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Overview

The SIT Ecuador: Development, Politics, and Languages program analyzes the indigenous concepts of sustainability as it intersects with biological diversity, culture, and quality of life in Ecuador. The program is primarily based in Quito, Ecuador's picturesque 9,000-foot-high capital with international, colonial, and indigenous influences. In order to participate, you need to complete a minimum of 3 semesters of Spanish, or the equivalent, prior to departure.

Academics

On this program, you will explore how Spanish and indigenous worldviews and languages are used to reinforce and reinvent power relationships as you consider how intercultural and interethnic relations are shaped. You will take courses that focus on the following themes, Languages in Contact: Spanish, Quichua, and Other Languages in Ecuador, Paradigms of Development and Political Discourse in Ecuador, Spanish for the Social Sciences, Research Methods and Ethics, and Independent Study Project (ISP).

The ISP offers you the unique opportunity to apply what you have learned during the semester to an independent field-based research project supervised by a local adviser.

Program Features

SIT believes firmly in the learning value of experience. With that in mind, you participate in several educational excursions to locations such as the Andean cloud forest, the Ecuadorian rainforest, Guayaquil, and central coast villages.

The mobility of the programs means that you live in homestays as well as hostels, private homes and small hotels throughout the duration of the program.

Eligibility

Review eligibility to ensure that you meet all Columbia requirements to study abroad.

Review the external program webpage to understand any additional program prerequisites.

Note the program language requirements.

Application Instructions

To apply, you must complete the two steps below. Deadlines vary and some applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Therefore, you should complete the steps below simultaneously:

  • To apply for Columbia clearance (approval) to study abroad, click on "Start Your Application" on this webpage. Clearance applications are approved on a rolling basis until the application deadline listed on this webpage.
  • To apply for program admission, complete an external application directly on the program webpage. Note that this deadline may be in advance of the Columbia clearance deadline.