Course Option: Study Abroad in Peru
You have a variety of courses you can choose from during your Study and Service in PeruLanguages
Advanced Spanish
Area of study: Spanish Language
4 credits / 64 (summer) – 82 (semester) contact hours
Taught in Spanish
This course enables students to develop communication skills in Spanish, according to their level of knowledge of the language. Students will improve their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through a Communicative Approach in a Spanish-speaking environment among friendly and receptive people. In addition, they will learn about a local culture that is very different from their own, while practicing their newly-acquired language skills as part of a cultural immersion process.
Intermediate Spanish
Area of study: Spanish Language
4 credits / 64 (summer) – 82 (semester) contact hours
Taught in Spanish
In this course students develop their linguistic and socio-linguistic abilities, gaining the skills necessary for language use in an immersion context. The course is founded on an integrated approach to language learning: grammar, vocabulary, writing skills, conversation, and comprehension.
Pre-Intermediate Spanish
Area of study: Spanish Language
4 credits / 64 (summer) – 82 (semester) contact hours
Taught in Spanish
In this Spanish course, students develop fundamental language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), through participation in real-life communication with native speakers as well as through exercising their knowledge in structured classroom situations. They learn how to express simple ideas necessary for optimal communication in both personal and professional settings. They will also have an opportunity for personal reflection on language use, making the learning process more creative and meaningful.
Beginning Spanish
Area of study: Spanish Language
4 credits / 64 (summer) – 82 (semester) contact hours
Taught in Spanish
This Spanish course is designed to provide students with the abilities required to communicate quickly and effectively in everyday situations. It develops both written and spoken language skills through the use of basic vocabulary and grammar, allowing students to relay personal information and maintain a conversation about their work, family and the place where they live. The aim is to assist students in their initial e orts to experience interaction with local culture.
Business & Communications
Business in Peru and Latin America
Area of study: Business, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies
4 credits / 64 contact hours
Taught in: English
This course gives students a better understanding of the economic environment for investment, trade and importing in Peru and Latin America. It provides a basic understanding of regional economics, marketing, trade opportunities and free trade agreements, in the context of doing business in Latin America.
Leadership and Communication
Area of study: business, entrepreneurship, communication
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
The purpose of this course is to provide the students with the tools that will help them develop the communication skills needed to be successful leaders.
Entrepreneurship
Area of study: business, entrepreneurship
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
This course provides the students with the understanding of entrepreneurship and the role it plays in the economic order.
Global Business Strategy
Area of study: business, international business, international development
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
This course teaches the most strategic variables that affect companies in a global environment. Students will learn to use techniques that will help them understand this environment, as well as participate in a global world.
International Marketing
Area of study: business, international business, international development, marketing
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
This course will provide an overview of the unique aspects of marketing in the international business environment and provide the structure upon which multinational marketing management can build.
Liderazgo organizacional (Organizational Leadership)
Area of study: business, entrepreneurship
4 credits / 64 contact hours
Taught in: Spanish
Aims to understand the importance of continuously exercising leadership, in order to motivate employees correctly, according to the needs of the company.
Humanities & Social Sciences
Contemporary Society and Culture of Peru
Area of study: History, Sociology, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
This course allows students to explore and understand Peruvian society today as the result of a series of historical, anthropological and sociological processes and transformations. This exciting journey through Peru’s past and present begins with the historical background (pre-Inca and Inca cultures, European colonization and independence), providing a pathway to a better understanding of current Peruvian politics and the nation’s economy, spirituality, social conflicts and environmental challenges. A wide range of eld trips, ranging from government institutions to informal markets, will introduce participants to different aspects of daily life in Cusco.
History and Culture of the Incas
Area of study: History, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies, Andean Studies
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
This course introduces students to the most renowned of all pre-colonial South American societies, enabling them to explore its history in the heartland of the Inca state: the ancient capital city of Cusco. The course covers key aspects of the social structure, political development, economy, technology, religion and spirituality of the Incas.
The central aim of the course is to guide students towards a deeper understanding of this extraordinary non-Western culture and its role in world history. Visits to archaeological sites and museums are included.
Literatura Latinoamericana (Latin American Literature)
Area of study: Literature, Latin American Studies
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: Spanish
This course offers a journey through Latin American literature, from the earliest works of the pre-Columbian age to our own time. It invites students to delve into the magic of Latin American culture and traditions through their reading and critical analysis of some of the continent’s most representative examples of poetry and prose. Students attend literature related events and experience direct contact with the local literary scene.
