Study Abroad Opportunities for
Norwegian Students in Mexico

• Expand your horizons! Study in Mexico through the Augsburg College International Partners Program and the Center for Global Education.  Students from Norwegian universities who already have established partnerships with Augsburg College are eligible to study at “Augsburg South” in Cuernavaca, Mexico - with the same ease, benefits and scholarships as if they were spending the semester in Minneapolis! 

• Application deadlines:  Oct. 15 for Spring 2008, and April 1 for Fall 2008. Application Procedures for Norwegian Students

• Ideal for nursing, business, and education majors! International internships available.

• Courses are offered in English and Spanish. Spanish recommended but not required prior to application, as long as students take one Spanish course prior to start of semester.

• Practical Information for Norwegian students wanting to study in Mexico.

• Frequently Asked Questions.

Why Mexico?

This is a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with the peoples, cultures, and struggles for justice in another region of the world and to explore international careers.

In Mexico I got to meet people living under more difficult conditions than my own and see how they cope with the challenges they face in life. And also see how they work as a community, compared to the way it works in Norway. In Norway we are very self-centered, meaning we have our job, our family, our house with a fence, and that's it. We usually don't include our neighbours the way it's done in Mexico, and we don't have a social network to that extent either. I've learned to appreciate the value of relationships and social network, and seen how much one can accomplish with so little, if people only work together toward a common goal.

-Daniel Mørch, Molde University College

Experiential Education & Regional Travel in Mexico and/or Central America

Each semester program includes numerous guest speakers and excursions that expose students to wide range of Mexicans from diverse backgrounds with regard to race, ethnicity, socio-economic class, gender, and sexual orientation, as well as travel seminars to different regions of Mexico and/or Central America.

“The course called “Women, Gender, & Social Change in Latin America,” the travel seminar to El Salvador, the trip to Ciudad Juarez, and the speakers were the most valuable components of the program.”

--Therese Buraas Karlsen, Molde University College

“The trip to El Salvador was great!  The schedule was busy, but not too busyJ  Learned a lot and found it really inspiring and interesting.”

-- Anette Sand,Sor Trondelag University College

“Traveling and visiting places, talking to different speakers, visiting different companies like maquillas was what made the semester unique.”

--Ellen Siversten, Sor Trondelag University College

International Internships:

Business, education, nursing students, and others may apply for internships in local businesses, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, and community organizations.  More about internships...

I think if you spent all your time in a private hospital you would think that the healthcare system in Mexico is perfect.  As soon as I stepped into one of the public hospitals in this town, I realized that this is the real life for most of the people in this country.  There were patients everywhere, people waiting outside for hours, some even sleeping outside.  We saw the whole inside of the hospital, and as we learned in the internship class, privacy was not a high priority at this hospital.  We saw naked people, people in shock, just to mention a few.

—Therese Buraas Karlsen, Molde University College

Since I’m a nursing student it was natural for me to have my internship inside the health sector. I spent the majority of my internship at a private hospital in Cuernavaca.  I had to handle situations that I have never been in before and that was good even if it was difficult when I was actually in the situation.  It was a good thing because it challenged me and it was in these situations where I learned most about myself, to be able to work in another environment with another culture is an experience that I appreciate.

—Marte Løken Larsen, Molde University College

 More information on internships

Spanish Language Acquisition

You need to have completed at least one university-level Spanish course prior to the start of the semester. However, you can go to Mexico one month early to take an intensive course for at least one month prior to the start of the semester.  Obviously, the more Spanish you speak, the better, especially for those completing internships. However, some students have arrived in Mexico without speaking any Spanish and successfully completed the program.

Regardless of your level of Spanish, former students highly recommend going to Mexico at least one month early in order to take an additional Spanish class. It is best to live with a Mexican family during that time, as well, in order to practice Spanish as much as possible. Arrangements for the extra Spanish course and homestay can be made directly with UNIVERSAL Center for Language and Social Communication. Arrangements for regular Spanish courses taken as part of your semester program will be made by the Center for Global Education.

How Can Nursing Students Benefit from Study in Mexico?

A nursing student can benefit from the program by learning about the bigger issues faced by Mexico and many other countries. By that I mean increased privatization of hospitals and health care, and also problems like HIV/AIDS, especially in a machista culture where many see HIV/AIDS only as a problem within groups of gay people.  Also seeing how the people… deal with those problems with such limited resources at their disposal and put so much effort into helping others without gaining anything themselves.

--Daniel Mørch, Molde University College

There was a clear relationship between my internship and what we talked about in the other classes this semester.  For example, working at the hospital INOVAMED and seeing how the upper-class get all the best doctors just because they have the money and then going to the next day to the public hospital to see how people camp outside the hospital for days and hearing how many hours people have to wait [to see a doctor] was a huge contrast. 

--Therese Buraas Karlsen, Molde University College

This semester was great, and we got to see that our options as nurses are worldwide. The experiences we got could not be more different from the experiences our classmates in Norway got at the same time. The internship was great, we had the opportunity to choose what we would like to experience, an opportunity we do not have in Norway. It was the most amazing six month I have ever had, with all the experiences as nurses, students and just living in Mexico. We just loved being there!  -

-Marte Løken Larsen, Molde University College

More...

More details for Norwegian students studying in Mexico

Frequently asked questions from Norwegian students

More about location and housing information

Internship Opportunities