SIT Study Abroad: Argentina: Public Health in Urban Envr.

I arrived expecting to learn about public health, but I left with a new understanding of myself, my future, and the world around me. Through SIT’s Public Health in Urban Environments program, I studied Argentina’s health system, epidemiology, and social determinants of health while experiencing firsthand how culture, community, and inequality shape health. My independent research on access to dental care in underserved communities was especially meaningful. As someone pursuing pediatric dentistry, speaking with dentists and families strengthened my desire to make oral healthcare more accessible and culturally responsive. But some of my most important lessons happened outside the classroom. Living with a host family, traveling throughout Argentina, building friendships, and navigating a new environment pushed me beyond what was comfortable and made me more independent and open-minded. Study abroad didn’t just give me memories or academic credits it changed how I see my education, my future career, and myself. As a mentor, I hope to help other students take that same leap and make their experience their own.

Studying abroad in Buenos Aires was one of the best decisions I've made. I learned so much through my classes, internship, and day to day life in the city. Being able to see public health from a different perspective helped me grow both academically and personally. The program staff were incredibly supportive, my host family made me feel at home, and I made great friends along the way. Of course there were adjustments, like getting used to the late dinners and navigating a new city, but those experiences became part of what made the semester so memorable. I came home more confident, more independent, and even more excited about pursuing a career in public health. I would definitely choose this program again and recommend it to anyone looking for a meaningful study abroad experience.

I absolutely loved this program. I got to Argentina with pretty moderate Spanish skills, and I improved exponentially. Also, I loved living with a host family and traveling around Argentina as part of the program. Finally, the internship opportunity was incredible. I got to observe in a hospital and learned so much! The people of Argentina are so kind and welcoming and BA is a beautiful city!

This program gave me all I could ever want in an abroad experience; my host family was so loving and welcoming, and my academic experience was unparalleled. We visited hospitals all around the country, and spoke with many types of professionals in the healthcare field. My favorite part of this program was the traveling. We took multiple week-long trips as a group, each with a different academic focus, and we also had the opportunity for solo travel. I made it to six Argentine provinces, as well as Chile and Uruguay! Our program leaders were intelligent, organized, and kind, and they worked so hard to make this an unforgettable experience.

The program is well-designed for those who want to have an in-depth exploration of public health. In addition to providing good academic structure and thoughtful site visits, my favorite aspect of the program was the independent research project. I had support from staff to research my interest in infectious diseases that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. For my project, I was encouraged to interview professionals and collaborate with those directly working in infectious disease prevention which was a dream come true! All in all, the staff are very supportive and the connections/partnerships they have with those in public health make this program unique and well worth it!

I absolutely loved my semester abroad with this program and would recommend it to anyone that is interested in learning about public health in a Spanish-speaking context. I learned so much from an academic and professional perspective, but I also learned a ton about myself. I adore my host mom and learned so much from her and I hope to keep in touch with her for many, many years. I loved the group of students in my program, and we had a perfect balance of time in Buenos Aires and time spent traveling—either with the program or independently. I am a much more confident and independent person now, with interests and insights that I would not have gained if it were not for this experience. I am immensely grateful!

This program is a great opportunity for people who want to gain on-the-ground public health experiences. I felt myself challenged by all aspects of the program and definitely improved my Spanish skills as well as my understanding of public health systems outside the United States. That being said, keep in mind that this is a very intense program that is not comparable to a classic European study abroad trip. You will either be in class or on a field visit from 9:00-5:00pm most days. While this presents great learning opportunities, it may take a little bit of time to get used to the Argentine teaching style, which includes 2-3 hour lectures with little discussion. Overall, be prepared to find yourself being pushed outside your comfort zone. It may be uncomfortable at first, but the program provides great academic and professional experience that will no doubt benefit you upon your return.

I had such a unique experience studying abroad with SIT. Argentina is an awesome place and the program takes you all around the country to make sure you see it. There was time for trips separate from the program too which were memorable. The experience was more academic than I was expecting but still was not too much work. The professors/directors are very accommodating. The people who choose to do this program are such characters. You won't regret it.

