Undergraduate Current Students | Stern Around the World in Costa Rica

Think strategically about social entrepreneurship and sustainable development in Costa Rica. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The SDGs recognize that these challenges – climate change, economic inequality, sustainable consumption, peace, and justice – are interdependent, and we cannot be truly “sustainable” as a global community until we address them all. 

This Fall 2025 semester course takes place in New York. Then from Saturday, January 10th to Sunday, January 17th, 2026, you will take a class trip to Costa Rica. 

Course Overview

BSPA-UB 45: Social Entrepreneurship & Sustainable Development in Costa Rica
3 credits | Tuesdays from 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
Course: Full Semester | Travel: Required trip to Costa Rica in January 2026
Instructor: Professor Jill Simeone (js221@stern.nyu.edu)

This course focuses on Costa Rica, a compelling example of effective sustainable development and social entrepreneurship, and has three main pillars: 

1. Sustainable Development - Costa Rica is a fantastic case study in sustainability because of the country’s deep commitment to environmental protection, rich biodiversity, and successful implementation of sustainable practices.  In 2019, Costa Rica received the Champions of the Earth award, the highest environmental honor of the United Nations, recognizing the country’s commitment to ambitious policies to combat climate change. 
2. Social Entrepreneurship - Simultaneous with the Sustainability coursework, students gain hands-on experience in “Social Entrepreneurship” (a for-profit business model that prioritizes positive social & environmental impact through innovative, sustainable, and market- driven solutions) by working with a select group of women-owned Small and Midsize Businesses (SMBs), that have recently completed a startup accelerator program in San Jose, Costa Rica. Student teams will be matched with a SMB for mutual learning and growth, defining and executing a hands-on project to help the entrepreneur scale their business.  In Costa Rica, that work always includes sustainability — so through this collaboration, the first two course pillars converge. 
3. Immersion in Costa Rica - The course culminates with an immersive “working trip” to Costa Rica in January. Students will reside on campus at a University in San Jose (along with their NYU Stern Professor and Trip Leaders).  During the trip, they will meet local professors, experience the country’s rich culture and ecology, tour several mature sustainable enterprises, meet and have site visits with their partner SMB entrepreneurs, and collaboratively present their work in a final project demo day - bringing all three course learning pillars together.

Through various modalities (classroom sessions, working with Costa Rican entrepreneurs, as well as in-country experiential learning), students will be immersed in lessons from this country, and learn to think strategically about the value of building sustainable businesses - everywhere.  This class includes a required trip to Costa Rica in January. 

This 3-credit course can count towards:

• Sustainable Business concentration 
• Social Entrepreneurship minor (joint with Wagner)
• General Stern elective

*Please note: a max of one SAW travel course can be applied per concentration or minor

Eligibility

This course is open to NYU Stern students who meet the following prerequisites:

• Must be in good academic and judicial standing with Stern and NYU
• Must be enrolled at Stern in New York City during the semester you take the course
• Important Notes:
  • This course is only open to NYU Stern students
  • Seniors who plan to graduate in January - the final grade for this course will not be available until after the January trip
  • First Year students are not eligible to enroll in this course
• No application required! But attending or viewing an Info Session is required when enrolling in this course (requires Zoom sign-in via NYU SSO).
• Enrollment is done through Albert for this course. This SAW course has two registration periods:
  • Priority Registration: During the first week of course registration, April 21-27, 2025, only Stern students who meet the requirements listed above, and also have NOT already completed or are NOT currently enrolled in a SAW course, will be able to register or waitlist for this course.
  • Regular Registration: Starting Monday, April 28, 2025, the course registration and waitlist will open to Stern students who are currently or were previously enrolled in a SAW program - pending available space in the course and/or waitlist.
    • Enrollment is open to NYU Stern Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors and is first-come, first-served, based on your registration time and the registration schedule listed above.
    • If the course fills up, there will be a Waitlist. Set up ‘Edit Swap’ function on Albert to ensure you’re not stuck on the waitlist
• If you successfully enroll, you will be contacted via email with next steps. See additional details below.

Program Timeline

**You will arrange your own flights to and from Costa Rica. Please view the sample itinerary below, note the required program start and end times and plan your flights accordingly to account for customs and transportation to the group lodging. You must plan to arrive into the Juan Santamaria International Airport (San Jose, Costa Rica) early enough in the day so that you can check in on time for the official start of the program. Late arrivals and early departures are not permitted. You will be expected to stay with the group until the official end of the program. 

Estimated Expenses

Please note: Although you will register for this 3-credit course as part of your Fall schedule, NYU tuition and registration fees do not cover the additional fees for the trip to Costa Rica.

The Housing & Program Fee will be required of all participants (see scholarship info below). It will be added to your Fall 2025 Bursar bill, which we anticipate will be due in early August. Please check the NYU Bursar’s website for the Fall 2025 payment deadline.  Please note: the Housing & Program Fee fee is non-refundable unless the trip is canceled by NYU Stern.

• Group lodging in San Jose Costa Rica
• Daily breakfast, other meals as listed on itinerary
• Local group transportation
• Group excursions

Need-based Travel Scholarships

*All Stern undergraduate students who register for this course will be automatically evaluated for a Stern Global Immersion Scholarship. 

• This need-based award is to help cover the additional travel cost of participating in this program. Awards granted to eligible students with demonstrated financial need will cover up to the cost of the Housing & Program fee for the travel portion of the class. Following is the SAW: Costa Rica Housing & Program fee and (if awarded) the allocation for the air travel (Travel allocation) for Fall 2025:
  • Housing & Program Fee (does not include flight): Costa Rica: $2,400 - ESTIMATE TBD
  • Travel allocation (if awarded): Costa Rica: $700 - ESTIMATE TBD
         *You will arrange your own flights to and from Costa Rica. 
• Students must have a current FAFSA or CSS Profile application on file with NYU to be considered for an award. Students will be notified if they will receive a Stern Global Immersion Scholarship - and if so, the amount - according to the schedule above. 
• *Note: Only one SAW Global Immersion Scholarship will be granted per qualifying student.  If you have already applied a Global Immersion Scholarship to a different SAW course you will not receive any Global Immersion Scholarship funds for this course.  

Passport and Visa Requirements for All Participants

Passports: You must have a passport valid for more than six months beyond the dates of the trip. More information on how to renew or obtain a U.S. passport can be found on the U.S. Department of State's website. If you are an international student please contact your Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All NYU students are welcome to contact the NYU Office of Global Services (OGS) for assistance as well.

Visas: U.S. passports valid for more than six months beyond the dates of travel do not need a visa to enter Costa Rica. If you are not a U.S. citizen, please consult Costa Rica’s visa requirements on the Costa Rican Embassy website. If you have questions, please contact the NYU Office of Global Services (OGS).

It is your responsibility to apply and receive the appropriate visas for your passport in a timely manner for the trip. Trip Program Fee refunds are not provided if you fail to secure your visa.