Coastal Carolina University offers numerous courses designed to provide a college experience for students who want to travel abroad through its Office of International Programs and Services (OIPS).

Four trips are still open for this summer: to Cuenca, Ecuador; Oxford, England; San Jose, Costa Rica; and Madrid. Coastal Carolina University faculty will teach and lead these trips.

Deadlines are in February, so interested students need to apply for these popular programs now in order to reserve a space as they fill up quickly. The Europe travel-study program through the Wall College of Business is full.

The following study abroad programs are offered this summer:

Cuenca, Ecuador, from May 9 to June 2; application and deposit deadline, Feb. 16. Join professor Maria-Luisa Torres on a 25-day trip to Cuenca, Ecuador, for a Spanish language experience that will conclude with a five-day trip to the Amazon rain forest. Spanish classes will be held Monday through Friday, except for those days on which excursions have been scheduled. All classes will be taught at the Universidad de Cuenca Facultad de Filosofía, a partner institution of Coastal Carolina University.

Students will live with carefully selected host families and will be provided with three meals per day. Each student will be assigned a peer mentor, who is a university student and native-speaker of Spanish, to facilitate each student's orientation to Cuenca and to enhance the overall experience. While in Cuenca, students will participate in excursions to El Cajas National Park, the archaeological site of Ingapirca, la Hacienda Totorillas, and the towns of Gaulaceo and Chordeleg.

Oxford, England, July 3 to 22. Deadline for application and deposit is Feb. 15.

Coastal@Oxford is a new program in which students will spend three weeks in Great Britain, studying with Coastal Carolina University faculty while in residence at the University of Oxford, one of the oldest and most respected institutions of higher learning in the world. Students will explore Oxford's many colleges and historical sites, attend theater performances and concerts, and take advantage of excursions to destinations such as Stratford, Blenheim Palace and Winchester Cathedral.

Two weeks in residence at Oxford will be followed by four days sampling London's cultural, historical and political treasures, including Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London. Participants in this study-abroad experience will come away with a new understanding of how the English language and its literature has been inspired by Britain's many centuries as a center of culture, commerce and exploration. Students will stay at Oxford's historic Queen's College (founded in 1341) and at Commonwealth Hall while in London.

Costa Rica, from May 10 to 31, deadline is Feb. 10.

Students take a three-week Maymester program to San José, Costa Rica, through the Institute de Espanol, where students will meet for classroom work and activities taught by Coastal Carolna University faculty. To supplement the academic experience, excursions are planned: guided bus tour of San José, a walking tour of the area surrounding the school, Latin dance classes, visits to Poas and Arenal Volcanoes, Tabacon Hot Water Springs, the Monteverde Cloud Forest National Park and visits to San José museums and beaches. Students stay with host families during their time in Costa Rica.

Madrid, Spain, May 9 to 31, deadline is Feb. 10.

Earn Coastal Carolina University credit while acquiring or improving your Spanish speaking skills in one of the most beautiful of the European capitols. Students will live with host families while in Spain, which includes breakfast and dinner each day, room and board, and laundry. In addition to the classroom, excursions are also planned.

For more information, check out the Web site at http://www.coastal.edu/international/ or call 843-349-2684.