Overview
Given its size, economy and the gap in wealth and the quality of human services between its urban and rural regions, Argentina offers study abroad students fascinating insight into the state of global public health.
Using classroom-based theory and language instruction to support extensive, offsite field work, students of Community Public Health programs examine the Argentine healthcare system through the lens of the social sciences. Your work both in and out of the classroom will expose you, first hand, to the challenges facing the global health arena and the diversity of solutions being implemented, locally, to resolve them.
Study abroad in Argentina and you will:
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Study with local public health experts and university researchers in specially designed interdisciplinary courses
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Learn about healthcare in both Argentina and neighboring Uruguay through hands-on field experience, guided by local public health practitioners and academics
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Support your academic and fieldwork experience with a unique, collaborative teaching methodology in which public health specialists and Spanish language instructors actively prepare and conduct classes together
Whether you’re studying Biology, or Medicine, Education, or Political Science, Community Public Health will empower you to apply lessons learned, not only to other areas of healthcare study, but future professional work in a range of fields.
The CIEE Difference
Coursework
Cover a host of public health concepts, from population health analysis to issues of gender and human rights in the healthcare delivery model.
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Study with instructors who are also practitioners in the field, conducting research on a wide range of fields related to social determinants of health
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The CIEE Study Center is based within FLACSO, which sponsors Latin America’s largest and most prestigious postgraduate teaching and research program in the social sciences
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With special attention given to medical terminology, work to improve your Spanish grammar, reading, and oral expression
Field Work
Don’t stop at studying the Argentine heath care system – get involved in it. From working with a network of maternal-perinatal centers in Buenos Aires, to observing the distribution of health services in the provincial Concepción del Uruguay, offsite placement in one of six regions, gives you unparalleled experience across a host of locales and demographics. Working with a small group of students, you’ll come to better understand the social inequities that impact health in various parts of Argentina.
Excursions
Enjoy daylong and weekend excursions to points of interest in and around Buenos Aires, introducing you to ways of life in and outside of the cosmopolitan capital. You’ll partake in similar cultural activities during the field placement portion of the study abroad program.
Credit
Total recommended credit for the program is 9 semester/13.5 quarter hours.
Course contact hours are 45 hours and recommended credit is 3 semester/4.5 quarter hours unless otherwise indicated.
Program Requirements
All study abroad students must take all three of the required program courses, which take place both in Buenos Aires and at the fieldwork sites.
About Buenos Aires
Students spend four weeks in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. A vibrant port city with a population of over 13,000,000, Buenos Aires offers its visitors the chance to experience the perpetual cultural intrigue that can only be found in a city of this size and prestige. Buenos Aires is the most visible example of European influence among South American capitals. In addition, each student spends three weeks doing fieldwork in Buenos Aires or in a site outside Buenos Aires: Mendoza, Mendoza Province; Concepción del Uruguay, Entre Rios Province; Olavarría, Buenos Aires Province; or Montevideo, Uruguay.
Where You’ll Study
The CIEE Study Center is based within FLACSO, which sponsors Latin America’s largest and most prestigious postgraduate teaching and research program in the social sciences. FLACSO-Argentina was established in 1974, and its faculty is associated with several local universities. Students take specially designed CIEE courses at FLACSO. In addition, students are hosted by one of three provincial universities—the Universidad Nacional del Cuyo (Mendoza), Universidad Nacional de Entre Rios (Uruguay), or the Universidad del Centro Municipio del Centro (Buenos Aires)—depending upon their offsite placement.
Housing & Meals
Housing and two meals per day are included in the program fee. Study abroad students live with host families for the duration of the program, both in Buenos Aires and during their field placement. Students who decide to stay in Buenos Aires for their field site will remain with the same family. Local housing coordinators in the field sites outside of Buenos Aires place students in local home stays.
Academic Program
Study abroad students enroll in three required courses consisting of two components—academic coursework and fieldwork. The academic component is focused on Spanish skills and it provides a theoretical framework for understanding the healthcare system in Argentina in comparison to healthcare systems in other parts of the world. During their fieldwork, students are placed in small groups to observe and participate in the healthcare system, and are involved in such initiatives as healthcare promotion. Students come to better understand the social inequities that impact health in various parts of Argentina. In addition, students learn from their peers and, after their fieldwork, they have a broader vision of local and regional healthcare challenges, as well as strategies for addressing and overcoming those challenges.
The field component is in one of six geographic areas:
Buenos Aires City and Buenos Aires Province (AMBA): The project in this region focuses on a network of maternal-perinatal centers in an urban environment with the objective of improving the quality of prenatal and postnatal services based on a research-action process. AMBA provides an example of a large organization that serves one-third of the country’s population.
City of Mendoza (Mendoza Province) — 15 hours from Buenos Aires City): This province, bordering Chile, is working on how it manages public health policy through cooperative efforts between the Department of Education and the Department of Health. The project in this region allows students to observe how governmental departments cooperate to provide healthcare services.
Concepción del Uruguay (Entre Ríos Province) — 2 hours from Buenos Aires City: This province, which borders Uruguay, has a largely rural population and offers students the opportunity to observe how healthcare services are dispersed in a rural environment. Olavarría (Buenos Aires Province — 4 hours from Buenos Aires City): A county located in the heart of Buenos Aires Province, Olavarría offers students the opportunity to observe how healthcare services are dispersed in a rural environment.
Montevideo (Uruguay, 3 hours from Buenos Aires by ship or a 30 minute flight): This city is located on the Rio de la Plata side and offers students the possibility of learning about youth health programs and inclusive approaches to working with people who have disabilities.
Buenos Aires City, Pasteur Institute: This institution belongs to the government of Buenos Aires and is in charge of developing primary care programs and services related to urban zoonosis (disease transmission between humans and animals). The purpose of this experience is to understand the contribution of veterinary public health in large urban settings as an expression of the quality of the environment and quality of life for its population.
Academic Culture
At FLACSO, courses are organized and evaluated on a system very similar to that in the U.S., with each professor following a syllabus provided to students, and assessments made based on a range of assignments that include papers, exams, and final presentations. Academic tutorials are offered for each course. With CIEE support and supervision, students meet with tutors who help them maximize their classroom experience. Additionally, students benefit from a tutor at each of the field sites who are trained to monitor and advise them in both their academic courses and fieldwork.
Nature of Classes
Participants take classes with other CIEE study abroad students only, both at FLACSO and during their fieldwork.
CIEE Community Language Commitment
As students gain proficiency in Spanish, resident staff encourage them to use their language skills in everyday settings. This fosters a learning community that contributes to both Spanish language proficiency and understanding of Argentine society.
Grading System
Students are normally graded on the basis of quizzes, exams, papers, fieldwork observations, projects, and class participation, much like in the U.S. Letter grades of A, B, C, D, and F are given (without pluses or minuses).
Language of Instruction
Spanish
Faculty
All courses are taught by professors at the CIEE Study Center in FLACSO. CIEE courses, specially developed for this program, are designed with a team-teaching approach used in the local health studies degree program. Course instructors all have teaching and/or research experience in different areas of Public Health at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. Instructors also bring extensive practical experience to the courses and program as practitioners in the field who have conducted research on a wide range of topics related to social determinants of health, epidemiology, qualitative and quantitative research methods, childhood and teen health, gender, social and health public policy, rights and health, bioethics, and health promotion.
