Study abroad opportunities grow with new partnerships in Costa Rica, Israel

Westminster College has signed two new exchange agreements with institutions in Costa Rica and Israel, providing students with additional transformative study abroad options.

The new partnerships with the University of Costa Rica and Western Galilee College will provide affordable study abroad opportunities for Westminster students and allow Westminster to receive exchange students from abroad.

“A Westminster education is more than just classes. We are committed to providing affordable programs that enhance the students’ educational experience and broaden their horizons. These partnerships with such excellent institutions will help us achieve those goals,” said Dr. Michael Aleprete, director of Global Engagement and professor of political science at Westminster.

“We recognize the transformative potential of programs like study abroad and these direct partnerships help make those opportunities affordable for our students,” said Aleprete. “In fact, studying through these partners is often no more expensive than a semester on campus.”

The agreement with the University of Costa Rica, located in the suburban region of the capital city San Jose, is Westminster’s first partnership with an institution in Latin America. Students in all majors will be able to choose from a wide variety of educational opportunities.

This is not the first Westminster connection with the Central American university. Dr. Diana Ortiz, epidemiologist and associate professor of biology at Westminster, has conducted joint research with the institution. She is a frequent visitor to Costa Rica to conduct research, and Westminster students interested in collaborative and experiential research opportunities often accompany her.

Westminster’s new agreement with Western Galilee College in Akko, Israel, is an extension of a former partnership that lapsed in 2016. Under the previous partnership, established more than a decade ago to build academic connections, only faculty exchanges occurred between the two institutions.

“We have a long history of engagement with Western Galilee, especially though our psychology and education departments, so we wanted to renew our partnership, but include more opportunities for our students,” said Aleprete.

The new agreement with Western Galilee College provides for direct exchange of undergraduates including opportunities for virtual exchanges.
 
Westminster College also has student exchange agreements with Yonsei University (Seoul, South Korea), Richmond International University (London), University of Sunderland (Sunderland, England), Queen’s University (Belfast, Northern Ireland) and the EUSA Center in Seville, Spain.

In order to qualify for an exchange or study abroad opportunity, Westminster students must have a 2.5 GPA.

For more information on Westminster’s exchange or study abroad opportunities, please contact Dr. Aleprete in the Office of Global Engagement at alepreme@westminster.edu or click here.

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