Art and Culture in Latin America Maymester!

  Costa Rica

• San Jose: 
San Jose
• Monteverde: 
Monteverde

Term: Summer 
Dates: May 11 - June 1, 2010

Description: Students will experience and reflect upon the nature and culture of Costa Rica through study, direct observation and interaction with its people, natural and built environment, and institutions of culture. As a result of their experiences and reflections, the students will create a process-portfolio of works of art, journal entries, sketches, and exhibition that demonstrates the ways their art and ways of thinking have been informed by their international study experience.

The purpose is to:
* Enhance the student's knowledge of the cultural influences on the choices that artists make including the various materials, concepts and methodologies applicable to the art of making experience in Costa Rica.
* Enhance the ability of each student to establish an intellectual, emotional, aesthetic, social, and cultural rationale commensurate with the issues of art-making.
* Encourage the development and awareness of personal avenues of expression that are influenced by the study of Latin American art history, art-making principles, and values of technical proficiency.

Highlights:
Students will explore Costa Rica on group excursions. Activities included on the excursions are an integral part of course material and the overall study abroad experience. Students will explore lava flows and thermal springs at Arenal Volcano, the cloud forest in Monteverde and beaches on the Pacific coast.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: USD 3,800

***Note: Out-of-state students pay in-state tuition. The HOPE scholarship applies.

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Costa Rica Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups

Scholarships are Available.  Friends of UGA Costa Rica Scholarship Fund Qualifying students must have a minimum cumulative 3.0 grade point average and be enrolled in UGA as a full-time student. Friends of UGA Costa Rica Scholarships will be distributed primarily on the basis of financial need. STARS (Students Abroad with Regents Support) Stipends, in the amount of USD 500, are available for 2009 UGA Costa Rica program applicants. Stipends are awarded to students upon the completion of 50 hours of work in the UGA Costa Rica Office and are intended to cover a portion of the study abroad program costs. To be eligible for the stipend, students must be enrolled full-time at UGA and must be accepted by a UGA Costa Rica Study Abroad Program (early acceptance required). Prior to the program start date, students must be able to complete 50 hours of work to earn the total stipend. UGA Foundation Incentive Scholarship The UGA Foundation has established a USD 500,000 endowment to support study abroad scholarships for UGA students. A portion of this scholarship is dedicated each year to students going on UGA Costa Rica study abroad programs. The UGA Foundation Incentive Scholarships range from USD 250- USD 700 each. Scholarships will be awarded competitively on the basis of academic excellence and financial need, with priority being given to freshmen students who have not previously studied abroad. Scholarships are available to full-time UGA undergraduate students only. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA.

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Transcript
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Alumni Network
• Job and Internship Network

University of Georgia's Mission Statement: Our Mission is to provide excellence in academic programs and research opportunities while serving as the best equipped social, cultural, environmental and international facility of the University of Georgia. Our Vision is to work under the principles of environmental, cultural, social and economic stability, as well as to serve as an example of sustainability to the academic and non-academic communities of Costa Rica, Latin America and the World.

Year Founded: 1785