CIEE Liberal Arts Program in Santiago, Dominican Republic

  Dominican Republic

• Santiago: 
Santiago

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring 
Dates: Fall 16 weeks: mid-August-mid-December; Spring 16 weeks: early January-late April; Academic Year 37 weeks: mid-August-late April

Description: The goals of the program are to help students solidify their Spanish language skills and gain a deeper understanding of the society, culture, economics, and politics of the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean region, with a particular emphasis on the Hispanic Caribbean. These goals are achieved through intensive language coursework, social science area studies, literature and history coursework, sports and arts programs, and immersion into Dominican life. For- credit community service or teaching English as a second language opportunities are available,as are a variety of not-for-credit options,

Academic Program
The Liberal Arts program in Santiago, was established in 1987, with a dual a dual focus:to enable students to achieve advanced Spanish language skills while studying and actively participating in life in a developing Caribbean country. The program is designed for students who have taken two years of college-level Spanish and would like to significantly improve their skills in conversation and grammar. Liberal Arts courses offer a solid foundation and unique insight into the evolution of society, culture, economics, and politics of Hispaniola and the Greater Hispanic Caribbean through courses on regional literature, history, and comparison of the widely variant socio-cultural issues that are pertinent for contemporary society in this region.

At the start of the semester, all CIEE students are tested to ascertain their oral and written Spanish level. Students are then placed in one of three distinct academic tracks (Advanced Level, ll or lll) according to their language proficiency, each with a different configuration of both required and elective courses available.

Academic year students have an approximately three-week break between the first and second semesters. Those with strong motivation, independence, and a high level of Spanish may choose to continue for a second semester at the CIEE Study Center in Santo Domingo.

Academic Culture
Most PUCMM students specialize in a profession such as law, medicine, engineering, architecture, education, or business. The only social science majors are psychology and social communication. Like all universities in the Dominican Republic, PUCMM has limited resources compared to most U.S. colleges and universities, but it is a premier private Dominican university.

CIEE students take a combination of courses offered exclusively for them and courses with other foreign students. Students who place into the most advanced levels of the program have the opportunity to take one or two classes with PUCMM students. CIEE students should be prepared for a style of teaching that is more formal, technical in style, may rely primarily on lectures and student presentations, and may emphasize memorization.

Highlights:

• Experience life in a developing Caribbean country and learn first-gand about the daily realities of Dominican society, culture, and politics
  
• Optional community service course with a practicum in the areas of public health/ medicine, education, or neighborhood assistance, and optional ESL teacher training course with a hands-on teaching practicum
  
• Class trips ranging from visits to Santería altars in Santiago and the Free Trade Zone plus a wide variety of CIEE historical cultural excursions
  
• Interaction at multiple levels of Dominican society via home-stays, university courses, and a wide range of rural and urban volunteer activities

Weekend excursions generally include Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, and the Samaná Peninsula to visit the National Park of Los Haitises in the fall and to observe the humpback whales that migrate there in the spring. In addition, there are several one-day excursions to sites of interest that have been offered in past semesters, such as the mountains of Jarabacoa, the Hermanas Mirabal Museum in Salcedo, La Vega during Carnaval season, a half-day hike to an amber mine, a day-trip to a batey, and a visit to Dajabón, the principal market and economic development zone on the Haitian-Dominican border.

Many field trips are also integrated into academic classes. These may include visits to agricultural and industrial projects, free trade zones, a Dominican tobacco company, local museums, clinics, schools, and nonprofit organizations.

Work Retreats
Two rural work retreats take place each semester, designed to bring breadth and depth to the participants stay in the Dominican Republic by spending time in the countryside and partaking in a service project. CIEE has a longstanding relationship with many of the service sites where students work alongside the community members on projects in areas such as community development, education, health, and construction. These overnight optional retreats often test the students adaptability to Dominican rural reality as accommodations are rustic.

Cost in US$: Please check the CIEE website for current program pricing

Experience Required: yes