Program Reviews

SIT Study Abroad Peru offers an incredible exploration of Peruvian history, culture, indigenous identity, and contemporary challenges. Through academic excursions that facilitate meetings and discussions with incredible leaders and scholars, immersive language learning, and interesting topics, there is a lot to learn on SIT's Peru program. It was an incredibly worthwhile experience—and as with all study abroad, remain openminded, accept that things are different, and lean into the experience! It will be unforgettable.

If you are interested in anything related to healthcare and want to improve your spanish speaking skills I HIGHLY recommend this program. It is an amazing blend of health related topics, spanish language immersion, and fun/exploration of a new city. All of the program directors were so supportive and helpful throughout the process. They understand that it's a hard change and are willing to help with literally anything! You are placed with a host family who is picked specifically for you based on your interests and lifestyle needs (and the homestay coordinator is incredible with making connections and helping out with anything you need for this) and this experience is really helpful for spanish language immersion. There were SO many program sponsored (and required) trips and events that allowed us to see a lot of different parts of the country while still doing some school-related work! There was also some time to travel on our own and explore more! At the end of the program there is an internship or independent project that was super fun, there is a lot of independence and it looks great on resumes for the future. The whole experience, from the people to the location to the food to the school/fun balance was just amazing and I can't speak highly enough about it! (I added a few pictures but these are just a few of the TONS of things we got to experience)!

This program was more than I ever could have hoped for. The program staff was super supportive and they went above and beyond with planning events for us. In particular, they gave us lots of opportunities to connect with the scientific community in Tierra del Fuego. We had 3 excursions outside of Ushuaia, and they were all incredible. One of those was a trip to Antarctica, which was a crazy opportunity. Ushuaia itself was also an amazing place to be. It is definitely on the smaller side, but I felt that that made it easier to connect with the community. The people in Ushuaia are generally very friendly and accepting even as you are still improving your Spanish. Also, it is right in the mountains and on the ocean, so there are all sorts of outdoor activities that are very accessible from the city. The classes and internship component of the program were both really interesting, and I learned a lot from them. Also, my Spanish improved a ton during this program. Furthermore, the host family experience allowed me to experience Argentinian culture in a way that I never could have if I had lived on my own in a dorm or apartment. On the whole, this program was an incredible, once in a lifetime experience, and I would highly recommend it.

SIT Public Health in Urban Environments was an incredible program that facilitated growth and learning for me and all my fellow participants. Through immersive excursions and the homestay living arrangements, I was able to get to know Buenos Aires and Argentina through diverse and qualified perspectives. It had a profound impact on my worldview and understanding of healthcare-- both as a global and necessarily local phenomenon. My Spanish has improved drastically and I would recommend this to anyone interested in getting to know a new city.

I cannot emphasize enough how important this program has been in my personal and academic development. The classes with Argentinian professors, visits to local organizations, and trips to Patagonia and the northern provinces combined to create a holistic understanding and knowledge of Argentina. The classes challenged my beliefs about the world and international relations, and conversations with locals made me more empathetic and cognizant of the world and people around me. The final month dedicated to doing an internship or a research paper pushed me academically and culminated in a final research paper of which I am extremely proud. The host family experience was truly amazing, and I am sure I will maintain contact with them for many years to come. The on-site Argentinian staff members are lovely and incredibly supportive throughout the process. I also found time to travel around Latin America, which added so much to this experience. I cannot say enough good things about this program, and I just have to say thank you to Argentina for all that it has taught me about the world and myself.

As cliche as it sounds, studying abroad in Argentina through the Social Movements and Human Rights program was one of the most transformative of my academic career. Academically, the incredibly knowledgeable staff and once-in-a-lifetime experiential learning combine to present a unique opportunity to challenge your point of views and world understanding. From visiting indigenous communities, social movements, and participating in an internship (or research project) the experience allowed me to think in new ways and develop as a global citizen. Furthermore, living in a homestay was one of the best part of my experience. Through eating dinners, watching television shows and movies, and my homestay mom constantly correcting my grammar, the homestay component not just helped me improve my Spanish but connect with my family personally. I have no doubt that we will be in contact far past the conclusion of the program. Finally, living and truly getting to immerse yourself in a new culture pushed me to reflect on my own assumptions about the world. Together, the semester was truly was on the most incredible I have had.

