspectives fuel life-long proficiencies.
After the program, continue to Colorado State with the opportunity to join CSU Honors Program or take your transferable college credit with you to the next step of your academic journey.
Upcoming travel dates:
Fall 2025
Program components
Coursework
Global Studies examines how people's experiences are interconnected across countries and cultures, drawing from various fields to understand the world's major forces. The course aims to contribute to a better world by focusing on discovering different countries, understanding global citizenship, and delving into science, history, economics, current events, and cultural understanding, with a central theme of sustainable development. Our journey encompasses the CSU Mountain Campus in Colorado, Costa Rica, Panama, and the CSU Mexico Campus, where we'll explore diverse cultures, their unique challenges, and collaborative solutions for a better future.
This course acknowledges our role as co-creators in a holistic planetary ecosystem and our desire to collaborate with the natural world for a sustainable future. By examining art, literature, and language from Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States, we'll seek insights into the interaction of environments and cultures to reimagine our planetary future.
This course delves into personal narratives to help you reflect on the origin and evolution of your values, goals, and identities during your studies abroad, and their influence on your academic and personal decisions. We'll examine personal narratives from diverse cultures, creative nonfiction, memoirs, visual, and oral forms to help you understand how your story aligns with university programs and more.
This course introduces case examples, a robust framework, and implementation principles around the circular economy concept, emphasizing optimizing processes and systems as a whole rather than individual components. The shift to a circular economy is a significant challenge for a more sustainable society. One that demands an interdisciplinary approach that combines social, technical, managerial, and environmental perspectives.
Program Itinerary
Note: This itinerary is subject to change due to availability and local conditions at the time of departure.
United States
2 Weeks
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Program Orientation
Your semester starts in the CSU Mountain Campus, where you will learn more about your own strengths and values in the Craft your Story course and build your toolkit for understanding the other cultures you’ll be experiencing
COSTA RICA
5 Weeks
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Building Your Foundation
Travel to the EF Campus on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica to continue your courses, Global Studies and Thinking Toward a Thriving Planet, and take survival Spanish lessons.
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Arts & Expression in Costa Rica
Explore the vibrant world of Costa Rican fine and cultural arts at the Museo de Arte Costarricense in San José and trace the footsteps of ancient civilizations at the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum. Venture to regenerative communities for sustainable living insights, challenge assumptions about the agricultural industry at an organic coffee farm, and engage with local communities through community development nonprofits dedicated to empowering disadvantaged communities in San José.
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Sustainable Development & The Circular Economy
With your foundation of global awareness and critical thinking, you’ll move into Costa Rica’s Central Valley to study at the UN-chartered University for Peace, an international institution training the leaders of tomorrow to build a sustainable, peaceful, and equitable future for all. Your course at the University for Peace will focus on Sustainable Development and the Circular Economy, and will include co-curricular field visits throughout to bring your experience to life.
PANAMA
2 Weeks
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Growth & Diversity in Panama
In Panama, visit with a Panamanian government agency to uncover the inner workings of global trade and governance by interacting with government officials at the heart of this operation. Delve into biodiversity at Biomuseo, a captivating museum that illuminates Panama's natural richness. Join hands with a nonprofit nourishing the minds and bodies of school children daily across the Boquete district and immerse yourself in the folk arts of the Panamanian indigenous communities, gaining insights into their rich cultural heritage and artistic expressions.
MEXICO
6 Weeks
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Our Sustainable Future
End your semester at CSU Todos Santos in Baja California, Mexico. Along with your cohort, you’ll get to experience life in this beautiful small town, while getting to know some of the people and families who have been there for generations, making it what it is today. You’ll end the program with a greater sense of who you are, the opportunities to create a sustainable future, and the role you want to play in building it.
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Ready to get started?
Our Program Consultants are ready to answer any questions you and your family may have, then they’ll work with you to plan an experience that expands your horizons and meets your goals.
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