The Education Abroad Office is happy to announce the launch of USC in Costa Rica: Global Health as well as the re-launch of USC in Italy: Languages, Arts & Humanities. USC in… programs provide an opportunity for students and faculty to teach and attend classes together abroad while gaining valuable academic and professional skills.

Launching this May, USC in Costa Rica: Global Health will take 19 students and seven faculty and staff to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, to study and experience the healthcare field abroad. Courses cover a variety of topics within the healthcare field. Courses offered are:

• Spanish for Healthcare Minors: Taught by Ana Cueto, a senior instructor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, students in this course will learn functional and lexical language, cultural information and etiquette and protocol necessary to interact with Spanish speakers.
• Principles of Global Health: Taught by Dr. David Simmons, associate professor and undergraduate director in the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior; Dr. Edward Frongillo, professor and chair of the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior; and Dr. Spencer Moore, associate professor in the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, students in this course will analyze and generate intervention strategies to combat health issues in various country settings.
• The Geography of Disasters: Taught by Dr. Jerry Mitchell, an associate professor in the Department of Geography, students in this course will be introduced to the nature and impact of environmental disasters, as well as the social responses to these disasters.
• Introduction to Epidemiology: Taught by Dr. Myriam Torres, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, students in this course will be introduced to the discipline and epidemiology and its application to public health issues and practice, and will create a database for a nursing home in San Jose.
• Social Welfare Institutions, Policies and Programs: Taught by Dr. Benjamin Roth, an assistant professor in the College of Social Work, students in this course will explore how U.S. social welfare policies and programs developed, what they aim to accomplish, and the extent to which they address discrimination and injustice.

During the USC in Costa Rica program, in addition to earning 3-9 credits from the offered courses, students will have the opportunity to visit local healthcare facilities and partake in cultural excursions, such as tours of neighboring towns and a visit to a coffee plantation.

USC in… launched in the summer of 2015 with USC in Montecastello. Last year’s program has been redeveloped for 2016 as USC in Italy: Languages, Arts & Humanities. Through this program, students have the opportunity to earn 3-9 credits from courses covering liberal arts topics. Five faculty and staff and 23 students will study and live in the traditional village of Montecastello de Vibio, Italy. Courses offered are:

• Masterpieces of Italian Renaissance Art: Taught by Dr. Anna Swartwood House, an assistant professor of Art History, students will visit, discuss and investigate pieces of art from the Italian Renaissance, as well as the cultural context in which they were created.
• Beginning Italian: Taught by Megan Biondi, a faculty member in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, students will begin learning Italian grammar, vocabulary and culture.
• Italian Food as Culture: Taught by Megan Biondi, students will examine elements of Italian culture such as history, art, music, literature and language, in their relationship to food traditions.
• Travel Photography: Taught by Dr. Keith Kenney, an associate professor of Visual Communications, students will learn to use photography to capture memories, tell a story and create a sense of place.

A Education Abroad Office staff member travels with each program through its entire three-week duration. USC in Costa Rica is led by Maura Smith, Education Abroad Office Exchange Coordinator, and departed on May 9th. USC in Italy is led by Chrissie Faupel, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Advising in the Education Abroad Office, and departs on May 22nd.

For more information on this year’s USC in… Programs, visit Choose Your Destination and search for “USC in.” Keep up with the participants while they experience their programs through the program blog, found on Learn From Others.