Health in Belize Summer
Health in Belize Summer
This program is a collaboration between the Office of Global Engagement and the Pre-Professional Advising Office.
Welcome to the Summer Health Program in Belize. Due to its popularity, a second iteration of the Health in Belize Program has been created.
What is similar to the Maymester Program:
The Pre-Health in Belize Program is intended for UGA students who plan to pursue careers in healthcare and work actively toward that goal. While on the program, the participants will have the opportunity to learn about the Belizean healthcare system—and how it differs from ours—through guest lectures, tours of public and private healthcare facilities, shadowing opportunities with clinicians, and conversations with volunteer community healthcare workers from rural areas.
The objective of this program is to help pre-health students to:
- gain perspective on international healthcare
- grow in cultural sensitivity and competency
- gain clinical exposure in another culture
- reflect on ways to communicate with people from different backgrounds
- broaden their undergraduate experience through meaningful professional and personal interactions
- gain significant experience in the world beyond the classroom
- grow in flexibility, cooperation, and self-reliance
- become more well-rounded applicants for professional graduate healthcare programs
This program offers our students an ethical healthcare-centered shadowing option that meets AAMC ethics guidelines.
What is different:
This program is two weeks long and offers students 3-credit hours in BIOL 4910: Advanced Topics in Biology.
BIOL 4910 - Topics in Biology
Other Notes:
Program participants are required to attend pre-departure orientations and academic meetings in the spring semester.
English is the official language of Belize. Knowledge of Spanish is not required for this program.
See our location and itinerary for more information.
Students applying for this program are eligible to apply for the OGE GENERAL SCHOLARSHIP.
Please note that you need to double check with your college that they have approved this activity for Experiential Learning Credit on engage.uga.edu. If you do not see this listed, speak with your academic advisor to confirm whether or not this program will count for EL.
General Information
Program Dates: July 6-July 21, 2025
Estimated Program Fee:The information below is an estimate based on 2024 prices. Program price for 2025
will be announced soon.$2,800 (includes lodging, breakfast, several lunches and dinners, program-related
transportation, and entrance fees for program-related academic and cultural activities)
and $300 program deposit. It does not include plane fare, UGA tuition or UGA fees. Click here for more details.
Application Opens: August 26, 2023
Application Deadline: October 15, 2023
Program Contacts: Ms. Amanda Spohn (aspohn@uga.edu) and Dr. Hilda Mata (hmmata@uga.edu)
Applicant Eligibility
- Open to all students at the University of Georgia who meet requirements.
- REQUIRED
- Students must have completed or be enrolled in BIOL 1108/L at the time of application.
- Have university credit for two or more science courses in biological sciences, chemistry, ecology, physics prior to submitting application.
- 3.0 or higher GPA.
- Satisfactory academic and disciplinary records.
- PREFERRED
- Qualified students enrolled with a pre-health intention who have met with an advisor form the PreProfessional Advising Office.
- Have successfully completed two or more science courses in biological sciences, chemistry, ecology, physics for a grade (A-F) at UGA prior to submitting application.
- Have successfully completed 30 credit hours or more at UGA prior to application prior to submitting application.
- Have a 3.3 or higher GPA.
Admission Process
- Begin an application on the studyaway.uga.edu portal.
- Written application will be reviewed and selected applicants will be invited (via email) for a brief interview with the program directors. Please note that an interview does not guarantee admittance into the program due to the limited number of spaces. Interviews, however, are a mandatory part of the selection process.
- Once all interviews are completed, applicants will be notified via email application portal whether they have been admitted or waitlisted.
- Admitted students will have 10 calendar days from the date of acceptance to commit (or withdraw/decline) and pay a non-refundable $300 deposit. Waitlisted students will be admitted as spaces become available.
Faculty
TBD
AU/UGA Medical Partnership
University of Georgia
Amanda Spohn, M.E.d
Coordinator
Pre-Professional Advising Office
University of Georgia
Program Administration
Hilda M. Mata, Ph.D. | Office of Global Engagement | Director, Africa/Latin America Programming Initiatives
Amanda Spohn, M.Ed. | Pre-Professional Advising Office | Coordinator
Belize, Central America
Belize is a relatively small developing nation located on the northeastern coast of
Central America. It shares borders with Mexico, Guatemala, and the Caribbean Sea.
With a population nearing half a million, it is home to various languages and ethnic
groups that include: Mestizo (of Spanish and indigenous descent), Creole (of European
and African descent), Maya, Garifuna (of African and Caribbean indigenous descent),
and smaller groups of European and Asian heritage. A former colony of the British
Empire, Belize gained full independence in September 1981. While other languages are
actively spoken in the country, English has remained the official language.
The Belizean two-tiered healthcare system comprises public hospitals and clinics that serve the population at little or no direct cost and private hospitals and clinics that require payment but are generally better equipped. As part of the public health system, Belize has a network of trained volunteer community healthcare workers who assist with basic care in rural areas.
The primarity location of this program is in the western city of San Ignacio, 7 kilometers from the Guatemalan border. The second location (3 days) is Hopkins Village on the Carribean Coast.
Accommodations
The program arrives and departs from Philip S. W. Goldson Airport in Belize City. Upon arrival, the group transfers to San Ignacio in Western Belize near the Guatemalan. It remains there for the majority of the trip at the Cabin Log Inn. The program ends in Hopkins, a small town on the Caribbean coast. Program participants will share comfortable, air-conditioned, medium-range accommodations, with most meals included. Laundry services are available, but not included in the program.
Itinerary
(This itinerary is subject to change)
Health in Belize July – Brief Itinerary
All meals are included unless otherwise noted
|
Sunday |
July 6 |
US Departure Day – Arrival in Belize |
San Ignacio |
|
Monday |
July 7 |
Shadowing |
San Ignacio |
|
Tuesday |
July 8 |
Shadowing |
San Ignacio |
|
Wednesday |
July 9 |
Shadowing |
San Ignacio |
|
Thursday |
July 10 |
Shadowing |
San Ignacio |
|
Friday |
July 11 |
Visit to San Antonio Health Center to meet with nurse in charge |
San Ignacio |
|
Saturday |
July 12 |
Tour of Xunantunich Archeological Site |
San Ignacio |
|
Sunday |
July 13 |
San Ignacio Market |
San Ignacio |
|
Monday |
July 14 |
Shadowing |
San Ignacio |
|
Tuesday |
July 15 |
Shadowing |
San Ignacio |
|
Wednesday |
July 16 |
Shadowing |
San Ignacio |
|
Thursday |
July 17 |
Health Professional Appreciation Activity at Participating facilities |
San Ignacio |
|
Friday |
July 18 |
Class |
San Ignacio |
|
Saturday |
July 19 |
Transfer to Hopkins Village |
Hopkins Village |
|
Sunday |
July 20 |
Cultural Activity at Hopkins |
Hopkins Village |
|
Monday |
July 21 |
Return to US |
Hopkins, Belize City, US |
