CIMAS Programs

CIMAS takes you to three different ecological regions to explore their wonders and introduce you to the work needed to preserve them. The program is taught primarily in English, with a combination of Spanish/English activities during the field work.

Program Components

• Galapagós Archipelago: One of the natural wonders of the world, this complex ecosystem is under threat by the commercial fishing of marine species, tourism, forms of extraction and management incompatible with the fragility of this environment.
• Amazon: Explore the great biodiversity of the Amazon rain forest, and learn about the high levels of reserves threatened by the oil and lumber industries (Jatun Sacha research station).
• Andean High Lands: This region is an Andean reserve territory (paramos) within the Ecological Research Cayambe Coca: Oyacachi providing water reserves and management for Quito and its valleys.

• Full ten-week quarter of study. Based in Quito, Ecuador, the program also includes three, week-long field studies in other regions of the country.
• Study biodiversity and ecology through rigorous theoretical and practical training.
• Explore solutions from the threats to biodiversity and sustainable conservation models.
• Develop research projects on biodiversity.
• Study intensive Spanish language.
• Homestay family and field research accommodations, meals, and all in-country travel included.
• Optional quarter-long internship in Conservation Ecology following successful program completion. (Requires Spanish language skills.)

Conservation Ecology 2010 Syllabus

What are the main public health problems in Ecuador? What are they caused by? How can community participation, technology, and the organization of health care services improve the health of Ecuadorian citizens? Students in the Public Health program explore these questions from theoretical and hands-on approaches with CIMAS, in collaboration with local public health professionals and traditional healers. The program is taught primarily in English, with a combination of Spanish/English activities during the field work.

Program Components

Field Research Studies – Three, week-long field research trips including,

• Tropical diseases (malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis, hepatitis), epidemiological conditions and health facilities, observed in Guayaquil in the coastal region of Ecuador.
• Diseases associated with poverty(maternal and child malnutrition and infectious diseases), epidemiological conditions and cultural characteristics of the main health problems seen among indigenous and poor rural populations in Pedro Moncayo and Cotacachi counties in the Andean Highlands of Ecuador.
• Traditional & Western Medicine contrasting worldviews and cultural practices among indigenous groups observed in indigenous communities and the Alternative Andean Hospital of Chimborazo, in Riobamba, specializing in the integration of Traditional and Western Medicine.

Other Program Highlights

• Full ten-week quarter of study. Based in Quito, Ecuador, the program also includes three, week-long field studies in other regions of the country.
• Learn how technology could serve populations in need, through the use of epidemiological and GIS surveillance systems.
• Develop research projects in public health.
• Study intensive Spanish language.
• Homestay family and field research accommodations, meals, and all in-country travel included.
• Optional quarter-long internship in public health settings following successful completion of the program. (Requires Spanish language skills.)

Public Health and Development 2011 Syllabus

CIMAS offers students this opportunity to explore and explain the dynamics of today's dilemmas associated with local development. The program will challenge students to critically reflect on notions of modernity and development, in relation to local worldviews and culture. Theoretical background is augmented with experiential work involving practical community-based efforts to provide alternatives that address issues and values of social justice, human rights, individual and community empowerment, sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Program Components

Field Research Studies
Students participate in three week-long field research trips to integrate research and analysis of macro forces with community-building responses and alternatives.  Field locations may include Pedro Moncayo (Pichincha Province), Muisne (Esmeraldas Province) and Cotacachi (Imbabura Province). Neighborhood initiatives in Quito, and those by national or regional organizations such as the indigenous rights movement, will also be explored.

Other Program Highlights

• Full ten-week quarter of study. Based in Quito, Ecuador, the program also includes three, week-long field studies in other regions of the country.
• Explore solutions based on participatory processes, linking local governments, community organizations, and NGOs together in the search for alternatives to meet the needs of local communities.
• Develop research projects in alternative development.
• Study intensive Spanish language.
• Homestay family and field research accommodations, meals, and all in-country travel included.
• Optional quarter-long internship in alternative development settings following successful completion of the program. (Requires Spanish language skills.)

Alternative Development and Social Change 2011 Syllabus