NOTE: SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, like COVID-19, SIT may have to modify programs. Visit the SIT website for more details.
Examine the social and economic development strategies of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Program Highlights
- Spend six weeks in Buenos Aires.
- Rapidly improve your Spanish.
- Explore economic and social realities of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) countries.
- Discuss similarities and differences among these four countries and important transnational and regional processes.
- Learn about the introduction of genetically modified seeds and the social, environmental, and economic impacts of mono cropping.
- Customize the program to meet your goals by choosing between an internship or independent research.
Please visit the SIT Study Abroad website for details on program courses (including syllabi), educational excursions, and housing.
Independent Study
During the final four weeks of the program, you can choose to use your new language and cultural skills and the academic knowledge you have acquired to complete an Independent Study Project (ISP) on a topic of interest to you.
The ISP is conducted in Buenos Aires or another approved location appropriate to the project. The project integrates the various components of the program and culminates in a final presentation and formal research paper. One of the many advantages of this program is the wide range of themes that can be explored through the region.
Sample topics:
- Bilateral government-owned development projects
- Immigration policy changes
- Development of corporate social responsibility
- Women’s political participation
- Changes in political participation
- Eliminating child labor
- Sustainability of agricultural export production
- Gender issues
If you choose to complete an internship during the final weeks of this program, you will be placed with a local community organization, research organization, or international NGO in Argentina or Paraguay where you will gain work experience and develop professional skills. Many of these organizations are leaders in key development issues in the country or the region. Their work focuses on indigenous rights, LGBTQI rights, women’s development projects, migration, and transnational impacts. You may help in fundraising activities, social media, and/or in daily activities such as helping mothers and children in soup kitchens.
In addition to completing the internship, you will submit a paper that addresses your learning experience and analyzing an issue important to the organization. You may also choose to design a socially responsible solution to a problem identified by the organization.
Topics and placements vary according to each institution. Examples of internship placements and topics include:
- Centro de Análisis y Difusión de la Economía Paraguaya – Macroeconomy; international economy; poverty and employment; entrepreneurship; micro, small, and medium businesses; and regional development
- Centro de Documentación y Estudios – Sustainable development, women’s rights, transnationalism, chains of care and sexual reproductive rights, political participation
- Grupo Sunu | de Acción Intercultural – Intercultural relations
- Conamuri Paraguay – Peasants’ and indigenous women’s rights, agroecology, transnational social movements
Key Topics of Study
- Social realities and changing political frameworks in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay
- Top-down transnational processes that include regional integration through state-led institutions such as MERCOSUR (Mercado Común del Sur / Southern Common Market), UNASUR (Unión de Naciones Suramericanas/Union of South American Nations) and others
- Grassroots transnational processes such as migration in the region and political and social movements.
- Theory and development practice from economic, environmental, and human perspectives.
Money Matters
Be sure to discuss how study abroad costs are handled at your school with your study abroad advisor.
SIT tuition and room and board fees include the following:
All educational costs, including educational excursions
- All accommodations and meals for the full program duration
- Transportation to and from the airport, and on all educational excursions
- Health and accident insurance
Scholarships:
- SIT awards nearly $1.6 million in scholarships and grants annually.
- All scholarships and grants are need-based.
- Awards generally range from $500 to $5,000.
- The SIT Pell Grant Match provides matching grants to all students receiving Federal Pell Grant funding when it is applied to an SIT Study Abroad semester program.
- Contact the financial aid and/or study abroad office(s) at your college or university to learn if your school’s scholarships and grants and federal and state aid programs can be applied to an SIT Study Abroad program.
Contact SIT Study Abroad
Study in Latin America a Semester!
Institution
SIT Study Abroad offers small (10-35 participants) semester and summer programs for undergraduate students in Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as comparative programs in multiple locations. Students step beyond the boundaries of a traditional classroom to analyze the critical issues shaping local communities around the globe.
Location
The program is based around the social realities and changing political frameworks in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Academic Calendar
- Fall Semester: Late August to Mid December
- Spring Semester: Late February to Mid June
For more information about the Academic Calendar and program details please visit the
SIT Argentina web page.
Housing
Living with a host family in Buenos Aires for most of the program, you will have the opportunity to improve your language skills and learn firsthand about urban Argentine life.
Other accommodations during the program include apartments, guest houses, educational institutions, or small hotels.
