First Study Abroad Program Beginning Summer 2010

The Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean is pleased to introduce an eight week Study Abroad Program, focusing on Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Through professional training, hands on learning, and cultural immersion, students will embark on experiencing how global climate change influences sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Now, students will have the opportunity to explore firsthand the diverse direct and indirect effects of climate change on natural and human systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. Students are encouraged both individually and as a group to delve into complex topics and address challenging questions relevant to contemporary regional and national climate change problems, said Zvia Leibler Danon, CATHALAC’s officer for international cooperation and development.

This international program includes a professional training course on Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, which delivers hands on training in climate change research methods and tools currently used by climate change practitioners in multilateral and bilateral development agencies, as well as Governments in both developed and developing countries, and engages students in a month-long internship. Students will be culturally immersed through home stays and excursions, and will receive intensive Spanish language classes from native speakers.

The Study Abroad Program on Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean is accredited by the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and qualifies for six undergraduate credit hours through the Earth System Science academic program. These credits are available for transfer from UAH to any US college or university for current non-UAH students who wish to enroll at UAH for the summer course. CATHALAC also welcomes other universities to accredit the program directly. Consult your study-abroad office for your university's specific credit and transfer policy for this program.

Students who wish to receive credits through UAH must enroll in two sections of the Special Topics summer course entitled Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Payment of tuition credit hours, which is in addition to the CATHALAC program fee, should be handled directly with the university at enrollment. Students who wish to participate but do not want to receive credits for the Study Abroad Program need only to pay the Program fee directly to CATHALAC. Applications are now open for the summer 2010 program.