Why CET Colombia?
Academics
Semester
Snapshot
- Recommended Credits: 15-18
- Electives in both English and Spanish
- Traveling Seminar to San Basilio de Palenque and Cartagena
- Spanish language classes
- Direct-enroll electives for intermediate and advanced Spanish speakers
- Host Universities: Universidad del Valle (Univalle) and Universidad Autónoma de Occidente (UAO)
COVID Modifications
Because of program adjustments CET is taking related to COVID-19, your academic experience will look different from standard programming. Please see the Spring 2022 Program Updates Page for more information.
Curriculum & Syllabi
You take one core course, a two-week Spanish intensive, and build the rest of your curriculum according to your Spanish level to meet the total 15 to 18 recommended credits.
Pre-Semester Intensive Spanish
You take this two-week intensive Spanish course to help with the adjustment to life in Cali for 3 credits:
- Pre-Semester Intensive Spanish
Core Course
You take this 3-credit Univalle course that is taught exclusively for CET students. This course is initially taught in English, but as your language skills improve, your teachers introduce more Spanish instruction.
Spanish Language: Semester
After you complete the Pre-Semester Spanish Intensive, you enroll in a semester-long Spanish course for 3 credits.
- Spanish as a Foreign Language
CET Electives
You take these two 3-credit electives in English:
Pre-Semester Intensive Spanish
You take this two-week intensive Spanish course to help with the adjustment to life in Cali for 3 credits. If you are a native or near-native Spanish speaker, you can opt to do a Spanish independent study instead.
- Pre-Semester Intensive Spanish
Core Course
You take this 3-credit Univalle course that is taught exclusively for CET students. This course is initially taught in English, but incorporates more Spanish instruction as your language skills warm up.
Electives
Choose two to three additional courses to meet the total 15 to 18 recommended credits.
Electives at CET
These 3-credit electives are exclusively for CET students in English or Spanish:
- CA/GEOG 310 Environmental Conflicts, Territorialities, and Ethnic Groups in Colombia
- CA/SOCI 315 Crime & Justice in Colombia
- CA/ANTH 330 The Cultures of Afro Descendants in Colombia (taught in Spanish)
- CA/POLI 320 Reclaiming Blackness: Social and Political Movements in Colombia (taught in Spanish)
After you complete the Pre-Semester Spanish Intensive, you can choose to enroll in a 3-credit semester-long Spanish elective course.
- Spanish as a Foreign Language
- History and Culture of the Pacific Coast
- Music and Education of Afro Culture
- Memory, Peace, and Reconciliation
CET converts final grades from the local host universities to US letter grade equivalents.
Race, Ethnicity, Identity
Traveling Seminar: Comparative Learning
Day 1: Travel to San Basilio de Palenque. Meet with community members to discuss local history and culture.
Day 2: Learn about the local justice system from La Guardia Cimarrona themselves. Then meet with a traditional drum maker and learn a few local songs.
Day 3: Hike to the local farming spot and assist a Palenquero farmer for the day.
Day 4: Travel to Cartagena. Explore the city and then relax on the beach.
Day 5: Head to La Boquilla, a village outside the city with a large Afro-Colombian population. Hear about the negative effects of rapid-growth tourism for livelihoods dependent upon fishing from locals.
Day 6: Meet with local social leaders as you visit neighborhoods populated by those displaced by armed conflict and gentrification. Reflect with peers on the Old Town walls.
Day 7: Travel back to Cali.
Improve your Spanish
Proudly Afro-Colombian: A Discussion Series
Highlight Afro-Colombian leaders in this twice-a-semester event hosted by CET and Univalle. Step on stage and facilitate public discussions with prominent artists, scientists, professors, activists, etc., and bring attention to the work they do to uplift the local black community. In hosting a Proudly Afro-Colombian discussion, you give a little back to the community that hosts you in Cali.
Your Host Institutions
"In the classroom, we learned about the social complexities of identity, the history of Colombia, and the social issues that are currently prevalent. In real life, we were having these same conversations with our peers and witnessing the realities of these play out. I feel like I have been educated about this country and these social issues in the most complete and holistic way and that has made me a more intelligent person and able to connect these experiences back to other parts of the world and my life."
George Washington University | Fall 2019
Housing & Meals
COVID Modifications
Because of precautions CET is taking related to COVID-19, your housing experience will look different from standard programming. Please see the COVID playbook page for more information.
