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The winter-quarter Oaxaca program is built around the three-course sequence "Mexico in Latin American Civilization," an historical survey of Latin America, from the pre-Columbian era to modern times, with some emphasis on Mexico. Classroom work is supplemented by excursions to sites of historical interest both within and outside the city of Oaxaca. Participants also take a fourth course in Spanish language designed to enhance their connection to the surrounding community. The city of Oaxaca itself, with its richly layered history and cultural diversity, plays an important role in this venture. Established in the late fifteenth century as an Aztec stronghold, occupied by Spanish conquistadors in 1521, Oaxaca today is a colorful, modern city of a half-million inhabitants, the capital of the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, and a cultural center of extraordinary ethnic diversity. The city and surrounding area offer program participants numerous opportunities for excursions, both official and unofficial, as well as occasions for a consideration of the interconnection between Mexico's past and its present as a modern nation.
Housing:
Program participants are housed with host families, an arrangement that includes partial board.
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As a participant in the Oaxaca program you receive three credits for the civilization sequence and one credit for the Spanish language course. The sequence meets the College’s civilization requirement. If you have already met the civilization requirement these courses are usable as electives. Course titles, units of credit, and grades are placed on your Chicago transcript.
Registration and Tuition:
You remain registered full-time in the College and pay regular College tuition, a Oaxaca program fee, and the study abroad administrative fee required of all participants in Chicago's programs abroad. The Oaxaca program fee covers accommodation, most meals, and some excursion expenses. For precise figures, please see Study Abroad Program Fees. Apart from these fees you are responsible for round-trip travel to and from Mexico as well as miscellaneous on-the-ground expenses including meals not covered by the program, books, and incidentals.
Financial Aid:
You retain your financial aid eligibility. However, two expenses--the study abroad administrative fee and the round-trip airfare to Oaxaca--are not underwritten by College Financial Aid. On the other hand, since you cannot be expected to work part-time in Oaxaca, the self-help component of your financial aid package does not include a term-time employment factor.
Eligibility:
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The Chicago Oaxaca program is designed for undergraduates in good standing who are beyond their first year in the College. While the Oaxaca program stipulates no minimum grade-point average, you should expect that the admissions process will be highly competitive. You should therefore present a transcript demonstrating that you are a serious student who will make the most of this opportunity. Because the civilization course is taught in English, previous study of Spanish is not required. At the same time students are encouraged to take as much Spanish as possible before the beginning of the program, and their applications are likely to be strengthened by their doing so (and their experience of Oaxaca enhanced).
Please note: Because of the considerable demand on the Chicago civilization programs abroad, no student may participate in more than one of these programs.
Application:
Applications are available on the study abroad website. To apply to the Oaxaca program, a student submits a general study abroad application electronically, then downloads the supplementary application specific to Civilization programs and submits it on paper, normally in mid-winter quarter of the previous academic year.
In preparing the application and especially in composing the required personal statement, students should keep in mind that admission to Civilization programs are selective and that the number of places available is insufficient to meet the considerable demand. A student accepting an offer of admission is expected to secure his or her place with a $500 non-refundable study abroad administrative fee. (To begin the application process, click on the Study Abroad General Application.)
Further Information:
If you would like to discuss the Oaxaca program and the possibility of participating in it, please contact Jenny Quijano Sax (Harper 216; 834-5424).
Statements contained on this site are subject to change without notice.