Introduction to Volunteering, Service Learning and Social Responsibility in Cusco
Area of study: Sociology, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies, Volunteering and Service Learning
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
In essence, this course is intended to serve as an introduction for those students who come to Cusco for a volunteering or service learning experience. Its content addresses the legal framework for volunteering and service learning in Peru; vulnerable local populations and their needs; best practices for volunteering; governmental, non-governmental and private organizations and their social responsibility initiatives. Students will be able to apply the lessons learned in class to their practical volunteering and service learning projects.
Communication Psychology
Area of study: Business, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
This course seeks to help students comprehend our social environment through a psychological interpretation of different forms of communication. The course explores the role of language as the main tool in the communication process.
Art and Architecture
Art and Design in Cusco
Area of study: Art, Art History, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
This course o ers students a unique opportunity to experience cultural immersion and develop their personal artistic creativity. Along with lectures on the art history of Cusco and a range of contemporary art forms, they will be invited to participate in a number of field trips to museums, churches, art studios, cultural institutions, galleries, and fairs. By the end of the course, students will have completed their own individual or group art projects, based on their experiences in Cusco.
Photography in Cusco
Area of study: Art, Photography, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
In this theoretical and practical course students will learn about key elements in the process of photographic production, starting with basic technical aspects of the use of a digital camera and moving on to the subtle aesthetic effects of light, color, contrast, and focus. They will have the opportunity to practice their newly acquired skills in a range of natural and urban settings, as well as in a professional studio and during their travels throughout other parts of Peru. The course also covers the essential facts concerning the history of photography, including the history of photography in Peru.
Inca Architecture
Area of study: Architecture, Archaeology, Heritage Conservation, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
In this course, students will learn about the evolution of architecture and urban planning among the Incas and other ancient Andean cultures. The course also addresses Andean geography and environment, and how this natural setting influenced Inca architecture. Students will visit archaeological monuments and historical sites undergoing restoration work, and to analyze Peruvian and global regulations governing the conservation of cultural heritage. The classroom for this course is the city of Cusco itself.
Cultural Heritage Conservation
Area of study: Architecture, Archaeology, Cultural Heritage Conservation, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English or Spanish
This course demonstrates to students the importance of cultural heritage in our contemporary world. They will study procedures and policies designed to conserve culturally significant buildings and landscapes. Topics addressed by the course include heritage site registration and cataloguing, UNESCO Heritage Conservation Charters, and principal restoration and conservation techniques. In Cusco, once the capital of the Inca Empire, a number of conservation projects remain ongoing. Students will visit archaeological and historical sites, in order to see for themselves how such theoretical knowledge is applied in practice.
Environmental Studies
Peru’s Biodiversity
Area of study: Biodiversity, Biology, Environmental Studies
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
The Earth’s biodiversity is composed of many millions of biological species which are the product of four billion years of evolution. Peru is one of the world’s 17 mega diverse countries. The extraordinary biodiversity of Peru means that students are able to observe many of these teeming life forms for themselves and gain a deeper appreciation of the life that exists all around us.
Health and Nutrition
Healing and Shamanism in Andean and Amazonian Cultures
Area of study: Health, Traditional Medicine, Anthropology, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
This course introduces students to ancient and current traditional healing and shamanic practices and beliefs in the Andean and Amazonian worlds, focusing upon their origins in the pre-Columbian period and their development over time. We will discuss traditional concepts of health and illness, the roles and status of ritual specialists in native societies, the importance of sacred and medicinal plants and other natural resources, and the interaction of ancient Andean heritage with the contemporary cultural context of modern Peru. Field trips will enable students to experience first-hand traditional healing and healing-related practices.
Andean Nutrition
Area of study: Nutrition, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies
3 credits / 48 contact hours
Taught in: English
The purpose of this course is to reveal to students the remarkable nutritional qualities of Andean crops, their role in the diet of local populations, and their value within the context of local culture, comparing them with other crops of foreign origin and tracing their influence on the global food supply. Students will learn about the most widely practiced local agricultural methods and techniques, as well about the culinary products derived from native plant species.
History of Peruvian Cuisine
Areas of Studies: Nutrition, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies
3 credits /48 contact hours
Taught in: English
The course will allow students to learn about the history and tradition of Peruvian cuisine, its evolution, its influence, and the fusion of the culinary tradition of ancient Peru.
Gastronomic Tourism in Cusco and Peru
Areas of Studies: Nutrition, Latin American Studies, Peruvian Studies
3 credits /48 contact hours
Taught in: English
In this course, students will be able to explore and identify the distinctive varieties, flavours, history and traditions of the vast universe of Peruvian food.