Open Enrollment Courses

Sustainable Futures for Architecture, Landscape Architecture & Planners

Sustainable Futures has been part of the Monteverde Institute for more than 20 years. This unique, 10 week, 13 credit hour "service-learning" studio experience is open to undergraduate and graduate level students worldwide studying Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Community Planning. 

Click here for the course blog.

Sponsored by a Consortium of Universities including SUNY Buffalo, SUNY-ESF, the University of Maryland, the University of Illinois and Ball State University, students participating in the Sustainable Futures Course will learn about sustainable design, incorporating sustainable approaches and technologies in a variety of projects based in the Monteverde community. 

Past projects include scenario planning for the Municipality of Monteverde, as well as, a variety of architecture and site planning projects for schools, community groups, and local NGO's all based within the cloud forest ecosystem.  

Contact Aníbal Torres Leiton’ Course coordinator (antorres@mvinstitute.org) for additional information on this year's course, including program fees and registration.

Globalization & Community Health

Program Overview

This unique program offered by University of South Florida takes place in the highlands of northwestern Costa Rica. Monteverde, the program site, is part of the  famous Monteverde Reserve Complex, an area of preserves protecting over 100,000 acres of endangered tropical forest.

USF partners with the Monteverde Institute (MVI) to offer the Globalization and Community Health Field School. 

The summer field school offers graduate and undergraduate student training in qualitative and quantitative methods used to conduct community-based health related research in areas undergoing changes associated with globalization. In addition to learning the methods, students work in small groups conducting research on issues identified by the local community and present their results to various stakeholders.

By participating in this program students will:

• Study quantitative and qualitative methods for collecting and analyzing community health data.  
• Work in teams to design and carry out community-based research on various health topics (e.g., nutrition, reproductive health, environmental health, sexually-transmitted infections, and occupational health).
• Collaborate with Costa Rican physicians and nurses and conduct a health clinic in a rural community.
• Learn about the Costa Rican health system and about different projects run by the University of Costa Rica School of Public Health and  Non-Governmental Organizations.
• Experience cultural immersion through optional Spanish language training and home-stays with Costa Rican families.
• Present their research findings and learn how to give presentations to different audiences including community members, health researchers, and social scientists.

For more information go to the University of Florida website about this study-abroad program.

Internship Programs

Conservation Biology – Natural Resource Management – Sustainable Development- Environmental Design – Community Development – Sustainable Food Systems – Non-profit Management – Public Health 

If you are interested please follow this link or write to interns@mvinstitute.org.