- Apartment
- Off-campus housing
- Live with CET peers & local students
- 3-4 people/apartment
- 1-2 people/room
- Fully equipped kitchen, bathroom, living room, in-unit washing machine
- Wifi access, A/C, linens, basic furnishing, kitchenware
Share a conveniently located apartment in Barrio San Joaquin with CET peers and local Colombian students. Get to Universidad del Valle on foot in just ten minutes, the CET office in five minutes, and Universidad Autónoma de Occidente by bus in twenty minutes. And after class is out, cook dinner at home with your roommates, explore the neighborhood, or enjoy the apartment complex’s communal pool, basketball and soccer courts, and even Bachata and yoga classes.
Living with Local Students
Eating in Cali
For meals, take your pick of Cali’s many inexpensive eateries or use your student ID to try the Univalle cafeteria, where a full meal costs less than 1 USD for students. And while you’re out in the city, don’t forget to try a aborrojado (battered plantain stuffed with cheese)—you’re living in Cali after all. Feeling like a home-cooked meal? Grab ingredients at the supermarket and have a night in with your roommates.
Life in Cali
- Known locally as: Cali
- Population: 2.4 million
- Local Currency: Colombian Peso
- Famous for: Diverse population, salsa capital of the world, Cristo Rey, Festival Petroneo Álvarez
In a city where the influences of diversity are ever-present, your everyday surroundings will inform your studies and Cali’s active calendar of cultural activities will fill your days. Enjoy a cold champú (refreshing local drink) as you relax in town. Spend the weekend at the mountains or on the beach (3 hours by bus!) with your roommate. Go dancing with friends at Tin Tin Deo, an iconic local salsa club. Listen to the storytellers weave a tale atop the hill in the San Antonio neighborhood.
Activities & Excursions
Around Cali
Each term, the program offers different extra-curricular activities that allow you to explore Cali and Colombian culture. Take a salsa class to try your hand at the national pastime. Spend time in the beautiful Farallones mountains. Explore different neighborhoods around Cali. And there’s even more to see on your own or with friends—enjoy the views from Colombia’s Christ the Redeemer statue, attend one of the city’s many festivals, or see live music atop Loma de la Cruz on the weekend.
Retreat From the City
"Being able to see and talk with local communities, have Afro-Colombian roommates, and have first-hand conversations has really brought my education to whole new level."
Kalamazoo College | Fall 2019
On-site Staff
Mariela Palacios
Director of Operations
Cyntoya McCall
Resident Director
Program Fees
Spring 2022
|
$15,390 $14,390
Spring 2022: $15,390 $14,390
Of the total program fee, $12,630 goes to tuition and fees, and $1,760 goes to housing and student life fees.
All of your classes and program-related learning are included with your tuition.
We cover your transit, housing, and most meals during your Traveling Seminar to Cartagena and Palenque. Don’t forget to bring a camera and your curiosity.
We arrange your housing in an apartment, and find you a local roommate, too. Your program fees go toward rent, furnishing, and other management costs.
From pre-departure to orientation, from on site to re-entry, CET provides you with the support you need every step of the way.
You’re provided with a comprehensive insurance plan through GeoBlue that even includes medical evacuation coverage.
During activities and excursions that we arrange, transit, housing, and most meals are covered.
Your textbooks and course supplies are covered and waiting for you on site. You can print your class materials for an additional fee.
At the end of the term, you can view your grade report in your online CET account. Your official transcript is issued by the University of Minnesota and sent directly to your home institution.
Estimated
Out-of-Pocket
Costs
- Round-trip Airfare: $700
- Meals: $1,200
- Personal Expenses: $900
- Must be 18 or order at the time of program participation.
- Open to students from any US college or university
- GPA: 3.0 or higher preferred, but admissions decisions are made on a case-by-case basis; lower GPAs still encouraged to apply
- Open to all levels of Spanish language speakers, but students with more Spanish language experience have more curricular flexibility
Complete the application through your online CET account. This is a brief form that asks for basic information and has a few short answer questions about why you want to study abroad. Get started now.
Use the link in your online account to send a recommendation request to one of your previous instructors.
This is an online form that your study abroad office completes to let us know you meet the requirements to study abroad. To send the electronic form request, simply enter the name and email address of your study abroad advisor in the designated fields of your online account.
Your online CET account has specific instructions for submitting an official transcript.
Fall deadline:
April 1st
May 1
Spring deadline:
November 1st
Price Subject to Change:
CET reserves the right to increase quoted charges at any time without prior notification, based on increased instruction costs, exchange rate fluctuation or other cost increases beyond CET’s control.
Have a question? Get in touch!
Melanie MacKenzie
Senior Student Services Coordinator
Advises on CET programs in Brazil, Colombia, Japan, and Jordan.
202.846.7662
[email protected]