Prospective CIMAS Students
About Ecuador
Ecuador is the perfect setting to experience a wide-range of cultures, rural and urban community life, and various natural environments. Ecuador’s ecological diversity is world-renowned. The country’s main ecological zones include the high Sierra of the Andes Mountains, the vast tropical rain forest of the Ecuadorian Amazon, and the extraordinary Galapagos Islands known for their unique flora and fauna. Ecuador also provides a representative setting to study Latin American development and is a microcosm for seeing first-hand some of the major pressing problems associated with development, health and environment in Latin America. Culturally, it is one of the South American countries that has been able to preserve its diverse indigenous and Spanish heritage, encompassing elements of Quitu-Caras indigenous cultures seen in pre-Columbian times and Spanish colonial cultural influences. This cultural diversity is evident in Ecuador’s architecture and monuments, as well as in its contemporary culture. CIMAS Programs
SUMMER Advanced Spanish Language & Experiential Learning Program
Advanced Level Offered in Summer Quarter
Study Advanced Spanish language intensively through class work, lecture, seminars, workshops, field trips and cultural events. Study of Latin American culture is integrated into language instruction and incorporates historical, anthropological, political, and economic dimensions. The program is taught completely in Spanish with homestay family lodging to maximize opportunities for oral fluency. Program Highlights:
- 8-week intensive quarter of language & culture study based in Quito, Ecuador
- 160 hours of instruction in Advanced Spanish Language. Topics include
- Conversational Spanish
- Spanish in Cultural Context
- Spanish Grammar
- Field Trips
- Two-week experiential learning in communities component
- On-site orientation
Experiential Learning Component:
CIMAS places students with nonprofit agencies or community organizations for a culminating two-week experiential learning component of the program. Students spend 30 hours per week in the field participating with on-going community work. This final component constitutes one the of the most important pieces of learning in Ecuador. Students must integrate language while developing increased skills in intercultural communication—a perspective that comes from deeply understanding the relevance of cultural difference, values, and relationships between people. This connection to community also serves as a way to more clearly understand the theoretical learning from the classroom. Students begin to see economic, social, environmental and cultural realities in a way that classroom-only study can’t capture.
Application Procedures
Applications available from Washington State universities.
Deadlines, Selection Process, Applications/Application Fees & Financial Aid
Visit the Application Process page
Costs/Academic Calendar
The CIMAS programs operate on a quarter system that roughly corresponds to the academic calendars of the four-year public institutions in Washington State. Students from Washington State University may apply for two, quarter-long CIMAS programs to estimate a semester calendar. For current program costs and administrative fees, please contact your campus study abroad advisor.
Past Program Information/Syllabus
Transfer Credit
Students may gain transfer credit based on 160 hours of instruction from the CIMAS Advanced Spanish program. Credit from the CIMAS program is directly transferrable to the Washington State four-year public universities.
Universities award credits based on 160 hours of instruction, usually 15 or 16 credits for the program. Upon successful completion of the program and review by departmental advisors, credit often satisfies major/minor and internship requirements