Financial
Program Costs
Paid to Appalachian State
| |
Semester |
| 1SIT Tuition |
See SIT |
| SIT Housing & Meals |
See SIT |
| 2OIED Program Development Fee |
$200 |
| Intl Health Dev Fee |
$60 |
1Tuition, fees, and housing are charged at the SIT rate.
2The OIED Program Development Fee will be placed on students’ accounts upon acceptance by the Education Abroad Office. The fee payment confirms your spot and is non-refundable.
Estimated Additional Costs
| |
Semester |
| Airfare |
$1400 - $2200 |
| 1Personal Expenses |
$1000 - $1500 |
| Books and Materials |
$70 |
| Local Transportation |
$100 - $300 |
| Visa (for US Citizens) |
$320 |
| Passport |
$150 |
| SIT Deposit |
$400 |
| 2US Based Health Insurance |
Varies |
| 3Personal Travel and Spending |
$900 - $1500 |
1Personal expenses includes but is not limited to: toiletries, cell phone, emergency funds, laundry, basic travel and entertainment, etc.
2Students are encouraged to maintain a US based health insurance plan while abroad (to exempt out of AppState insurance students must follow the App exemption process - proving that they have insurance coverage for the entirety of the semester.
3Personal Travel and Spending amounts will vary by student and will be affected by how often a student goes out, travels, and the items they purchase.
Please note that non-billable costs are estimates only and will be affected by personal spending habits, currency fluctuations, etc. Prices listed in USD unless otherwise noted.
Students are encouraged to start planning for their study abroad program costs well in advance. Please use the Student Financial Planning Worksheet to help estimate your anticipated expenses and your anticipated financial resources. When planning for estimated additional costs students are encouraged to research currency conversion rates.
Financial Aid
The majority of financial aid and scholarships can apply to semester and year-long study abroad programs. For more information please visit the Office of Student Financial Aid web page.
Scholarships
SIT Pell Grant Match
SIT offers matching funding to Pell Grant recipients. To qualify for the Match program students must submit a scholarship application through SIT.
SIT Need-Based Scholarships
SIT Study Abroad only awards need-based scholarships and grants. Average awards range between $500 and $5,000 for our semester programs, and between $500 and $3,000 for our summer programs. Our scholarships and grants are available to all students accepted into an SIT Study Abroad program irrespective of citizenship, national origin, or home school.
OIED Scholarships
Each semester OIED offers a variety of different scholarship opportunities for students. Scholarship awards range from $500 to $2000.
Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship
The Gilman Scholarship Program application is open to U.S. citizen undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study and intern abroad programs worldwide.
Fund for Education Abroad
Applicants from groups underrepresented in study abroad and those destined for non-traditional locations are given preference, in an effort to make the demographics of U.S. undergraduates studying abroad reflect the rich diversity of the U.S. population.
For information about additional scholarships please visit our External Scholarships web page.
Academics
SIT offers a field-based, experiential approach to learning in a small group environment. The Argentina program's coursework provides an essential foundation in:
- the social realities and changing political frameworks in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay
- Top-down transnational processes that include regional integration through state-led institutions such as MERCOSUR (Mercado Común del Sur / Southern Common Market), UNASUR (Unión de Naciones Suramericanas/Union of South American Nations) and others
- Grassroots transnational processes such as migration in the region and political and social movements.
- Theory and development practice from economic, environmental, and human perspectives.
In the final month of the program, you will conduct an Independent Study Project (ISP). This will provide you with an opportunity to pursue original research on a situation or topic of particular interest to you.
For more information about the courses and structure of the program please visit the SIT Argentina web page.
All students are expected to maintain at least the equivalent of a full time course load according to Appalachian State and the host university while abroad (whichever is greater). Students participating on the SIT Argentina program will be required to enroll in 16 credits per semester. For more information about study abroad enrollment policies, credit approval, and credit and grade conversions please visit the Academics section of our website.
How to Apply
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and some programs may fill up before the listed deadline. Each year applications for Fall, Spring, and Summer will open up on August 1st. Once open the deadline will be listed below and an Apply Now button will be available at the top and bottom of this page. Most applications will have a 2 part application process so students are encouraged to complete their OIED application well before the listed deadline.
Students applying to a SIT program should complete the
SIT application while also completing the Appalachian application.
For more information about deadlines and how to apply please visit our
Guide Me webpage.