WELCOME TO THE LATIN AMERICAN CENTER
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WELCOME TO THE LATIN AMERICAN CENTER |
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The Latin American Center is proud to be one of the oldest centers of Friends World Program. Through its many years of existence, over 750 students have attended the LAC. This center has the reputation of being, in the words of former students, "very well organized and academically demanding", and it is no secret that the faculty at the LAC do take their time every semester to prepare the academic offer.
The LAC is located in the city of Heredia about ten kilometers north of San José. The building where the LAC operates, was previously used as a monastery, and it has proven to be perfect for fulfilling the goals of the LAC. It counts with small cubicles for advising as well as large enough spaces for Spanish classes and community meetings. Furthermore, the LAC is located just a block away from the main campus of the National University, which is the second largest public university in the country.
The academic program of the LAC is divided in three main components:
Area Studies Seminar, Spanish Program and optional seminars which may vary from one semester to the other according to students' academic interests. Besides these three components, students also have the option of doing independent studies geared towards their own specific field of interest.
During the second semester, continuing students go on the field to do their respective internship either somewhere in Costa Rica or in another country in Latin America. These internships may last from eight to twelve weeks depending on the location, the field of study and the student's learning plan.
Previous internships done by LAC students vary from working with an environmental organization in Argentina, to a field research project with the Kuna indigenous in Panamá, to a documentary production with a women organization in Nicaragua.
Faculty at the LAC is integrated by a group of professionals from many different professional backgrounds. Amongst our faculty we have sociologists, psychologists, environmentalists, biologists, political analysts, and language teachers. Most of our faculty work for Friends World Program as well as for other local higher education institutions. Besides the permanent staff, the LAC counts with a bank of collaborating specialists from different fields who help us fill the gaps we may have.
Costa Rica is a small tropical country with a population of four million people most of them living in the metropolitan area. The climate in Costa Rica is not as changing as it is in temperate regions. We have a rainy season from May through November and a dry season from January through April; December is a transitional month.
The people in Costa Rica is known to be very friendly and you will have the change to prove it right once you live with a local family.