SIT Study Abroad Ecuador: Development, Politics, and Languages

Study indigenous concepts of sustainability as it intersects with biological diversity, culture, and quality of life in Ecuador.

WHY ECUADOR?

Living in Ecuador, you will experience a multilingual and multiethnic nation that is also one of the America’s most biologically diverse countries. Here, you’ll study development as well as alternatives grounded in indigenous worldviews that call for respect of natural resources. Two homestays will deepen your understanding of both urban and rural life and culture in Ecuador.

On excursions to the threatened Intag Forest Reserve and the Galápagos Islands you will observe the conflict between development and natural resource preservation. You will also visit the Upper Amazon, where you will experience direct exposure to political ecology and socio-linguistic issues regarding this highly diverse but threatened region.

You’ll explore how Spanish and indigenous languages are used to reinforce and reinvent power relationships as you consider how intercultural and inter-ethnic relations are shaped. You will learn basic Quichua and develop your Spanish language skills through classroom instruction, homestays, excursions, and cultural immersion.

Please visit the SIT Study Abroad website for details on the program highlights and details of coursework, educational excursions, and housing.

MONEY MATTERS

SIT is an all-inclusively priced study abroad program – including academics costs, excursions, accommodations and meals, airport transfers, and health insurance. Be sure to discuss how study abroad costs are handled at your school with your study abroad advisor and read the website for more specific information.  

SCHOLARSHIPS

SIT has awarded an average of over $1.3 million in scholarships and grants to SIT Study Abroad students in the past three years. All scholarships and grants are need-based. Awards generally range from $500 to $5,000.  

CONTACT SIT STUDY ABROAD

·       Visit our website: studyabroad.sit.edu

·       Request more information or email us: studyabroad@sit.edu

·       Call an admissions counselor: 888-272-7881

·       Contact a former student.

·       Apply to SIT

Culture and Development Current Program Information Discover a stunning range of natural environments as well as a rich and diverse traditional heritage in Ecuador, a nation rooted in ancient cultures. Today, development in this highly indigenous nation faces new challenges, including the recent "dollarization." As Ecuador copes with political and economic transition, increasing participation on the part of indigenous organizations offers hope for a more inclusive and representative democracy. Quito, Ecuador's picturesque 9,000-foot-high capital, is a bustling city with international, colonial, and indigenous influences. Homestays in the semirural outskirts of Quito, as well as educational excursions to communities in the high sierras of the Andes, Amazon basin, and Pacific Coast, further students' understanding of the impact of Ecuador's cultural, political, and economic transformation on its national and cultural identity.