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Study Abroad Program
SUSTAINABLE FUTURES: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE
Monteverde, Costa Rica
Summer 2001
This ten-week course of study is designed to offer university students the opportunity to live and work in a rural, but rapidly developing region in Costa Rica on projects concerned with creating futures that are ecologically and socially just. This is a multi-disciplinary program designed for students from various disciplines, including architecture, planning, landscape architecture, resource management, international development, women and development. Currently, the program is being supported by faculty efforts at various universities and the faculty teaching will be from the sponsoring institutions.
Students will participate in a seminar on sustainable development, Spanish classes, and an intensive studio/internship with one of the many organizations in the Monteverde Zone working toward sustainability. The scope of work with the various institutions will be negotiated with the participation of the organization, faculty, and students and will be supervised by on-site faculty. There will be a final report, plans or design scheme, or actual environmental intervention depending on the nature of the agreed upon work. In addition, there will be a series of lectures, field trips to local cooperatives, ecologically managed farms, and various forest reserves.
Dates: May 30, 2001 through August 7, 2001
Costs: $5,500 paid to the University of Maryland's Study Abroad Office includes: tuition for 11 credits (3 credits of LARC 451: Sustainable Communities, 4 credits of LARC 471*: Capstone Studio and 4 credits of LARC 489: Sustainable Development in Costa Rica (a special topics course in landscape architecture), transportation from San Jose to Monteverde, room and board for ten weeks, entrance fees to three ecological reserves and other transportation costs. Round trip airfare to San Jose is not included. Although a group flight will be arranged at favorable rates, participants will pay the travel agent directly. We expect a fare of approximately $650. Students should bring a minimum of $350 spending money to cover personal expenses not listed above (i.e.: entertainment, gifts, weekend travel, etc.).
Application: Application forms are available by contacting Professor Margarita Hill (301) 405-4341 or at mh160@umail.umd.edu. The application package along with a non-refundable deposit of $500 is due February 28, 2001.
*This course is only offered to LARC majors from the University of Maryland who have met the prerequisites, all other students will receive credit for 4 credits of LARC 499: Independent Studies in Landscape Architecture
This Program is sponsored by:
The University of Maryland,
the University at Buffalo, the Universidad de Costa Rica, and the Monteverde Institute
Structure of 10-week Program
Seminar: Sustainable Futures
There will be regularly scheduled seminar once/week, usually scheduled for Mondays. Topics to include: Introduction; Sustainable Local Economies; Eco-Tourism; Women and Development; Democracy and Sustainability, the Ethics of Sustainability.
Lecture Series
There will be a lecture series for the students that will also be made available to the community of Monteverde. The topics will include: Tropical Biology; Costa Rica Park System; New Forms of Housing: Co-housing; Sustainable Development in Central America; Conservation Strategies and Projects. Faculty to lecture could include: Day, Guindon, Hill, Schneekloth, Shibley, Scrimshaw and faculty from the University of Costa Rica.
Studio/Internship
The studio is structured to use traditional studio methods of small group interactions and desk critique. The traditional format is coupled with the pedagogy of practice, that is, using the idea of intervention theory as the means of framing design questions and responses that evolve from community research and analysis.
Field Trips
There will be a series of field trips to acquaint students with sustainable projects in the zone and with the natural environment. Trips are planned to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, the Bajo del Tigre Trail; the Santa Elena Reserve and various organizations in the zone working towards sustainable development.
Spanish
There will be Spanish lessons for students for whom Spanish is not a first language. The structure of the program is to have intensive instruction (4 hrs/day) at the beginning of the program; 1 hr/day in the middle section; and then no instruction at the end. Total hours of Spanish: 31 hours.
Accommodations
Studio and seminar space will be arranged in the central part of Monteverde. Students will participate in a homestay program where they will be matched with Costa Rican families as part of their cultural experience. Costa Rican students will stay with families for whom English is the primary language; U.S. Students will stay with families who primarily speak Spanish.
Faculty
Margarita Hill, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland; Lynda Schneekloth, Robert Shibley, and Gary Day, Professors of the School of Architecture and Planning, State University of New York at Buffalo; with assistance from Nat Scrimshaw and Carlos Guindon affiliated faculty from the Monteverde Institute.
Deadlines for Application and Payment of Fees
February 23: Application package due with $500 non-refundable deposit
March 7: Students notified of acceptance into program
April 4: Instructional fee of $2,500 due
May 2: Instructional fee of $2,500 due
May 30: Departure for Costa Rica
Application Procedure
This program is open to graduate students and students entering their fourth year of study in various disciplines, including landscape architecture, architecture, planning, resource management, international development, women and development, and others interested in sustainable futures. Acceptance into this program is limited on a space availability basis. LARC majors have priority for admission; other majors will be accepted if space is available, therefore, students are advised to apply early.
Application package includes an application form which is to be submitted along with a current transcript and a letter of recommendation. The deadline for application is Februrary 28, 2001 and a $500 non-refundable deposit is due at that time. This will be returned if the applicant is not accepted into the program.
The University of Maryland reserves the right to cancel the program if there is insufficient enrollment. In this event, the deposit and any instructional fees paid will be refunded.
For applications and further information contact: Professor Margarita Hill (301) 405-4341, mh160@umail.umd.edu or:
Study Abroad Office
3125 Mitchell Building
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
Tel: (301) 314-7746
Fax: (301) 314-9347
E-mail: studyabr@deans.umd.edu