Semester in Ecuador
Universidad San Francisco de Quito

Why Life in Quito

From lively indigenous festivals to lovely outdoor cafés in tranquil parks, Quito is a city of wonderful contrasts. It has a mixed history of ancient empires and colonialism. This history is visible in the ruins that dot the landscape and in the incredible Spanish-style churches and leafy plazas. UNESCO named the entire downtown a World Heritage site. They described Quito as having “the best-preserved, least-altered historic center in Latin America.”

Quito comprises several distinct neighborhoods. You’ll love the historic downtown with its colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, and street vendors selling everything you can possibly imagine. Equally fun is the Mariscal Sucre, the heart of the traveler scene in Quito. It’s rife with international restaurants, travel agencies, and hostels, and has a very lively dance scene. In other neighborhoods, you can visit an incredible museum that pays tribute to Oswaldo Guayasamin (Quito’s favorite artist), independent cinemas, and bohemian enclaves. If music is your passion, you can tap your feet to live traditional Andean tunes, pulsating salsa, and cumbia. Lastly, you can get lost for hours in the local parks and craft markets set amidst colonial grandeur. Most importantly, it’s all easily accessible by bus, taxi, or foot.

Volcanoes and the impressive Andes mountains surround Quito. Every day, you’ll glimpse stunning views of the Pichincha Valley and the snow-capped peaks of Cotopaxi, an active volcano. At the same time, you can access other amazing opportunities for exploration from the highest capital in the world. Ecuador is packed with adventure and amazing biodiversity, from the Amazonian jungle to crater lakes to the Galapagos Islands. Getting to these locations is easy and quick. Furthermore, you can be on the beach in the morning, Quito in the afternoon, and the Amazon jungle at night, all in the same day!

Live La Vida Local

• Cooking classes

  Learn how to prepare the local cuisine and surprise your family when you go back home!

• Metropolitan Park

  Walk through the woods in the middle of the city of Quito.

• Music concerts at local restaurants / bars

  Enjoy jazz, Blues, Salsa, in a cozy environment while eating a good meal.

• Dance classes

  Becoming a great salsa dancer isn’t easy...it takes practice!

• Soccer games

  We love soccer and you will have plenty of opportunities to see a game.

• Movie theater

  Tuesdays are the best days since it’s two for the price of one!

Location

Truly immerse yourself in Ecuadorian culture with a homestay in Quito. Participants typically say that living with a local family was their favorite part of their experience abroad. Your host family will treat you like a member of the family – and even do your laundry for you every week! This safe, comfortable, secure home will help you integrate into your life abroad.

The photos are of participants Rebecca and Victoria with their host families. Look at those smiling faces!

Meals

Inclusions and Amenities

• BathroomShared
• Bed linens
• Laundry
• MealsHomestay

Inclusions

Program fees are in U.S. dollars and include the following:

• Full-time tuition and fees
• Medical and accident insurance
• CIS Abroad support services before, during, and after the program
• Academic advising
• Financial aid counseling
• Assistance with travel arrangements
• Pre-departure orientation
• Airport pickup
• On-site support
• On-campus internet access
• Weekly laundry
• Homestay accommodations with two meals per day
• An optional 4-day Amazon trip to Tiputini Biodiversity Station
• Three full day excursions over the semester
• University official transcript
• University orientation
• La Vida Local cultural program

Welcome & Orientation

At the airport, be greeted by our onsite staff and/or homestay family (nothing like a friendly face after a long flight!). They’ll help you get settled in your housing and begin your orientation. During your first few days, visit the UNESCO world heritage site of old town Quito, learn about Ecuadorian customs, get tips on how to blend in, learn some common slang words and even how to deal with altitude sickness. (Yes! You’ll be living at more than 9,000 feet in Quito!) Then, there’s the welcome meal: the perfect opportunity to learn about Ecuadorian food. Did you know that in Ecuador there are more than 200 varieties of potatoes as well as a tomato that hangs up from a tree?

Farewell & Re-Entry Program

Going home after all your Ecuadorian adventures and adjusting again to your home culture can be hard. We try to help make this process less abrupt by walking you through what to expect and, also, how to benefit from your newly gained knowledge. During our farewell evening, your site director will give you some ideas as to how to integrate your new experiences into your personal and professional life back home.

We believe that study abroad is still possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, but certain policies and procedures will need to be in place to ensure every student can be safe and healthy during their semester abroad.

Learn more about CIS Abroad’s Risk Management Team’s three step process for operating  our programs around the world and important program refund policies.

Read more below for information related to this program:

On-Site Program Modifications

We want your time abroad to be an experience of a lifetime. We also know that it is a unique time to be going abroad. Below is some helpful information to you so you can make the best decision for your finances, academic career, and personal health and safety.

Our Financial Commitment

CIS Abroad is working with international partners to create refund and withdrawal policies that limit the financial impact on students and families should COVID-19 change a student’s plan to travel. See our refund policy page for more information.
To insure yourself from additional loss, such as the loss of airfare, or any other non-recoverable loss after your program begins, we recommend purchasing trip protection insurance, aka CFAR/IFAR insurance.

Our Academic Commitment

CIS Abroad has carefully selected programs where there is minimal to no academic risk.*

If a student must quarantine or miss classes due to sickness, remote academics are guaranteed. These may be synchronous or asynchronous, i.e, live or recorded.

If a city or country goes on lockdown due to sickness, remote academics are guaranteed. These may be synchronous or asynchronous, i.e. live or recorded.

* If a student cannot travel to their destination due to COVID-19 restrictions, remote academics are guaranteed on select programs and in certain courses. If accessing remote academics from the US are important to you, please contact our advising team to learn more about which program locations or courses are right for you.

Our Health & Safety Commitment

CIS Abroad has developed a site-specific risk management plan for every location so that health and safety protocols are monitored, managed and communicated throughout the semester. We have developed a COVID Care Package included in our program fee to make traveling and living in a host country easier on students, especially those first few weeks on-site:

• COVID compliant airport pick-up and transfer to housing.
• Access to quarantine housing upon entry, if quarantine is required when entering the country; this housing may incur additional charges.
• Information and assistance on meal delivery, if quarantine is required when entering the country.
• COVID-safe classrooms and campus facilities as well as access to masks, hand sanitizer, and cleaning supplies according to country and location specific standards.
• Vaccine requirements for all participants to ensure COVID-safe program excursions and guaranteed housing with vaccinated students.
• Access to accommodation if isolation is necessary due to positive COVID test or exposure; this housing may incur additional charges.
• Access to COVID testing; this testing may be an additional charge.
• Medical and accident insurance that covers COVID-related illness (except for on programs operating in the USA).
• Cultural activities and reflection that emphasize safe, local exploration geared to the specific context of being abroad at this special time.

*if quarantine is required upon entry, we will let you know 60 days before a program starts, or as soon as the information is known to CIS Abroad. Your program coordinator will keep you updated as to any changes in dates, arrival, local restrictions and costs. If it is required, this may entail an earlier departure date and an additional housing and meal cost.

We recognize not every student, family, or university will allow travel this year, despite the risk mitigation outlined above. Should students apply for 2021 programs, and then choose to defer to a future program, we would be happy to move that student’s application to a program with a later start date. We are committed to providing our innovative virtual programs to meet your internationalization goals.

Excursions

We plan to show you the best of what your location has to offer this term; great culture, great food, and interesting people. On the Excursions tab, you can see the day or overnight trips we usually offer. It is too soon to know if we can offer those same experiences or if we’ll stay a little closer to our program base. Just know that great experiences await you.