I found SIT Panama to be exactly what I was looking for in a study abroad program. The excursions let us see a wide array of biomes across the country and introduced us to tons of wonderful people. SIT Panama is heavily experience-based in the teaching style, which worked great for me, and I'll never forget my time wading through streams looking for frogs at night or spending days snorkeling in the reefs of Guna Yala. The student culture in my cohort was always quite positive which made for a great community. Even as an introvert I felt that I was able to connect with my fellow students, host families, and other local Panamanians. The ISP (independent study project) at the end of the program is pretty intense but I found it to be some of the happiest weeks of my life. I loved getting to spend hours on end snorkeling, learning to ID marine invertebrates (the focus of my specific project), and completing my write-up while staying with a bunch of my SIT friends. Overall this program was excellent and if I could go back in time I would definitely choose to do it again.

My experience studying abroad in Argentina with this program was amazing! I had the opportunity to take classes from various professionals related to the health care system in Argentina along with traveling to various regions in Argentina to learn directly from different communities. During these excursions, we were able to visit the mountains in Mendoza and Iguazu Falls in Misiones. The academic staff and my host mom were incredible and extremely supportive. During the last month, I had the opportunity to complete an internship with a neonatologist. Lastly, I gained valuable friendships with the other students in my program. I would definitely recommend this program to any students interested in health care and improving their Spanish skills!

I loved my time in Chile! The people I met definitely made the semester! The SIT staff was very friendly and supportive, and they did a great job assigning host families. I loved my host families both in Valparaiso and on the excursions. I felt very comfortable and got to know them very well despite the partial linguistic barrier. I also found many Chileans around my age to be really friendly, and I was able to make a few great friends who I still talk with every week. The group dynamics within the program weren't great, in part, because our homestays were so spread out that it encouraged cliques to form. The staff maybe could have done more to improve group dynamics especially during our first few days in Chile where we were all staying at a hotel together for orientation.

I have mixed feelings about the program's academics. I appreciate that we weren't assigned much work, so we got to use our time outside of school to explore and spend time with our host families. I thought my Spanish class was interesting, and it helped me to learn Chilenismos and improve my grammar. The classes about cultural identity, social justice, and economics were disappointing though. They were taught by different guest lecturers every class, so there was no continuity or clear learning targets. Some of the classes/lecturers were great, but most were boring and didn't teach me much. The research methodologies class was a bit dry but did a good job of preparing us for our ISPs. I was not excited about doing an ISP as I don't like research, but ended up finding a topic I was excited about and got a lot out of it! The SIT staff did a great job supporting me through the ISP period, even as I traveled outside of Valparaiso for it.

I loved Valpariso/Viña and Chile in general. The pace of life in Valpo/Viña (and its public transport) is a lot slower than where I'm from (MA), but once I got used to that I loved exploring the city (going to dance classes, bars, markets, ect.) I also went to visit friends in Santiago on the weekends and have touristy days with them. I also loved our excursion to the south. I loved getting to spend time outside in a rural area and go to family parties with my host family. Our trip to the north was kind of a wash since so many people got sick (largely due to the altitude). I would have loved to travel around Chile and the Southern Cone more, but we didn't have any breaks and weren't allowed to travel without the program. I didn't think the program's schedule, nor its policy that students can't travel on their own was made clear on the website which frustrated me.

SIT provides a unique program that teaches the students about Traditional Medicine and the Healthcare system of Madagascar. The program directors provide comfort and support throughout the entirety of the program. Students will create long lasting connections on this program whether it will be with the locals, directors, or other students. Students should be prepared to go outside their comfort zones and be ready to be inspired by their studies and the cultural immersion they will experience. This program expands your understanding of how different each country can be especially when it comes to the people, culture, healthcare, and traditional beliefs.