S
S
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“M Y SEMESTER PROGRAM WITH B EYOND WAS THE BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE !
I NEVER
IMAGINED THE JUMP MY S PANISH WOULD MAKE AND THE ELECTIVE COURSES FULFILLED MY
MAJOR REQUIREMENTS .
B EYOND IS THE ONLY PROGRAM IN THE WORLD THAT OFFERED THE
SERVICE AND OFF SEASON TRAINING I WAS LOOKING FOR !”
– M ADDY G RAINGER , S OCCER , W ILLAMETTE U NIVERSITY

The Beyond Soccer Program was designed by former college soccer players to create the ultimate off-season soccer experience in the world’s most passionate soccer country! Costa Rica is a country of just 4.5 million people with both
Men’s and Women’s National Teams qualifying for the FIFA World Cup!
You’ll train under Costa Rican National Team coaches, study at one of the top ranked universities in Latin-America, provide soccer clinics for disadvantaged youth, and complete a custom internship through our “Pick 1” menu!

Costa Rican National Team coaches, Paulo Wanchope and Gabelo Conejo, will hold soccer training sessions twice per week and Beyond’s strength and conditioning facilities will be available to students throughout the program.
Paulo ‘Chope’ Wanchope, is one of the most prolific goal scorers in Costa Rican National
Team history. His international career included stops in the EPL with Manchester
City and in La Liga with Malaga CF. He is currently the interim Head Coach of the
Costa Rican National Team.
Luis “Gabelo” Conejo is a legend in
Costa Rica after leading the National
Team to quarterfinals of the 1990
World Cup. He was named most valuable Goalkeeper of the tournament
IFFHA ranked Gabelo as one of the top
100 players to ever compete in the
World Cup. He is currently the Head
Goalkeepers Coach for the Costa Rican
National Team.

The academic component of Beyond’s soccer program is administered by
Universidad Veritas and credits will be transferred directly to your home university. Veritas offers an extensive catalog of elective courses taught in
English allowing you to fulfill both major and general education requirements while abroad. Spanish language courses are available for any level from beginner to advanced conversational. Simply let us know what types of courses you are interested in and we can provide course descriptions and syllabi to build your schedule.
Arts & Humanities

ARCH 3200: Tropical Architecture & Design 4 Credits (60 Hours)
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PHOT 2100: Ecological Photography 4 Credits (60 Hours)
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HUM 3513: Costa Rica Colloquium: History & Culture 3 credits (48 Hours)
Environmental Sciences
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ENV 3044: Tropical Ecology 4 Credits (60 Hours)
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ENV 3190: Tropical Marine Biology 4 Credits (60 Hours)

ENV 4040: Environmental Awareness & Sustainable Development 4 Credits (60 Hours)
Business, Economics, & Communication

GEB 3350: Introduction to International Business 3 Credits (48 Hours)

GEB 3500: Ecotourism- The Costa Rica Case 4 Credits (60 Hours)

COMM 3200: Intercultural Communication 3 Credits (48 Hours)
Health & Human Development

HHD 1020: Introduction to Physical Therapy 3 Credits (48 Hours)
History, Politics, & International Relations

POL 2500: Human Rights In Latin America 3 Credits (48 Hours)

POL 3450: International Relations in Latin America 3 Credits (48 Hours)
HIS 2302: Contemporary Latin-American History 3 Credits (48 Hours)

Introduction to Spanish for beginners with no previous knowledge of the language. The course covers basic grammatical structures, vocabulary, communicative expressions and frequent situations in settings such as restaurants, stores, buses and others. Emphasis is given on understanding, speaking, reading and cross-cultural perspectives.
This course is for students who already have a command of elementary grammatical tenses. Students will develop their oral, reading, written and listening skills. Students will expand their vocabulary and language usage in order to facilitate interaction with the Costa Rican environment and be able to express themselves in the past.
Students in this course should have a good communicative command of usual everyday situations and a structural command of the present tense. This course will emphasize oral and written presentations and more complex grammatical structures. Students should develop a good command of all past indicative tenses.
This course emphasizes the discourse enrichment on contexts related to description and simple narrations. The contents include vocabulary building and detailed work with the subjunctive mode and other complex grammatical structures. Students will also learn idiomatic expressions used in Costa Rican.
This course is based on grammatical analysis, expansion of vocabulary, idiomatic expressions through readings, and student compositions at a complex level. The objective is for students to acquire a high level of communicative Spanish that will permit them to express their opinion and thoughts on complex and controversial subjects.
Students should have a high linguistic level and full knowledge of grammatical structures in order to work on polishing stylistics. Students will practice narrative constructions, reactions on non-expected contexts, and how to report compiled information. We’ll cover myths, beliefs and other cultural issues in Latin America.
This course is based on acquiring the skill of self-correction. Students will acquire higher levels of diction and fluency trough the exposure to oral contexts, idiomatic language and the varieties of Spanish spoken in different Spanish-speaking nations. This course develops skills in reading, discussion, analysis, self-correction and research.

