Dominican Republic

The St. John’s University School of Education offers graduate students the unique opportunity to develop awareness of Latin culture in addition to proficiency in Spanish by participating its annual summer immersion program in the Dominican Republic.

Designed for current and future teachers within inner-city, multiethnic public schools, the for-credit program aims to sensitize participants to the learning patterns and needs of Hispanic youth.

The summer program is administered jointly by St. John’s and Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, a Catholic university located in Santiago. Up to 20 participants will immerse themselves in six-hour-a-day Spanish language courses. They also will take a course on the psychology and sociology of language and reside with neighboring host families.

In addition to coursework, participants will be required to engage in various educational field trips, including excursions to the historic Colonial Zone in Santo Domingo, Los Haitises National Park and El Barrio Wilmore in Samaná, as well as trips to local museums, schools and orphanages.

The program will be preceded by a pre-departure student orientation on St. John’s Queens campus and followed up with a two-day recap seminar, also to be held in Queens. Read more about this exciting graduate opportunity.