Belize Student Teaching Experience

Students will gain teaching experience by assisting a Belizean teacher in a classroom setting for three weeks. Weekend trips will allow students to explore the cultural and natural wonders of Belize.

• View our Belize photo album (through Google Picasa)
• Watch Michelle's Briefings from Belize - a video blog
• Download the "What You Need to Know" Powerpoint presentation

Program Requirements:

Students will complete 12 weeks of student teaching in Kentucky and fulfill all MSU requirements, including the eligibility portfolio before departure for Belize.

Fall/Spring Dates:

Program Fee* $2,200:

Includes undergraduate tuition**, roundtrip airfare from Nashville, housing, insurance, program deposit, on-site transportation and hotel (one night San Ignacio, two nights San Pedro)
Does not include passport fees meals or weekend excursion entrance and activity fees. Total cost of meals and excursion fees is estimated at $500.

* All program fees are tentative and subject to change.

**Tuition is included in the semester tuition payment for all full-time semester students.

How to Apply

Students will need to complete an online application along with a $50 application fee. Applications are now completed online through the MSU Study Abroad online system - Horizons. Click HERE to apply for the Belize program.

The following must accompany the application:
• Photo
• Faculty reference
• MSU transcript (copy of MyGate accepted)
• Insurance enrollment (must be completed by the student and a copy uploaded to Horizons)

Click HERE to get deadlines and orientation information.

After you have completed the online study abroad application through Horizons, you'll be notified via email of your acceptance to the program. You'll also be able to login anytime to see the status of your application. After acceptance, additional requirements will be listed at your homepage of Horizons. Those items are due at the final deadlines indicated below.

Program Director:

Dr. Ginny Richerson

3225 Alexander Hall

Phone: 270-809-4257

ALL LATE ITEMS WILL INCUR A $10 FEE PER ITEM PER DAY.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Federal Financial Aid applies to the cost of study abroad programs. Contact the MSU Financial Aid Office to determine eligibility. Scholarships are available specifically for study abroad with MSU. See the scholarship page of the Study Abroad website for details.

Housing and Meals

Students will be housed in shared apartments and will be free to prepare their own meals or purchase inexpensive meals in town.

Academics

EDU 423 International Teaching Experience - this three-credit course will provide an international experience for prospective teachers through which they will come to understand the impact of culture and colonization on education of diverse races.

Comments from former students...

• “If you’re feeling discouraged about the teaching profession itself, getting away from the
“system” and down to the roots of teaching can really reassure you that you’ve chosen the right
career.”

• “This trip has been a very unique opportunity to be completely submerged in another culture.
    We are in the schools meeting children, faculty, and parents. We are able to be in the
    community and live like they live. Everyone has been very welcoming and the kids are so polite
    and friendly. I am very glad that I came on this trip. The things that I have experienced and
    learned through it will stay with me forever.”

• “For me, the best aspect of the Belize Teaching Experience was being able to see how much I
changed from one end to the other.”

• “Some days you may come home very frustrated but the next you may make an inch of progress and
you will be the happiest person in the world, either way I firmly believe I am a stronger, more
confident teacher because of this experience.”

• “In Belize, their sense of classroom management is much different than ours in the U.S. The
classrooms usually have at least two open doors and many open windows that make getting off task
common for students with a short attention span.”

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