Dickinson in São Paulo, Brazil, a new study abroad program, is expected to be open to students in spring of 2020.

The program will replace a partner program that existed in São Paulo before it was canceled by its parent organization, The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), in summer 2017.

The end of the partner program “prompted the CGSE (the Center for Global Study and Engagement) and Latin American, Latino and Caribbean studies (LALC) and Portuguese and Brazilian studies to start to explore new program possibilities in Brazil for our students,” wrote Samantha Brandauer, executive director of CGSE and associate provost, via email.

The college has never run its own program in Brazil; it has only been involved in partner programs in São Paulo and Rio De Janeiro. Brandauer said “None of the programs currently in Brazil offered what we were exactly looking for nor the core of Dickinson’s program model–an immersive language and culture program, direct enroll course options at a local university with the possibility for exchange and a homestay option.”

Carolina Castellanos, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese and chair of LALC, and Brandauer traveled to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to explore options for a new study abroad program in Brazil.

Castellanos said that to find out options for establishing the program, “Samantha Brandauer… sent me to Rio de Janeiro in October 2017 to assess CIEE’s program there and look at other options in that city.” 

“She then joined me in São Paulo and we explored other possibilities for study abroad programs in that city,” said Castellanos.

The new program will be at the University of São Paulo (USP), which Castellanos said is “one of the best universities in Latin America.” The program will partner will the study abroad program CET (previously China Educational Tours, now simply CET), although it will be a Dickinson program with a Dickinson resident director.

“CET with their… strong reputation of offering rigorous, immersive and language centered study abroad programs and an extensive network of college and university partners will be a great partner in this,” Brandeaur said. 

Castellanos said São Paulo was chosen for the Dickinson program because of the “prestigious university and the large and diverse city environment.” 

Castellanos and LALC hope that the program will support more majors on campus. “It will also strengthen Dickinson’s study abroad options in the global south,” she said.

Julia Chandler ’22 said the idea of a study abroad program in Brazil is “awesome.”

“The idea of having a Dickinson program in Brazil has been one of my dreams since I joined Dickinson in 2010,” said Castellanos.

Brandeau explained that the Center for Global Study and Engagement is finalizing their agreements with USP and CET and are “currently on track to start the program in spring 2020.”