Location:

Panama, Panama

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Academic Year, Fall Semester, Spring Semester, Summer, Year Round

Program Overview

Program Description:

Panama is called the Crossroads of the Americas: the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are only an hour’s drive apart. Its capital city is a cosmopolitan nexus for world trade while just an hour from tropical rain forests. Where else can a student earn an American degree in a Latin American, bilingual environment combining the unspoiled and the sophisticated with the study of business, science, and the liberal arts? Panama City is one of Central America's most cosmopolitan cities, mixing the historical and the modern in a lush natural setting. The large multi-ethnic population offers a variety of cultural immersion opportunities. Panama is one of Central America's safest and most hospitable countries, as well as the region's major international trade center. Its strategic location makes it a regional hub for many United Nations organizations and several international NGOs. It is also home of the Panama Canal, an engineering marvel known as the eighth world wonder, with approximately 5% of the world trade transiting through this waterway. Panama is rich in history and offers a wide variety of environmental adventures that greatly appeal to those interested in natural sciences.

The Broad Curriculum program gives students the opportunity to earn credits in general requirements and elective courses while experiencing modern Panama, historical areas, nearby beaches, and lush tropical regions. FSU-Panama is located on the prestigious City of Knowledge campus, a large educational and research complex that includes several international organizations, research and teaching institutions, and international as well as local businesses. It is the cornerstone of an effort to utilize innovation, entrepreneurial culture and sustainability to fully develop Panama and Latin America. The University is among elite international organizations, such as the United Nations, Unicef, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Peace Corp, and the World Wildlife Federation. Panama’s historic sites, dynamic business environment, and unspoiled terrain yield a wide variety of specialized excursions to extend learning beyond the classroom. With short trips, students are able to tour the engineering marvels of the Panama Canal Locks and Visitors’ Center; explore Colonial Panama, Old Panama, and Cosmopolitan Panama; visit the indigenous communities of the Embera Indians surrounded by freshwater rapids; and discover the San Blas Islands, home to the Kuna Indians, surrounded by the pristine waters of the Caribbean Sea. Students learn about their culture, dances, food, handicrafts, and customs. Additionally, there are opportunities to visit international prize-winning coffee plantations, participate in hikes and ecotourism, zip-line through the tropical rain forest, rappel down a waterfall, go deep sea fishing, sunbathe, snorkel, and even surf. Lush rain forests and local markets await.

Setting Description:

The University’s recently renovated building boasts classrooms, science laboratories, computer labs, administrative offices, and a student lounge. The FSU-Panama Library, located in an adjacent building, boasts the largest English-language collection in the country. Students are housed in shared, duplex accommodation in the same area of the City of Knowledge as the United Nations. In addition to all the City of Knowledge offers our students, they are able to immerse themselves into Panamanian history, culture and ecology. As the ‘Crossroads of the Americas’ situated as the southernmost country in North/Central America, Panama boasts the shortest distance between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. The Panama Canal, which is located literally across the street from the City of Knowledge, plays a vital part of the global marketplace, with over 15,000 ships traversing the canal annually. Students in fall and spring must take either a Spanish language or a Latin American Histor

Cost:

PN05 Spring 2015 Jan 7 - May 1 114nights $11,607.00 PN03 Summer 2015 May 6 - Aug 8 94nights $11,895.00 PN01 Summer 2015 May 6 - Jun 20 45night $7,795.00 PN02 Summer 2015 Jun 24 - Aug 8 45nights $7,795.00 PN04 Fall 2015 Aug 19 - Dec 12 115nights $11,895.00 PN05 Spring 2016 Jan 6 - Apr 30 115nights $11,895.00 The fee includes all registration and instructional costs for up to 10 undergraduate credit hours for summer 6-week sessions; up to 16 undergraduate credit hours for the summer 13-wee