I did this program in Fall 2022 and still think of it often. I am now living in a Spanish speaking country and feel grateful more than anything for the way the program structure fostered my language abilities — the homestay structure and all-Spanish classes were a perfect way to push my language learning without being overwhelming, because I was not thrown into Spanish-speaking academic or social situations without support. The program administrators were also a highlight — they are so passionate and caring and you get to know them so well, which makes the experience way better. The traveling classes were also fantastic — so great to be able to experience different parts of the diverse country with expert guidance and through the lens of an interesting academic topic. It was perfect because our academic schedule didn’t allow for too much personal travel (until the independent period in the third month, when we had time) but I didn’t feel the need for any additional travel, because we spent a total of about 2-3 weeks traveling as a group, and Buenos Aires is such an incredible city that we never nearly ran out of things to do there on the weekends. It’s hard to really remember any complaints I had about the program now, but the one warning I will give is that for people who already study public health, the social determinants of health class was pretty basic. I loved the policies class because it was all new information about Argentina, as well as the independent study project, however. I recommend this program for people who are looking for real language improvement and interesting academic travel, and would not recommend it if you’re hoping for a lot of independent travel or a social living situation with other students.

This program was an incredible experience from start to finish. The classes were super interesting and relevant, covering important public health topics that felt even more meaningful thanks to the immersive activities and trips around the country. Everything we learned in class was reinforced by real-world experiences, making it such an engaging way to study public health. The homestays were hands down the best of any program in Buenos Aires. While other students in different programs had mixed experiences, everyone in SIT raved about their host families. It was the perfect way to practice Spanish, experience daily life in Argentina, and feel truly at home in the city. The SIT team, professors, and partner organizations were all amazing—super knowledgeable, supportive, and passionate about their work. They made the program not just educational, but also really meaningful. And of course, Buenos Aires itself is the perfect place to study abroad. There’s so much to see and do, from exploring neighborhoods to enjoying live music, great food, and cultural events. People are warm and welcoming, and the city has an energy that makes every day exciting. Overall, this program was enriching, inspiring, and just an all-around amazing experience. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for an immersive and impactful study abroad experience!

For any student who is looking to go into any sort of healthcare related field and is interested in improving their spanish speaking skills, I can't recommend this program enough. The staff and program directors are incredible! They were always willing to help with LITERALLY anything and were just overall great people! The opportunity to live with a host family was great for improving my spanish (even though it might seem scary) and the homestay program director does a great job of matching you to a family that fits your needs/lifestyle and supporting you if things aren't working out. There were a TON of program organized trips and events that were great for both school related stuff and just the Argentinian experience and exploring the country! I had the best semester ever and, like I said, I can't recommend this program enough to students- the people, staff, city and culture were all just incredible!

SIT Public Health in Urban Environments was an incredible program that facilitated growth and learning for me and all my fellow participants. Through immersive excursions and the homestay living arrangements, I was able to get to know Buenos Aires and Argentina through diverse and qualified perspectives. It had a profound impact on my worldview and understanding of healthcare-- both as a global and necessarily local phenomenon.

I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to study abroad in Argentina with this program. Through this program I was able to learn more about the health care system in Argentina from various professionals in class and then travel to different regions in Argentina to learn directly from various communities. Along with academics, I had the opportunity to visit the mountains in Mendoza and Iguazu Falls in Misiones! During the last month I completed an internship with a neonatologist. My host mom and the staff were incredible and extremely supportive. Lastly, I developed close friendships with the other students in my program. I would recommend this program to any student that is interested in health care and furthering their Spanish skills!!

This is a intense academic program where you will learn a lot about the health system in Argentina if that is your goal. Almost every week we would travel to different provinces to learn different aspects of the health system. In these excursions, we sometimes had the opportunity to explore the cities and enjoy dinners with classmates. Which brings me to my next point: you will get super close with your classmates because you will share so much time and experiences together. There's definitely opportunities to explore more places but you have to be strategic about planning these outings (because nobody will plan them for you). Overall, I loved how academic heavy this program was and I loved the amazing and beautiful people I met while on the program.

