SUMMER 2024
APPLY HERE!
Watch a highlights video from last year's Summer Field Study Abroad: Guanajuato, Mexico Trip Here!
Program Overview
Student participants will engage in service-learning activities hosted by Fundación Vamos México while concurrently enrolled in a remote field study course (SocEcol 195) at UC Irvine. During the first four weeks of the hybrid program, students will work remotely under the program leaders of one of nine Fundación Vamos México charitable programs. These programs focus on areas such as physical and mental healthcare, accessibility, public safety and wellness, access to critical resources such as nutrition and shelter, and environmental sustainability. Our students will learn about how these programs operate in the community and will take on special projects within their program of choice, allowing them to contribute their own skills and knowledge from their Social Ecology curriculum to developing content in support of Fundación Vamos México’s community-based programming.
After four weeks of remote activities, our students will be led by two senior faculty members from UCI Social Ecology’s Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy on an immersive seven-day trip to Centro Fox in Guanajuato, Mexico. At Centro Fox, students and faculty will meet with Fundación Vamos México’s program leaders in person and co-facilitate activities that our students will have been supporting remotely for the previous four weeks. Activities will include educational workshops and programs for youth at Centro Fox and prosocial activities in the local community.
UCI faculty will also guide students on three separate day trips to Leon, a major city and manufacturing hub, to investigate how urban and environmental policy has impacted the local community, economy, and addressed the environmental challenges that accompany such large-scale commercial infrastructure. During these trips, UCI faculty and students will meet and have discussions with several government officials and stakeholders in the areas of public health, transportation, industry, and environmentalism, culminating in a private group discussion with former Mexican President Vicente Fox and First Lady Marta Fox.
Please read additional program details below very carefully and be sure that you are eligible for the trip and submit your materials on time!!
- Program dates (5 weeks): June 24 - August 1
- Travel dates in Mexico: July 21 – July 27
- Must be available for four weeks of remote fieldwork and one week of in-person fieldwork at the Centro Fox facilities in Guanajuato
- Must enroll in SE 195 Field Study (online) during Summer Session I. Students will "attend" SE 195 remotely for four weeks prior to travel, and one week remotely while in Guanajuato.
- Participants will stay at the Hacienda San Cristobal (two per room), located on the grounds of the Centro Fox facility, and will be served three meals a day by the center’s chefs
- Nearly all of students' travel, room, and board expenses will be covered, but students will be required to enroll in SE 195 for Summer Session I at their own expense ($1,116 in total).
Eligibility Requirements
- Strong written and spoken Spanish
- Current passport and ability to travel internationally
- School of Social Ecology/ENSP Majors ONLY
- Meet eligibility for summer Field Study (Junior/Senior; SE 10 completed by program start)
- Availability to spend three weeks abroad in Guanajuato, Mexico [travel dates: 7/21 to 7/27]
Application Details:
- Applications can be found here
- Each application requires four open-ended responses that detail your interest in and qualifications for this opportunity
- Each applicant must provide contact info for a strong professional reference (e.g., professor, staff, research supervisor, boss, volunteer manager, etc.) who will be contacted by our office if your application is under strong consideration
- Applications due by Friday, May 3rd, 5pm
- Students will be notified of their application status by the end of day on Friday, May 17th.
Relevant Links:
For additional questions, please email sefieldstudy@uci.edu
Thank you, and we hope to see you soon!