RCAH in Costa Rica
RCAH Programs on Sustainability in Costa Rica
The 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.
2024-2025 Programs
In 2024-25, RCAH students are invited to participate directly in:
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Fall 2024 Community-Engaged Design (2 separate programs):
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A one-week education abroad program focused on Design Justice in Costa Rica, AND/OR...
- A one semester of class working remotely with Costa Rican community partners
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Spring 2025 Sustainability and Civic Engagement: A semester-long education abroad research program on Spanish language fluency, advanced Latin American sustainability theory, and community-participatory research methodology.
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Alternative Spartan Break programs on forestry and water protection.
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First-year Seminar Abroad programs on non-traditional education, youth engagement, and community structures for radical change.
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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