"We constantly strive to create and nurture a mutually beneficial relationship where to Costa Rican children receive a life-changing youth sports experience and visiting college students experience deeper cultural immersion and language acquisition than any other study abroad program."
- Josh Erickson, Program Director
Beyond Study Abroad works with disadvantaged Costa Rican youth from country’s most desperate communities.
Student-athletes have the opportunity to deliver free soccer clinics where they otherwise wouldn’t exist. Beyond Sports
Camps provide a formative experience for local youth that we often take for granted in the United States.

Beyond provides a diverse range of internship options for semester soccer students. The internship component of the program takes place during the afternoons of the final month of your program. Don’t see an internship you like? Contact a program director and we’ll find a custom internship for you!
Take the service-learning component of the Beyond program to the next level! Students will be placed with a local youth soccer team where they will develop practice plans, run drills, and prepare the team for upcoming games. Applicable majors include: Education, Kinesiology, Public Health, Social
Work, Latin-American Studies, Spanish or similar.
Gain real-life athletic training experience assisting the Head Athletic Trainer of a local professional soccer team during team workouts, practices and games. Applicable majors include: Exercise Science,
Kinesiology, Athletic Training, Pre-Med or similar.
Learn the business side of a professional soccer organization while interning with one of Costa Rica’s top professional teams! Assist with design and execution of marketing and PR initiatives OR event operations/promotion/management OR assist digital media production and social media management.
Applicable majors include: Marketing, Business Management, Media Studies, International
Business, Photography, Video Production, Public Relations, Communications or similar.
Join Costa Rica’s world renowned conservation efforts through a wide variety of available organizations. Applicable majors include: Environmental Science, Biology, Sustainability or similar.

Homestay accommodations are often a student’s biggest concern before leaving for Costa Rica, and their greatest memory returning home! In our goal to maximize cultural immersion and language acquisition, we encourage host families to speak as little English as possible with students; however, bilingual families are available! You will be amazed how fast your Spanish improves in a host family setting and certain cultural experiences simply cannot be replicated in the classroom! If you are lucky, you will receive salsa lessons from your host grandmother!
You fill out a home stay questionnaire with all your preferences and we find you the perfect fit!
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All Beyond families were interviewed extensively and have always hosted students before!
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Students are provided their own bedroom, linens, breakfast and dinner daily, and laundry.
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They wipe away tears when you leave, never seem to stop asking about you and have framed pictures of past students all over the house!

Visit the Semester Programs page of our website under Study Abroad
Programs to learn more about the five components of a Beyond program.
HOMESTAY
• Breakfast and dinner daily
• Private room, linens, laundry
3 ADVENTURE EXCURSIONS
• Manuel Antonio Beach and National Park
• Volcano Arenal Zipline/Baldi Hotsprings
• Mid-Semester Trip to Bocas Del Toro Panama
ACADEMIC CREDIT
• Credit transferred to your home university
• Textbook and course materials inlcuded
ATHLETIC TRAINING
• Daily private workouts at Beyond Facility
• Soccer workouts twice weekly
SERVICE LEARNING
• Beyond Sports Camps or more consistent volunteer experience like coaching a local youth team!
STUDENT HEALTH INSURANCE
• #1 Ranked HTH WorldWide
• Access to Costa Rica's best hospitals
BEYOND SPORTS GEAR
• Beyond Training Shirt
• Beyond Training/Travel Bag
AIRFARE
• Students fly roundtrip to San Jose (SJO) for between $300 - $700
PASSPORT FEES
• Students will be responsible for the cost of their passport if acquiring one is necessary
AIRPORT DEPARTURE TAX
• Students will be responsible for the $29 airport departure tax when leaving Costa Rica
LUNCH, SNACKS, OTHER EXPENSES
• Daily lunch, snacks, occasional entertainment expenses, and souvenirs vary by student

It has always been our goal to prevent finances from being the only reason a qualified student is unable to participate in a Beyond Sports
Program! Students from the humblest backgrounds have found a way to afford our programs through fundraising and scholarships!
$12,995
(Internship not included) $9,995
Hundreds of college athletes have been in your shoes before deciding if studying abroad was the right choice for their athletic and academic goals. Let us know if you would like to speak to a past participant from your sport or school!