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RCAH in Costa Rica

RCAH's Unique Education Abroad Opportunities 

Image shows two people standing arm in arm smiling in front of a green mountainThe Residential College Program on Sustainability in Costa Rica collaborates with a network of community-based partners across this Central American country. The network welcomes students, faculty, and U.S. community partners to use community participatory methodologies combined with education abroad, and the arts and humanities to address challenges related to sustainability, climate justice, and community resilience. 

The program is coordinated by RCAH faculty member Vincent Delgado, who is permanently posted in Monteverde, Costa Rica.

Every project and program is meant to address root causes, co-create impact, and co-generate new knowledge and creative work. Since its founding in 2016, hundreds of MSU faculty members, students and community partners have collaborated with Costa Rican organizations to address land enclosure, youth self-harm, climate change, environmental degradation, over-tourism, and educational inequalities across the country. 

At the core of the program is the idea that university and community networks can work radically reciprocally to co-generate responses to root causes issues related to justice, sustainability, and resilience across political and cultural boundaries—including those institutionalized by nation-states and educational institutions.

2025-2026

Information sessions currently are bing held for the Spring 2026 RCAH Program on Sustainability and Community Engagement in Costa Rica. Learn more here, and attend an upcoming session:

 

In-Person Drop-In:
5-7 p.m. Monday, September 29
RCAH Main Office, Sny-Phi room C210
 
In-Person Drop-In:
6-8 p.m. Wednesday, October 1
RCAH Main Office, Sny-Phi room C210
 
MSU Global Learning Expo:
1-5 p.m. October 1, 2025, Breslin Center
More than 145 Global Education
opportunities at MSU
 
Virtual Drop-In:
5-7 p.m. Friday, October 3
no passcode)
 
Virtual Drop-In:
5-7 p.m. Wednesday, October 8
no passcode)

 

RCAH in Costa Rica Education Abroad Programs 

 

  • Community-Engaged Design (2 separate programs):
  • Sustainability and Civic Engagement in Costa Rica: A semester-long education abroad research program on Spanish language fluency, advanced Latin American sustainability theory, and community-participatory research methodology.

  • Alternative Spartan Break programs on forestry and water protection.

  • First-year Seminar Abroad programs on non-traditional education, youth engagement, and community structures for radical change. 

  • Internship and independent study programs that allow students to more deeply engage in Costa Rica.

 

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About the Director

I am the founder of the Michigan State University Program on Sustainability in Costa Rica, Co-founder of the Refugee Development Center, past co-chair of the Power of We Consortium and a former Associate Dean for Civic Engagement.

Read more about Vincent Delgado and his work in Costa Rica. 

 

Contact

Contact Vincent Delgado, Director of the RCAH Program on Sustainability in Costa Rica, for more information and to apply.

Email: delgado1@msu.edu

Office (Direct to Costa Rica): 517-884-1940

RCAH in Costa Rica