Semester or Year Abroad: San José, Costa Rica

Our color brochure for this program is available here (pdf-legal size).

The University of Kansas (KU) program in San José, Costa Rica offers students the opportunity to directly enroll in classes at the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) while providing a well-structured introduction to the country, its culture and history. Students earn academic credit, improve their language skills, and experience Costa Rican culture and history firsthand by living with local families and participating in orientation activities and field trips.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica is known for its natural beauty, diversity of flora and fauna, social and political stability, high educational levels, and efficient infrastructure. The country is a traveler’s paradise, with 400 miles of coastline, active volcanoes, 46 national parks, cloud forests, and rain forests. San José, Costa Rica’s capital, is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city. It lies in the Central Valley on a plain surrounded by large forested mountain ranges (some of which include active volcanoes), savannahs, and working coffee plantations.

Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR)

The Universidad de Costa Rica was established in 1843 under the name Universidad de Santo Tomás and was restructured in 1940 and re-named the Universidad de Costa Rica. It is the oldest and largest university in Costa Rica, with a population of 35,000 students. The University of Kansas-Universidad de Costa Rica exchange program, initiated in 1958, is the oldest inter-university exchange of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.

Grupo de Kansas

The Grupo de Kansas office is located on campus close to many UCR facilities. Three native Costa Rican staff advise students on matters related to academics, enrollment, and housing, and organize occasional excursions and gatherings.

Academic Program

Orientation

The required one-month orientation at UCR is designed to prepare students for the challenges of rigorous academic work in a foreign language and culture. The orientation provides a cultural and historical introduction to Costa Rica through lectures and field trips, with an emphasis on upper-level academic writing skills.

Orientation excursions usually include trips to art museums, the Central Market, the National Theater, volcanoes, waterfalls, the rainforest, and beaches on the Pacific shore. Students may, among other activities, interview ticos from different parts of Costa Rica on weekend excursions, put on skits, learn how to utilize the UCR library, and be introduced to traditional dances like the salsa and merengue.

Students will receive three hours of credit for SPAN 370 Hispanic Language and Civilization I.

Orientation Syllabus [PDF]

Program Handbook [PDF] (for accepted students)

Courses at UCR

UCR's fall semester begins in late August and ends with final exams in early December; the spring semester begins in early March and ends with final exams in early July. A normal course load is 12-18 hours or 4-6 classes. With a few exceptions, the number of créditos a course is worth at UCR will be the same as the hours of credit received for the equivalent KU course. Credit and grades for all UCR courses in which a student is enrolled, including orientation, will be posted on his/her KU transcript.

For short course descriptions in Spanish, visit the Grupo de Kansas website at http://kansas2.fcs.ucr.ac.cr. This is not an official University of Costa Rica catalog, and its use is restricted to participants in the program and prospective students.

Course offerings vary from semester to semester. It is not possible to guarantee that a course will be offered during a particular semester. Program participants are strongly encouraged to have several alternate classes approved by their home institution prior to arrival in San José.

Students interested in courses with limited enrollment, particularly those with a lab or studio component (such as biology, business, music studio, or art studio courses) must consult with an advisor in the KU Office of Study Abroad during the application process. Enrollment in graduate courses at UCR is limited to graduate students and requires the permission of the professor.

Areas of study available at the UCR include: Tecnología de Alimentos, Administración de Negocios, Administración Educativa, Antropología y Sociología, Arquitectura, Artes Dramáticas, Artes Musicales, Artes Plásticas, Biología, Ciencias de la Comunicación Colectiva, Economía, Economía Agrícola, Enfermería, Filología, Filosofía, Física, Fitotécnia, Geología, Historia y Geografía, Ingeniería Agrícola, Ingeniería Civil, Ingeniería Eléctrica, Ingeniería Mecánica, Ingeniería Química, Lenguas Modernas, Matemáticas, Nutrición, Ciencias Políticas, Psicología, Química, Topografía, Trabajo Social, Zootécnia.

How to select courses at UCR
UCR Timetable of Courses--Spring 2009
UCR Timetable--Fall 2009

KU course equivalencies for the University of Costa Rica

Student Life at UCR

Students usually complement their studies by planning weekend excursions or joining University-sponsored activities. Students frequently participate in University-sponsored sports teams, volunteer activities, or cultural events. University Week, held each year in the spring, provides an opportunity for the academic departments to compete in sports, put on shows, and sponsor on-campus dances and festivities.

Volunteer Opportunities

Students are encouraged to participate in community volunteer work, coordinated by the Grupo de Kansas office, during their free time. This may include working in orphanages, teaching English to adults, and volunteering in schools.

Students can also opt for a month-long volunteer program (before or after the UCR semester) with one of the Costa Rican National Parks. This is a great opportunity for biology, ecology, or tropical studies students. Students are responsible for their own room and board costs (~$12 per day) during the program. For more information, contact the KU Office of Study Abroad. Volunteer program website: www.asvocr.org.

Accommodations

Students live in private homes with Costa Rican families to help them improve language proficiency and immerse them in Costa Rican life. Three meals are provided daily. Most students use the very good, inexpensive city bus system to travel from their residence to the University.

Dates

2009-2010 Academic Year
Fall semester: July 8 - December 14, 2009
Spring semester: February 3 - July 19, 2010

Eligibility

Open to students from any accredited U.S. college or university, sophomore through graduate levels. Requirements include a minimum of 30 semester hours of coursework by the time the program begins, a strong academic record (minimum 3.0 GPA), proficiency in Spanish (the equivalent of 19 semester hours of college-level Spanish with a B average), good recommendations from instructors, and willingness and ability to adapt to a different environment.

Note

Students with 4 semesters of Spanish are eligible to participate in the Early Start Program.

Cost

2009-2010 Academic Year

KU Students: Approximately $8,000 for the semester
Non-KU Students: Approximately $8,200 for the semester

The program fee includes tuition, fees, room and board for the academic period, orientation at KU and in Costa Rica, group activities and field trips, student visa, emergency medical evacuation and repatriation services, and administrative costs.

Not included: Airfare, passport, exit visa, books, and personal expenses.

Note

All dates, costs, and program information are subject to change as necessary due to fluctuations in the exchange rate or other reasons.

Financial Aid

KU students who qualify for financial aid in the form of Stafford and/or other loans, Pell or SEOG Grants, and scholarships may apply the aid to the cost of a Study Abroad Program.

Limited supplemental scholarships are available to KU undergraduates. Applications are available at the Office of Study Abroad. You can also download the scholarship application. The scholarship application deadline is March 1 for Fall and October 1 for Spring.

Non-KU students should check into the financial resources available to them at their home institutions.

Application Procedures

Deadline for Fall: March 1
Deadline for Spring: October 1

Applications are available in the KU Office of Study Abroad. You can also download the application.

(Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to download an application. If your computer does not have Acrobat Reader you can download it for FREE.)

Useful Websites

KU Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Universidad de Costa Rica website
Grupo de Kansas website