Honduras: What Are You Looking For?
If you are interested in this program, please read this important open letter (updated December 2012) about student safety in Honduras.
Eligibility
You must have a 2.5 grade point average and be of sophomore status to participate in the development studies program in Honduras. Preference will be given to juniors and seniors for the program.
Cost
The Fall 2012 program cost is expected to be within $1000 of Calvin tuition and room and board on campus. Final cost will be dependent on the number of students participating. More specific cost information will be sent with your acceptance letter. The cost includes:
- Tuition
- Room
- Food allowance
- Administration
- Field trips
- Round trip airfare from Grand Rapids
Additional expenses not included in the program fee: passport, books, medical insurance (required), personal travel expenses and spending money. Make sure that your passport is up-to-date and will not expire any time in the next year. Note that Honduras is an inexpensive country for visitors with dollars, so an extra $100 to $150 per month should provide plenty of spending money.
Accommodations
You will live with a Honduran family in San Lucia, a beautiful town in the mountains 20 minutes outside of Tegucigalpa. Fluency in Spanish is not required for this experience.
Courses
By studying in Honduras you will fulfill your cross cultural engagement core requirement.
This year we will be adding a two-week internship component to the end of the semester with the dual aim of putting into practice skills learned during the semester. This internship is optional, and it will give you the opportunity to work in a career area of interest to you such as the environment, health, agriculture, micro-credit, women's rights, education, and others. You will be closely supervised by Calvin professors and will meet as a group to process what you are seeing, learning, and doing. The approximate semester dates for Fall 2012 (including the optional 2-week internship) will be late August through mid-December.
You will take the following courses in succession:
| Course 1 - STHO 210: Exploring a Third World Society | |
| This course offers Honduras' unique history, economics and politics as a window on the third world. Frequent seminars will provide an opportunity to interact with leading Honduran politicians, economists, historians, and sociologists. | 3 semester hours, global and historical studies core, CCE core |
| Course 2 - STHO 211: The Problem of Poverty | |
| This course analyzes development theories and major issues such as population and environment that come into play when attempting to develop impoverished areas. The class will also include frank discussions about how Christian values can shape development theory. | This course with STHO 212 (below) gives 3 semester hours for the societal structures core in sociology and 3 semester hours for an elective credit in economics. |
| Course 3 - STHO 212: Development Theory in Practice | |
| This course provides an in-depth analysis of third world development. Guest speakers from leading Christian and non-Christian organizations present honest appraisals of their work and students spend a week sharing life with real Hondurans and studying the impact development organizations have had in the community. | See above |
Course 4 is a Spanish class you choose and taught by Honduran teachers:
| Course 4 - SPAN xxx: Spanish Language Study | |
| Each student will take at least one Spanish class (beginning, intermediate, or advanced Latin America literature or culture). The classes are taught by highly skilled Honduran teachers using Calvin College's Spanish curriculum. | Language core |
Apply
Submit a preliminary application to the the off-campus programs office. Once your eligibility for the program is determined (within 1–2 weeks), you will be sent an application. The final application deadline for this program is Wednesday, March 14, 2012.
Guest students may apply for this program.
Contact
Program Director
Professor Kurt VerBeek, sociology
Email: joannKurt@gmail.com
