Gap

ICADS GAP Program

Gap Program: A not for credit 14-week semester experience of culture and language immersion. Dig deep into the regional politics, natural ecology and rural development while living in community and completing an internship or independent research. 

Throughout the semester, students will be living with one or more welcoming Spanish-speaking host families that will engage with them and provide them with their boarding needs. 

BLOCK 1 – Preparatory Latin American and Spanish Classes (in a cohort together with other semester students):

• 5 Weeks
• Orientation to the challenges of cultural immersion and language learning
• Interaction and engagement with culture through living with local host families and Spanish with Costa Rican professors
• This block and seminar are core and essential prep for engaging thoughtfully with Costa Rica and the rest of the semester

Lectures and Activities | 2 Days per Week | 8:15-12pm

Pertaining to the topics of Central America, development, ecology & sociology. Course work, readings, and assignments are in English. 

• 1 week is dedicated to a trip to the Caribbean province of Costa Rica
• Multidisciplinary approach to the socioecological and economic issues of Latin America and Costa Rica within our ever globalizing world. 
• A constantly evolving reading anthology, expert guest speakers, fieldwork, and local field trips are the tools used in exploring topical issues.
• Deep engagement with the cultural reality and different perspectives; assignments involve conversations with locals or semiformal social interviews 
• Process groups, reflective journals, discussions and office hours are all spaces for the students to grapple with their experiences.

Spanish Class | Monday-Thursday | 12:45-4:15pm

Students are broken into small groups with peers at their same Spanish level for an intimate and conversational course. 

• Course taken is determined by Spanish level.

BLOCK 2 – Ecology Field Trip (this may be substituted for more time at an internship or other experience)

• 3 Weeks
• Students visit 3 to 4 different ecosystems within Costa Rica where they learn about a diversity of ecological zones, resource management and systems of regional development. 
• This program is a real life sampling of what rugged socio-ecological field work can look like. Students will be living with and engaging in communities that are grappling with the real effects of climate and environmental change. 
• During a 2-week group trip around the country, students carry out brief social and ecological research projects primarily in rural communities, while staying in eco-tourist, community run facilities. 
• This is a course on sustainable development and resource management, which is tied into the efforts of real life communities to better monitor and measure biological parameters. 

BLOCK 3 – Immersive Internship

• 5 Weeks
• Based on educational needs, interests, and Spanish proficiency, students are placed in an individualized internship to gain experience in urban or rural areas in a field of their interest. 
• With previous communication, an internship may be arranged in an area of special interest of a student. 
• Students are able to design and carry out an independent study of their own design during this time as well, with the guidance of ICADS professors in the areas of sociological or simple natural sciences. This could be for experience, personal or academic projects. ICADS tries to steer students towards studying issues that are ecologically or socially relevant to local communities, and make their results available to them.
• Examples of potential internship areas:
  • Indigenous communities 
  • Non-profit organizations working with women and children who are victims of violence (stricter requirements when working with juveniles) 
  • Small farmers organization to promote sustainable ecological agricultural practices 
  • Coffee or Cacao Agroforestry Projects 
  • Rural co-op communities working in diversified areas and ecotourism efforts
  • NGOs in topics related to community development, human rights, education, recreation, environmental sustainability, etc. 
  • Public or private medical sector (stricter requirements) 
  • Businesses with marketing or tech needs 
• Internships usually involve living with a host family in the community and working alongside the host organization at least Mon-Thurs, 4 hours a day, with a flexible schedule depending on the site’s needs. Students are encouraged to complete readings, bi-weekly reflections, and check-ins.

At the conclusion of the internship, students return to ICADS to share their experiences with the greater cohort, while processing their experiences as a group together with their faculty advisors (including a reentry workshop).

If a student is interested in this program for credit, they should apply to our accredited semester programs that run concurrently. 

Application Deadlines:

Financial Information:

Discounted Gap options and scholarships are available upon inquiry

Gap Semester Tuition and Fees