Finca de Samford
Samford in Costa Rica
Semester students studying at the Finca de Samford will learn about the diversity of Costa Rica, its people groups, industries, agriculture, the arts, and other sectors, while engaging in experiential learning opportunities in Ciudad Colón and the great San José metropolitan area.
Course Offerings for Fall 2026
Students will take a suite of courses designed to give different perspectives on the Live-Study-Serve semester in Costa Rica. They are arranged as pillars to undergird your experience and help you turn your experience into wisdom for life.
Connecting with Landscapes
Costa Rica Culture and Society (INTL 399)
Curious how Tico society expresses itself through flora and fauna? Costa Rica Culture and Society, co-taught by Dr. Marigene Chamberlain and Dr. Kristin Bakkegard, offers a broad introduction to Costa Rica’s history, geography, and people, with special emphasis on its natural world.
The course explores biogeography, cultural relationships with nature, conservation, and sustainable development, and includes a variety of field trips and site visits.
Community: Connecting with People
Spanish for Costa Rica (INTL 300)
Pulpería? Repostería? Benefio? Is casado really a food? Wondering how your Spanish will hold up in the daily life of Ciudad Colón—or starting with none at all? No worries. Spanish for Costa Rica, led by Dr. Kelly C. Jensen, Professor of Spanish, helps students build confidence using Spanish in everyday situations.
This hybrid course focuses on Costa Rican Spanish and adapts activities to all proficiency levels, from true beginners to advanced speakers. Though based in Birmingham, AL, Dr. Jensen guides the course via Canvas and designs on-site activities that promote daily language use, such as interacting with native speakers, shopping at the farmers’ market, and visiting cultural sites.
This course is a perfect complement to Costa Rica Culture and Society. ¡Pura vida!
Identity: Connecting with Self
Special Topics (INTL 430)
Why spend a semester in Costa Rica? Your reasons may include professional growth, past travel experiences, or the appeal of its landscapes and culture. In this Special Topics course, Dr. Marigene Chamberlain, Residence Director of the Finca de Samford, helps students explore their semester through the lenses of identity, intercultural competence, and vocational calling.
The course also addresses the practical realities of living abroad, including cultural adjustment, observation skills, and reentry, while guiding students to develop a personal reflective practice connecting identity, intercultural learning, and vocation.
Faculty in Residence Course: Tropical Biodiversity
Tropical Biodiversity (BIOL 402)
Curious about Costa Rica’s remarkable biodiversity? In Tropical Biodiversity, led by Dr. Bakkegard, students explore one of the world’s richest ecological hotspots—home to hundreds of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, plants, and invertebrates. From butterflies and leaf-cutter ants to the elusive velvet worm, the course brings ecology to life.
Through work at the Finca and field trips to diverse ecosystems, students will make field observations, identify species, and examine ecological relationships between organisms and people. Emphasis is placed on birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and key invertebrates, using tools such as iNaturalist, Merlin, and field guides.
This course fulfills Natural & Computational Sciences general education credit for non-majors and counts toward Biology, Environmental Science, or Marine Science majors as a Zoology/Taxonomy/Ecology course or elective.
