Spring Study Abroad 2027: Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
- Location(s): Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
- Tentative Dates: March 12 – March 20, 2027
- Estimated Cost: $3,500 + the cost of tuition; students may choose to participate in optional activities for an additional cost
Program Overview
This immersive program takes UC undergraduate and graduate students to Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, one of the world’s recognized Blue Zones, to examine how culture, environment, and everyday practices shape health outcomes. Designed for students interested in health, medicine, sociology, and global studies.
The Nicoya Peninsula serves as a living classroom, offering opportunities to learn directly from community members, including centenarians, and to observe how diet, local food systems, movement, social connection, and cultural values contribute to well-being. To connect community health with systems and policy, students will also participate in guided visits to hospitals and clinics to better understand Costa Rica’s approach to access, prevention, and community health. Daily field experiences are paired with structured reflection and academic discussion to help students apply sociological and global health concepts to real-world experiences.
SOC 2044: Health, Medicine and Society
- Professor: Dr. Tamika Odum
- Credit Hours: 3 credit hours
Course Description
Health, Medicine and Society offers an introduction to health, illness, and healthcare from a sociological perspective. The course helps students examine health and illness through three separate but interlocking lenses: the social construction of illness, the relationship between inequality and health outcomes, and the role of medicine as both a healing institution and part of a broader social and economic system. Through the Costa Rica abroad component, students will extend these classroom concepts into real-world settings by examining how culture, environment, lifestyle, community, policy, and healthcare systems shape health, access to care, longevity, and overall well-being. Field-based learning in the Nicoya Peninsula will allow students to compare health outcomes and healthcare systems in Costa Rica and the United States while applying sociological concepts to lived experiences, community practices, and observations of health and well-being abroad.
Costs
- Program Cost Includes:
- International airfare
- Housing / accommodations
- In-country transportation for program-planned activities
- Cultural excursions/entrance fees
- International emergency and evacuation insurance
- Most Meals
- Not included in Program Costs
- Spring Tuition – (at your standard tuition rate)
- Passport application/renewal fees (~$165)
- Recommended/required immunization/vaccination fees ($0)
- Some meals ($40)
- Personal spending/souvenirs/meals on travel days ($100)
- Optional Activities/Excursions ($0-$250)
- Visa application/processing fees if applicable ($0)
Resources
Contact Information
UCBA Study Abroad
ucbastudyabroad@uc.edu