CIEE College Study Abroad in Monteverde, Costa Rica

Name: CIEE College Study Abroad in Monteverde, Costa Rica
Brand: CIEE
SKU: 268337
Rating: 4.95 (43 reviews)

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4.95 Rating

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Location

Costa Rica
- Monteverde

Term

Fall, J-Term, Spring, Summer

Subject Areas

Agriculture Biology Chemistry Conservation and Preservation Ecology Engineering Environmental Studies Language Studies Life Sciences Natural Sciences Political Science Sustainable Development +2

Financial Support

Need-based funding, Merit-based funding, General grants/scholarships

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Program Details

Program Type

Provider

Degree Level

Bachelors

Housing

Dormitory

Language

English

Pricing

Price Details

You get more for every dollar when you study abroad with CIEE! Our high-quality programs include tuition, housing, on-site airport pick-up, field trips and cultural activities, 24/7 on-site professional staff, and automatic iNext insurance. There are no hidden charges or surprises when you arrive, and scholarships opportunities are available!

What's Included

Accommodation Some Activities Classes Meals Travel Insurance

Last Updated: Jul 14, 2022

Last Reviewed: Feb 26, 2024

Wish List

7 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Monteverde is a small, international community, nestled along the edge of the cloud forest in the Tilarán Mountains. Drawn to the area’s spectacular beauty and opportunity to see quetzals and monkeys, tourists now contribute the principal revenues to the zone, although coffee plantations and dairy farms still dot the landscape.

Monteverde plays host to Costa Rica’s treasured rainforest, where a staggering number of species – including pumas, monkeys, quetzal, and the endangered three-wattled bellbird – are readily on display, proving the perfect location for studies in biology, biodiversity, sustainability, and conservation.

The campus includes forest and farms against a backdrop of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Facilities include classrooms, residence halls, and recreational areas in a natural setting.

Courses are available in English and Spanish.

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CIEE College Study Abroad in Monteverde, Costa Rica

Program Highlights

CIEE Monteverde is located on an extensive 153-acre campus that includes forest and farms against a backdrop of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

Popular Programs

CIEE Monteverde Summer Programs

Discover many treasures during your summer abroad in this special country as you explore the world famous Monteverde cloud forest. You’ll be rewarded with unique and life-changing experiences, new knowledge and skills, and inspiration to carry the sustainability movement forward.

CIEE Monteverde Semester Programs

Explore the biodiversity in Monteverde’s Cloud Forest Reserve, beaches, waterfalls, coral reefs, and more – all while building on your Spanish language skills. Take courses on tropical ecology, and a Spanish language course appropriate to your skills at CIEE Global Institute – Monteverde.

CIEE Monteverde January Program

Put on your hiking boots and spend January in the progressive mountain community of Monteverde studying Sustainable Development for the Tropics, surrounded by the region’s breathtaking natural scenery.

CIEE Open Campus Block

With CIEE's Open Campus Block Programs, you can design your very own study abroad program to include up to three different locations for 6, 12 or 18 weeks.

Stay in one city the entire time or spend other blocks at our other Open Campus Block locations in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Dublin, Kyoto, London, Madrid, Monteverde, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Singapore, or Sydney.

First Year Abroad in Monteverde

Nestled in the lush cloud forests of Costa Rica, Monteverde invites students into a world of stunning biodiversity and serene landscapes. This eco-friendly city offers a unique blend of adventure and conservation, making Monteverde an ideal destination for students seeking a close encounter with nature's wonders in the heart of Central America.

Scholarships

CIEE Scholarships and Grants

CIEE’s need-based grants offer support to students who face financial barriers to studying abroad. CIEE awards need-based grants based on students’ EFCs and program selection. The Gilman Go Global Grant offers students $750-$2,000 toward airfare, plus $2,500 toward semester program costs, or $1,000 toward summer program costs.

Value

$500 - $2,500

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Program Reviews

4.95 Rating

based on 43 reviews

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Rating Spread Study

5 rating 95.35%
4 rating 4.65%
3 rating 0%
2 rating 0%
1 rating 0%

Academics 4.35
Support 5
Fun 4.85
Housing 4.85
Safety 4.9

Good for Students, Adventure travelers, Photographers

Showing 41 - 43 of 43 reviews

If you're into nature, science, biology, the outdoors, or any of the above, I really can't recommend this program too strongly. Spending a semester in one of the most beautiful places in the world with a group of friends (none of whom I knew before the arriving) who share my passion for the natural world was a defining piece of my college experience, and a decision that I am incredibly glad I made.

The whole staff is great--they all know their stuff when it comes to science, but they're also genuinely awesome people to lead you around Costa Rica and be your friends for 3-4 months. The program they have arranged is set up perfectly, with plenty of time spent in beautiful Monteverde, enough to make it feel like a real home, but also enough travel time on the field trips to really explore the country (and Panama, one of my favorite parts of the trip). The workload can be a lot, and is probably more than most study abroad programs require, but the lessons add to the experience, and I walked away feeling like I learned a huge amount about where I was, and biology in general. And how many abroad programs have you take on an independent research project, which may have the potential to be published? One minor criticism might be that since the workload was concentrated in the Monteverde sections (not that I would want to have been working on the field trips), some of us felt like we didn't have as much time as we might have to fully explore the town and the surrounding cloud forest.

