Fall/Spring Semester Programs

Study Abroad

The Mexico Solidarity Network study abroad experience offers a dynamic, student-centered pedagogical approach combined with direct interaction with some of Mexico’s most important social movements. Our unique integration of theory and practice provides you with important lessons for organizing work back home and an in depth appreciation of the struggles of:

Indigenous Communities [Chiapas]
Campesinos, Braceros, and organized sex workers [Tlaxcala]
Autonomous urban organizing around housing and culture [Mexico City]

Schedule for Fall/Spring semesters through 2013
Spring 2012: January 29 - April 28 (thru May 19 including extension program)
Fall 2012: August 26 - November 24 (thru Dec 15 including extension program)
Spring 2013: January 27 - April 27 (thru May 18 including extension program)
Fall 2013: August 25 - November 23 (thru Dec 14 including extension program)

Semester breakdown by week: 
Week 1: San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas – UniTierra
Weeks 2-6: Oventic, Chiapas – Zapatista community 
Weeks 7-9: Tlaxcala – Campesino communities 
Weeks 10-13: Mexico City – “Los Panchos” autonomous urban community
[Optional Extension Program]
Week 14: Students spend vacation week doing responsible tourism in and around Mexico City
Weeks 15-16: Chicago, IL – MSN's Centro Autónomo of Albany Park

Accreditation

The Program is accredited by the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico City. Hampshire College is the US school of record and issues formal transcripts. The program is also formally recognized by the State University of New York (SUNY) system, American University, DePauw University, and 95+ other institutions have accepted the credits in full.

Course work

The program is a 13-week inter-disciplinary course offering up to 16 credits at the undergraduate or masters level. While the course is interdisciplinary, MSN offers the following course breakdown for accreditation at institutions that do not work under interdisciplinary regimens (example Mexican Social Movements syllabus):

Interdisciplinary Course work

(each course is 3 credits, 45 class hours)

Political Economy (Econ 351/551)
Modern Mexico (Pol Sci 352/552)
Mexican Social Movements (Soc 353/553)
Mexican Culture (Ant 303/503)

Intensive Language Study

(4 credits, 60 class hours)

Non-native Spanish speakers take:
Intensive Conversational Spanish (Span 203, 303, 403, or 503)
Native Spanish speakers take:
Introductory Tzotzil (Tzotzil 101)

Independent study is open to students whose universities will not accept the credits listed in the core curriculum.

Independent Study (Ind Study 355/555) 1 to 9 credits, 15 to 135 class hours (content developed in discussions with students and professors)

Language Instruction

Students have the opportunity to greatly enhance their Spanish skills in the following ways:

Intensive language courses: The first 6 weeks students learn conversational Spanish (or Tzotzil) with social movement actors using popular education techniques [Chiapas]

Homestays: Spend 7 weeks living with Mexican families [Tlaxcala and Mexico City]

Encuentros, Mexican Culture and Workshops: Encuentros with social movement actors, discussions in Spanish on Mexican culture and current events, and workshops conducted in Spanish are each programmed twice weekly throughout the semester [Chiapas, Tlaxcala, Mexico City]

Housing

A centerpiece of the Mexico Solidarity Network’s study abroad program is your immersion in communities actively involved in political, economic, and cultural organizing. During the program your lodging includes:

Housing in rustic collective dormitories on the campus of the Universidad de la Tierra, a center for educating indigenous youth in practical trades [San Cristóbal, Chiapas]
Collective dormitories [Oventic, Chiapas]
Homestays with campesino families living at the base of La Malintze, one of Mexico’s largest mountains [Toluca de Guadalupe, Tlaxcala]
Homestays in La Polvorilla, a cooperative which is part of Mexico’s largest urban housing movement [Mexico City, Federal District]

Workshops

Get out of the classroom and into the community! To help you gain a better understanding of the day-to-day realities of the communities you live in, students participate in at least two workshops each week conducted in Spanish, including:

Traditional weaving, boot-making, indigenous culture, introduction to autonomous education [Chiapas]
Traditional cooking, herbal medicine, migration dynamics, organic fertilizer production, local festivals [Tlaxcala]
Meetings with former political prisoners, student organizers, and human rights defenders [Mexico City]

Philosophy

The Mexico Solidarity Network created this unique study abroad program in 2005 to introduce students to dynamic new experiments in autonomous, community-based organizing and to build solidarity with Mexico’s most important and dynamic social movements. The lessons you learn from organized communities in Mexico will strengthen your social justice work back home. This program offers a truly unique opportunity to learn the theory and practice of living social movements directly from the people building those movements. You will develop lifelong, cross-cultural alliances, new analytical tools, and dynamic organizing skills that will literally change you life in important ways.

The Mexico Solidarity Network uses proceeds from the study abroad program to support our partner organizations in Mexico and also grassroots organizing via the Albany Park Autonomous Center in Chicago. Go here to learn more about how your tuition is spent and the reasoning behind this.

Apply Today!

Apply

Application deadlines

Summer semester: March 31 Fall semester: May 1
Spring semester: November 1

Important Admissions Information

click to download pdf

All applicants must be at least 18 years old to apply. They also must have a passport that remains valid until at least 6 months after the program ends. Applicants are NOT required to be enrolled in a college or university in order to participate in the program. Preference will be given to people who: a) exhibit a history of commitment to grassroots political struggles, b) are highly motivated and open to new experiences, c) are from low-income families, especially those from families who recently immigrated to the US.

To participate in the Mexico Solidarity Network Study Abroad Program

[NOTE: most linked forms are fillable .pdf files; please send all application materials to msn [at] mexicosolidarity [dot] org]

I. APPLY
• Fill out our online application and pay the $25 application fee online or by mailing a check (see address below).
• Forward the Reference Form to your two references for completion. Ask them to send their completed, scanned forms to us by email (preferred), fax, or snail mail.
• Answer these essay questions and send them to us via email as a .pdf attachment

II. APPROVAL of PARTICIPATION
• Print the Approval of Participation form, the Syllabus and Schedule, and MSN's statement on Safety, Health, and Crisis Management and bring them to your school's study abroad advisor and/or your academic advisor. (This list of 95+ universities that have accepted the program's credits may also come in handy.) Once completed, scan and send us the Approval of Participation form via e-mail (preferred) or snail mail.
• Once we receive your references, essays, and Approval of Participation form, we will arrange a telephone interview with you. Offers of admission are generally made within two weeks of the interview and receipt of references.

III. CONFIRMATION
• Within two weeks of your acceptance, you must fill out and send in a Confirmation of Participation form and make a non-refundable deposit of $500 in order to reserve your place on the program. Also, please read and become familiar with our Conditions of Participation. 
• All study abroad participants are required to obtain "emergency hospitalization" and "emergency repatriation" coverage. Most domestic insurance policies do not cover this and only some international travel policies do. MSN's insurance agent offers this coverage to our students at a very affordable rate. Participants must either send us their policy coverage with the "emergency hospitalization" and "emergency repatriation" clauses highlighted, or opt for the plan through MSN's insurer.
• You and your physician will also need to fill out a medical form in conjunction with a scheduled medical examination. Please make your doctor's appointment early as it can often be difficult to see doctors at the last minute.

 • Email, mail or fax the remaining materials at least one month before the start date of the program
   a. flight information
   b. legible copy of passport
   c. release form 

*Use this checklist to make sure you're on track with the application process.