This will be revised in the coming weeks (about when applications are due). Please check back for more information.
- Course registration: You must complete the online application form on this website as well as the application form on the Travel Abroad website. The latter is used to get you in the system.
- Passport: As soon as you can, please send Dr. Kelley scans of your primary passport page (the page with the image). This assumes you have a passport. If you do not, get one as soon as humanly possible (i.e. go get one today). If you don't have a passport, or you need to renew yours, this needs to be the FIRST thing you deal with if you're even considering a study abroad course. Please visit the UW Study Abroad info page about passports and get rolling on this ASAP.
- Personal equipment list: Look at the Logistics tab for the Personal Gear information. This should give you an adequate amount of time to get equipment.
- Medical topics: If you have dietary or other medical constraints, please let us know immediately. While Panama is a developed country, we will be working in a remote area, so we need to work with you to account for any medical conditions you may have. For information on recommended vaccinations and other medical precautions, visit the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website here. Look at the advice for the Canal Zone and Panama City, as those are the regions of Panama where the course occurs.
- Introductory meeting: We have introductory meetings with all registered students two weeks after the fall registration deadline. Please let us know, via email, what times work best for you. Morning, lunch, or afternoon?
- Pre-Departure Orientation Meeting: All students participating in a study abroad program in January are required to attend one of four scheduled Pre-Departure Orientation meetings (1-hour only) hosted by Travel Abroad. Again, this is mandatory. Students who do not attend one of these meetings will not be eligible to study abroad, so please make this a priority. Dates and locations, once determined, will be emailed to faculty and students.
- Orientation packet: You are expected to have read and familiarized yourself with the contents of this orientation packet prior to arrival at our departure point (Denver Airport) on the first day of the course. The packet discusses personal gear, preparation, packing considerations, ecological, cultural, and political context about Panama, and more. The orientation packet is required reading.