This is an excellent program if you are passionate about public health topics and are looking to improve your Spanish. It is language intensive and can be intimidating at first, the academics are intense, especially if you are not confident with your Spanish skills, but the professors are patient and understanding and will accommodate your levels to help you learn and grow. We traveled almost every other weekend, and while it is a program that focuses on urban environments there are many opportunities to explore and visit lots of the beautiful natural sites across Argentina!!! I highly recommend taking trips to the amazing Patagonia, El Calafate and Bariloche! This is not a Europe-like clubbing and partying study abroad experience and can be challenging at times, but rewarding at large. Argentinians are extremely loving and warm people and this program will allow you to make connections and meet many interesting people. I am studying public health and looking to pursue a career in health care and have felt that this program helped me an incredible amount not only with improving my Spanish and understanding another country's public health system, but also with understanding the importance of how the social determinants of health shape not only the individual's, but community's experiences with health.

This is not a program to go on if you want to spend the whole time travelling. It is pretty academically rigorous, which I appreciated. There are a variety of excellent excursions to visit different public health institutions. Also an opportunity for either an internship or an extensive research project. I also felt living with a host family had a great impact on my language ability and cultural immersion. I loved them as well as the administrators from the country.

Studying healthcare and living in a Spanish immersion setting were my two goals for study abroad. This program allowed me to accomplish both, and then exceeded all expectations for supporting my life in Buenos Aires. The coursework was intellectually stimulating for anyone interested in public health and health policy (very social science oriented coursework). Field visits to Mendoza and Tucumán were insightful, and being able to spend a week at each site really allowed us to immerse ourselves in the lecture content. These trips also helped our cohort bond. With such a small group, we spent a lot of time together, but it was always great to have a group of people going through the same experiences and sharing the same willingness to explore the city. My home base was my host family, who were kind, thoughtful, and so caring throughout my stay. The immersion experience would not have been the same without the dinners, weekends, and other small moments shared with the family. Definitely miss them a lot!

What a fun semester! Buenos Aires is a great city with lots to do and a lot of students/young professionals to meet. The public transportation is also super accessible. Within the program, the program staff was very kind and supportive, but with a less expansive understanding of how American culture/beliefs can clash with those in Argentina. The academic excursions were very fun and beneficial to the classes, and I learned a lot. The people in the program were very self-selected, with a passion for public health (most pre-med). While classes did take up a lot of the weekdays, the weekends were very free to explore and have fun.

I would recommend this program because I loved how intimacy and specificity of the program. The small group was great because we were able to all get to know one another really well and the program staff were able to be attentive to our unique needs. The small program also allowed us to go on many excursions and visits that would not be possible with a larger group. I felt like we were one big family and that was very special. I also love how we all took the same classes and that all of our excursions related directly to what we were learning. I think that having one single topic of focus (health care systems and policy) for the whole semester allowed me to leave the semester feeling like I gained unique knowledge that helped me to understand and appreciate the country I was living in. I also think this niche knowledge will help me with comparative studies in the future. I think the specific nature of SIT programs in general is incredibly valuable. I also felt like I integrated into Argentine society during my brief time. The program staff were extremely helpful in answering questions and helping us access different communities that we were interested in discovering. And of course the host family experience was invaluable to integration and understanding. I lived with a host mother and I ate dinner with her every night. This experience was imperative to my understanding of the host culture, as she talked to me about her thoughts on the country, politics (there was a big presidential election), the economy and everything in between. I felt so lucky to be in her home and be privy to her perspective, it was transformative to my experience. In general, I loved Buenos Aires! There are endless things to do, people are exceptionally kind and things are relatively affordable.  

This program was perfect for me and I really enjoyed it as it met all my expectation of an academically intense program, where I was able to use and improve my Spanish that had a focus in public health (I am interested in medicine, so this was perfect for me!) that allowed me to get to know Argentine culture, meet local argentines, and learn a lot about public health (especially in Argentina). All classes and coursework are taught in Spanish and you live with host families where you communicate in Spanish, which gives you ample opportunity to practice and improve your spanish. You are mainly based in Buenos Aires and although Buenos Aires is a big city and with big city there are some risks (the biggest is probably pick pocketing), if you are aware of your personal belongings and your surroundings there is no need to worry! Lastly, The program does a great job of providing enriching experiences in your excursions (the two week long trips and the smaller trips in the greater buenos aires area) that allow you to interact with local and native argentines. This was something very important to me and allowed for a more robust experience and ultimately understanding of the culture!