Semester in Belize: Environmental Studies

Program Description and Highlights Program Itinerary Why Should I Join This Program? Host Institution Curriculum and Faculty Student Housing Admission Requirements Program Fees and Dates Host Country & City

Program Description

The Semester in Belize: Environmental Studies program is an opportunity to study sustainable development, business, tourism and culture in a country that is a close-to- perfect learning laboratory for these issues. The objective is to develop, through coursework and field activities, an understanding of the challenges faced by a relatively pristine country as it makes trade-offs between economic growth and environmental and cultural preservation.

Belize, the only official English speaking country in Central America, is full of wonders, including meandering rivers and untamed jungles, unique wildlife, Maya ruins and diverse and friendly ethnic groups. A small country bordered by the Caribbean Sea, home to amazing diversity of flora and fauna, making it an ideal location to study sustainable development and environmental studies. This academic program has a large outdoor, field-based component designed to take advantage of the natural resources of Belize.  The curriculum is enhanced by extensive field-based excursions and practice.

The advantage of studying ecology and the environment in Belize is that students get hands on experience, in one of the most protected and bio-diverse ecosystems on Earth. As a developing country, it offers rich examples of the importance of strategic sustainable development for emerging issues of globalization, environmental protection, economic growth, poverty reduction and human rights.

Program Highlights

• An academic curriculum focused on sustainable development.
• Hands-on field-based experience relevant to your academic work
• Cultural immersion in a fascinatingly multicultural society
  
• Earn 12-15 credits toward your degree through fully-accredited coursework (Learn more)
• Courses taught in English, the language of instruction at Galen University and the official language of Belize
  
• Study abroad in a unique and distinctive location
• Free time during the semester to allow for independent travel
• Taking courses alongside Belizean students adds to your local perspective and creates lasting friendships
• Explore a society with distinctive cultural diversity and interactions between the Creole (Kriol), Mestizo, Garifuna, Maya, Amerindian, Chinese, Mennonite, and North American populations
• Inclusive fees and great program value