There are a million stories I could tell from the trip, from scaling waterfalls and swimming amidst bioluminescent waves, to getting way too close to eyelash vipers and bullet ants for the perfect photo, and partying with friends at Monteverde's very own Bar Amigos. But the most valuable thing I can say is that if you're considering this program, apply today and make your own stories!

My semester abroad in Costa Rica with the amazing staff of the TEC program was so great! I loved the wide range of activities we did, it felt like we fit an entire year into one semester. We got to travel around the whole country and see almost all of the highlights. We also stayed in homestay for a month and got to conduct our own research -- CIEE really had everything I was looking for in a study abroad program.

As an interactive learner, one of my favorite things was having class in the forest. It was really cool to talk about the different species of plants and animals when they were right there. Most of the lectures were like this, we spent very little time in a traditional classroom.

My favorite part of the program was homestay. It was so fun to live with a familia tica and get to know the culture and customs. Two years later, I am still talking to my host family every couple weeks.

What would you improve about this program?

I wish we learned more about the conservation of tropical forests. We took a half unit class on the subject, which was great. But these were some of the lessons that stuck with me the most so I wish we spent more time on them.

The program was very rigorous while still worthwhile. It allowed us to experience and learn about things that are incredibly rare in the United States. The staff were incredibly supportive while still giving us room to learn and develop on our own in a country that in without equal in terms of environmental beauty and sustainability. The program allowed us learn about the connection between humans and the environment so that we could add that to our educations back home.

Questions & Answers

I'd like to know if I will have enough free time to make surf trips out to the west coast?

The program is very academically intensive and structured which means that personal travel/free time is limited. If you want to make independent travel plans please plan to do so once the program has ended.

By CIEE Study Abroad on April 27, 2018

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Are there any shorter term options available, such as a summer option?

There is a shorter summer option than condenses the semester program! A coworker has done it and had a similar experience to my semester program.

By Ben Sehl on January 30, 2018

See all 2 answers

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you choose this program?

I chose the CIEE Monteverde J-term program because it was really out of my comfort zone.

I was super interested in the sustainability aspect of class and daily life there. I don’t do many “outdoorsy” activities in day to day life back home, but I was always amazed by mother nature from afar. Choosing this program gave me the opportunity to see up close and personal the thriving ecosystems, hundreds of animals, and beautifully welcoming people of the region!

What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

CIEE set me up with on-campus housing in bungalows with other students! It was a super cool way to interact with others and coexist with nature in the environment we were in. Transportation was provided throughout my program, from the airport, all around Monteverde, and back to the airport at the end of my program. We also got 3 hearty meals a day and on-site 24/7 staff helped with anything else we needed!!

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What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

I wish I had brought lighter full-coverage layers for the warmer days when it was raining or if the bugs were out and about. I liked to keep a full-coverage layer of clothes on for the bugs, (not necessary if you use bug spray). But other than that, I wasn’t in need of anything during my time there.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

Our days and weeks were scheduled out ahead of time which was very convenient for us to plan out clothing and homework and things like that.

A typical day would look like waking up and eating breakfast around 8 am, then off to class around 8:30-9 am until the afternoon. We’d have a lunch break in the middle. After class, we had time to work on our school work, read, play games, hike, talk to some of the staff and hang out!

Dinner was around 6 pm and then usually the students would end the night in the rev room watching movies, playing games, or taking dance classes.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

My biggest fear going into it was being stuck in the mountains of Costa Rica for my program if I didn’t meet any friends. I made sure to be open and nice and I found a group of people I vibed with right away. After the program, I can say that the friends I made there are life long and we still keep in touch every day!!

You will find your niche wherever you go: just be yourself!

What if I’m not very “outdoorsy”?

I think the best advice I can give you is just to try it. I am also not an avid outdoors person myself, and I was worried about this being too much, but after the program looking back, I was SO glad to have had the experience. Not only did I learn a lot in the classroom but seeing it come to life when you stepped out of the classroom was unbelievable. I didn’t mind the hiking and nature aspect as much as I thought I would.

I loved my experience and I’m glad I didn’t let my lack of “outdoorsy-ness” ruin it for me!

Madison Cox

2013 Alum

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

What is your favorite travel memory?

Some of my favorite moments were the times when the students shared their experiences. They verbalized what I had felt when I studied abroad in High School.

Listening to them share what they'd seen and felt was like experiencing it all over again for myself. CIEE created opportunities for them to reflect, share, and analyze their experiences. It was amazing to watch.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

My perspective on oral proficiency has changed greatly in the classroom setting. I have adopted the way of assessing speaking through improvement scores and not just some high pressure interview where they could stress out and fail.

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

CIEE is unique in its opportunities for all students. The ability for students without means to be able to travel abroad and expand their minds and language skills is one of the most admirable thing about this company.

The goal of CIEE to provide authentic language and cultural experiences for students of all backgrounds touches on such a fundamental wish that all language teachers have.

It gives my students hope that they can go abroad without wondering where the money will come from or the debt that could follow. They're doing what I wish I could do for my students.

About CIEE

A nonprofit, non-governmental organization, CIEE is the world leader in international study and exchange programs. For more than 75 years, CIEE has helped thousands of students, professionals, and educators gain the knowledge and skills necessary to live and work in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world by offering the most...