Description

The Liberal Arts study abroad program in Santiago, Dominican Republic is designed for students with two-years of college-level Spanish or the equivalent and an interest in Caribbean area studies.

The CIEE Liberal Arts program helps students solidify their Spanish language skills while gaining a deeper understanding of the society, culture, economics, and politics of the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean Region. Besides intensive coursework in Spanish language, social sciences, literature and history, sports, and art, students complement class content with educational trips and extracurricular activities ranging from community volunteering and rural visits to weekend excursions. Immersion into Dominican life occurs both on and off campus.

Academic Program
The CIEE Liberal Arts program in Santiago was established in 1987 with 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 improve significantly 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 (an island shared by the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti) and the Greater Hispanic Caribbean, providing courses on regional literature, history, and on the 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 determine their oral and written Spanish level. Students are then placed in one of three distinct academic tracks (Advanced Level I, II, or III) according to their language proficiency, each offering a different configuration of required and elective courses.

Those with strong motivation, independence, and a high level of Spanish may continue for a second semester at the CIEE Study Center in Santo Domingo or on the Service-Learning program in Santiago. Academic year students have a three-week break between the first and second semesters.

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. Although PUCMM is considered to be the country's premier private university, like other Latin American universities, it has limited resources compared to most U.S. colleges and universities.

Students who place into the two most advanced levels of the program have the opportunity to take direct enrollment classes with PUCMM students. CIEE students commonly find some striking differences between teaching goals and methods at PUCMM compared to what they are accustomed to in the U.S., which can be challenging, but also educational. Teaching methods are less formal, employing a mix of tutorials, readings, discussions, reports, and tests, but with more reliance on memorization than analysis. Many of the presentations for a particular class are researched and presented by individuals or student groups, not by the professors, thus stimulating students to take more initiative in their own learning process.

Highlights

• Interact at multiple levels of Dominican society through homestays, university courses, rural and urban volunteer activities, and language partners
  
• Consider an optional Community Service course or optional Teaching English as a Second Language course, both with a hands-on practicum
  
• Learn outside the classroom on class trips ranging from visits to local Santeria altars to the Free Trade Zone; excursions to sites of ecological and historical-cultural importance; and weekend trips to the Samaná Peninsula and mountains of Constanza

Weekend excursions generally include the Valley of Constanza, high in the central mountains, and the Samana Peninsula, where we visit sites in Los Haitises National Park, which are accessible only by boat. Day trips include visits to sites such as the Capital and its Zona Colonial; the Hermanas Mirabal Museum in Salcedo; La Vega during Carnaval season; a batey; and to the market town of Dajabon, the principal commercial and economic development zone on the Haitian-Dominican border. There is also a selection of optional co-pay activities that cater to individual student interests and include cultural, historical, and ecological options.

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 per semester are designed to bring breadth and depth to the participants' stay in the Dominican Republic by introducing them to the country's nonurban reality and providing opportunities to partake in a service project and reflect on the issues affecting service work and community building. CIEE has a long-standing relationship with many of the service sites, where students work alongside community members on a variety of projects in such areas as community development, education, health, and construction. While safe, accommodations for these optional retreats are rustic, often testing the ability of students to adapt to the Dominican rural reality.

Degree Level

Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Subject Areas

Cost in US$:

Please check the CIEE website for current program pricing.

Program Fees Include:

The CIEE fee includes tuition, housing, all meals, optional on-site airport meet and greet, full-time leadership and support, orientation, cultural activities, local excursions, field trips, host institution identity card, admission fees to host institution events, immersion activities (including language pairs), comprehensive student handbook, pre-departure advising, and a CIEE iNext travel card which provides insurance and other travel benefits.

Experience Required

yes

• Overall GPA 2.75
• 3.0 GPA in Spanish language
• 4 semesters of college-level Spanish or equivalent

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participants.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Home-stays

Participants Travel

Independently

Typically Participants Work

Independently or in Groups

Scholarships are Available

We have several scholarships that students can apply for. Contact CIEE for details.

Application Process Involves

• Letters of Reference
• Transcript
• Written Application
• Other

CIEE's Mission Statement

Since 1947, the Council on International Educational Exchange, known as CIEE, has been in pursuit of its mission, "to help people gain understanding, acquire knowledge, and develop skills for living in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world. Our services to young people studying, working, teaching, and traveling abroad are more important than ever.

Year Founded

1947