Tulane University
AC-5: Immersive Experience

Tulane’s CIAPA Tropical and Environmental Studies program is a spring-semester study abroad program held at the Centro de Investigación y Adiestramiento Político y Administrativo (CIAPA) in San José, Costa Rica. The semester-long program is focused on environmental issues in the tropics. Open primarily to juniors, students have the opportunity to take Tulane classes in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EBIO), Earth and Environmental Sciences (EENS), International Development (IDEV), Political Science (POLS), and Spanish (SPAN). Building upon Tulane’s reputation as one of the top institutions to study Latin America, this program seeks to attract students with an interest and preparation in environmental studies, with a particular focus on the issues of sustainability and resilience in tropical environments using Costa Rica as the case study. Given the rising human population and its global impacts including climate change, science and social science research are increasingly focusing on sustainability issues such as food security, urban development, and the conservation of biological diversity. This program aims to prepare students to participate on interdisciplinary research teams that study these issues that increasingly are in demand by funding agencies and sustainability planners. CIAPA (Centro de Investigación y Adiestramiento Político y Administrativo) was founded in 1974 to promote academic and public policy research in the social sciences and Latin America. It was conceived as a center for research and intellectual endeavors and as a forum for the study, debate, and analysis of the issues impacting the social, economic, and political development of Latin American countries. CIAPA was conceived as a center for research and intellectual endeavors and as a forum for the study, debate, and analysis of the issues impacting the social, economic, and political development of Latin American countries. Summer Food Institute: The Public Health Summer Food Institute for undergraduate students is a one-month, 6 credit opportunity to experience public health through interdisciplinary learning. Students take field trips and link to the Southeastern Louisiana food production, distribution, and service community while learning about the vibrant food culture of Southeastern Louisiana. Students complete two courses: PHU 3400 Nutrition, Cooking and Public Health and SPHU 3410 Food Safety, Community and Policy

http://tulane.edu/publichealth/bsph/summer-food-institute.cfm