Argentina: Mendoza
Mendoza, Argentina & Cuenca, Ecuador
Cuenca
Cuenca is a beautiful, prosperous colonial city of about 467,000 (UNESCO World Heritage Site) situated in a highland river valley in the Andes. It has an ethnically and socially diverse population and a comfortable climate all year round. The city is very safe and relatively inexpensive with the U.S. dollar in use as the national currency. Moreover, Cuenca is well-located for excursions to the Amazon rainforest, the Galápagos Islands, coastal Guayaquil (Ecuador's commercial center), and northern Peru. The surrounding countryside is ideal for camping and hiking activities (El Cajas National Park, and the Inca ruins at Ingapirca are only 90 minutes away).
Mendoza
Located about 690 miles northwest of Buenos Aires, Mendoza is a lively city in the heart of South America's largest wine region and the gateway to the magnificent mountains, rivers, and lakes of the Central Andes range. Mount Aconcagua, the Western Hemisphere's highest mountain, is located in Mendoza province. Mendoza is a verdant oasis in a mostly arid environment thanks to an extensive irrigation system developed during colonial times over the basis built by the original Huarpe population, whose canals still run along every major city street. The capital city and surrounding urban area are home to approximately 850,000 people. The city has a vibrant cultural scene, including attractions such as art, natural history, and history museums, theaters and cinemas, and a variety of concerts and plays throughout the year. Outdoor enthusiasts can take advantage of the many urban parks and explore activities in the nearby mountain region.
CEDEI - Cuenca
CEDEI is a multidimensional educational institution, founded in 1992 and accredited by Ecuador's Ministry of Education and Culture, which offers everything from college-level classes and adult language instruction to elementary education (www.cedei.org). Its specialty is language teaching (Spanish for foreigners and English for Ecuadorans).
CEDEI relies on its own instructors for most Spanish language courses, but draws on the Universidad de Cuenca and the other universities in the city for adjunct professors to teach courses in history, literature, political science, business, communications, sociology-anthropology, biology, and art. Students take all of their classes at CEDEI's downtown center and lodge (all in single rooms) with carefully-selected families nearby.
Universidad Nacional de Cuyo - Mendoza
Founded in 1939, the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (UNCuyo) is a prestigious university in the Argentine national university system that serves approximately 40,000 students. It offers a wide range of academic programs in twelve schools and institutes. UNCuyo's activities are concentrated in a nice campus located northwest of the city center, and easily accessible with public transportation. The majority of the schools have buildings on the main campus with classrooms, libraries, meeting spaces, faculty offices, and cafeterias. The central library, a health service for employees and students, sports facilities, two major cafeterias, and the main administrative offices complete the campus facilities. The three schools that are not part of the main campus are Education (located in downtown Mendoza), Agriculture (located in a town in the Greater Mendoza area), and Applied Sciences (in the city of San Rafael, in the south of the Province of Mendoza). The majority of students will take classes in the schools of Philosophy and Letters, Political and Social Sciences, Arts and Design, and Economics. These schools offer classes for the following majors: education, geography, history, philosophy, education, foreign languages, literature, political sciences and public administration, sociology, communication, economics, social work, art history, fine arts, visual arts, drama, design, music, and dance among others. In addition, independent multidisciplinary institutes offer classes in environmental sciences, earth sciences, energy, production and labor, basic sciences, etc.
Academics
Participants will participate in a four-week, intensive course based at the CEDEI focusing on Spanish language immersion as well as Ecuadorian and Andean history and culture. During this program students will live with homestay families and will have the opportunity to participate in several carefully planned excursions in the region that will supplement their academics in Cuenca and will expose students to the country's rich ecological and cultural diversity during their residence.
After transferring to Mendoza in February, students will directly enroll in courses at the UNCuyo. General academic information is available at http://www.uncu.edu.ar/estudios. More detailed information and syllabi are available at each school's individual site. Here is a partial list of links:
http://ffyl.uncu.edu.ar (Philosophy and Letters)
http://www.fcp.uncu.edu.ar (Political and Social Sciences)
http://www.fce.uncu.edu.ar (Economics)
http://www.fad.uncu.edu.ar (Art and Design)
Excursions
The academic program is enhanced by a number of excursions to areas of cultural, political and historical interest in both Ecuador and Argentina.
Housing
Program participants live in with carefully chosen homestay families in both Cuenca and Mendoza. Many meals are provided by the homestay family so that students can engage with their hosts around the dinner table. For meals occurring when students may not be home with their family, a stipend will be issued.
Quick Facts
Dates Program Fee* Application Deadline
Academic Year late Aug. to early June $53,410 Feb. 15
Fall late Aug. to late Dec. $26,705 Feb. 15
Spring late Jan. to early June $26,705 Sept. 15
* This is the program fee for 2011-2012; the program fee for 2012-2013 will correspond to on-campus tuition and fees and will be determined during spring 2012.
Program Fee Includes
• tuition and fees
• room and board
• pre-departure and on-site orientations
• academic excursions
The program fee does not include primary health insurance, airfare, passport, visa, immunizations, optional travel, personal expenses, meals and housing during vacations, books or supplies.
Special Requirements
3.0 GPA
Successful completion of SPAN 231
For more information, contact:
Prof. Marcelo Borges and Prof. Eva Copeland, On-Campus Coordinators
Departments of History and Spanish & Portuguese
Dickinson College
P.O. Box 1773
Carlisle, PA 17013-2896
Phone: (717) 245-1015
E-mail: borges@dickinson.edu or
copelande@dickinson.edu