Ecuador is an unspoiled paradise possessing a great diversity of landscapes, from the snowcapped volcanoes and the exuberant lowland forest of the upper Amazon Basin to the palm fringed beaches and arid Pacific coast. The Galapagos Islands, a national protectorate declared as World Natural Heritage by the UNESCO, are located 600 miles west of the mainland. The Ecuadorian people are as diverse as its landscape. Indigenous tribes reside in the Andes and in the extensive eastern forests, while descendants of the Inca Empire preserve their language, culture, traditional dress, and handicrafts throughout the highlands.

The bustling cities of Quito and Guayaquil are as modern and sophisticated as those in other pasrtsd of the world. Quito, Hispanic architecture has been designated as Heritage of Mankind by the United Nations. Quito, the Capital, is located at the foot of Mount Pichincha at an altitude of 9,200 feet. The city of Guayaquil, the principal port and commercial center of Ecuador, occupies both borders of the Guayas River, a short distance from the Pacific Ocean. Cuenca, another Hispanic town, is within comfortable travel distance of Quito. It offers unique architectural and cultural opportunities.

Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) is a private, non-denominational liberal arts university in Quito, Ecuador. Without a doubt, it is the fastest growing and most dynamic educational institution in Latin America. Founded in 1988 with 120 students, 12 professors and an 8000-volume library, USFQ now has of 2400 undergraduates, 300 international students from 38 different countries, 39 majors, 6 Master's programs, doctoral programs in medicine and law, a variety of executive programs, and a 70,000-volume library.

USFQ is a non-profit institution that seeks to develop creative and innovative people with an entrepreneurial spirit. As a liberal arts university, USFQ offers valuable resources including a faculty composed of graduates, with advanced degress, from many of the best universities in the world, the most modern library and computer services in Ecuador, and the most beautiful campus in Latin America. The study of the liberal arts, which USFQ is attempting to restore as the standard in Latin American higher education, prepares students to face the challenges of an ever changing world. The liberal arts curriculum at USFQ has prepared students from all the undergraduate areas for susccessful entry into and performance in graduate schools at leading universities in the United States.

The entire USFQ community - students, professors, administrators - participates in campus life. All are responsible for the integral formation of each student. Learning does not only take place in the classroom, and here, the experience of learning to learn is shared among friends. With this vision, students participate in many extracurricular activities, including meetings at professors' homes, parties, field and social outings, clubs sports, inmersion in other cultures and meetings with students of other academic areas and nationalities. Students are also required to do a social service internship supporting the community.

During the first year of undergraduate study at U.S.F.Q., students are required to take the Socratic Seminars. This name is used to strongly emphasize the fact that the student at U.S.F.Q. has come to learn how to learn.

These seminars stress the interaction that must occur between student and professor and encourage the student to accept responsibility for his or her own education. Also emphasized is active participation and the question raising method of teaching. The need to lay roots, to know one's origin, i.e. to know oneself and one's destiny is an integral part of the seminars.

To discover the answers to these questions it is necessary to study the origins of civilization, the biological make-up of the human being and the development of the mind. To accomplish these goals, the seminars are divided into three fundamental courses:

• The Self (Self-knowledge)

• The Cosmos (Sciences)

• The Self and the Cosmos (Social and Historical Studies)

All undergraduate majors require four years of study. For the professional title of Architect and Engineer, one additional year is necessary.

The colleges of Health Sciences and Law, offer pre-medical and pre-law majors that last three years. After passing a special examination, students may enter the School of Medicine or the School of Law at a postgraduate level for three additional years in order to obtain the title of Doctor.

At the graduate level, USFQ offers Master's programs in:

•Management(M.B.A.),

• Nutrition (M.S.)

• International Relations (M.A.), •Education, taught in Spanish

(M.A.)

•Education, taught in English (M.A.), double degree from U.S.F.Q. and Boston University.

•Technology Management (M.S.)

General Management

Economics

Finance

Marketing

Insurance

Agriculture and Business

Architectural Design

Architecture

Graphic Design

Music

Art

Applied Ecology

Biotechnology

Ecotourism

Environmental Communication

Construction Management

Natural Science

Applied Science

Computer Science

Industrial Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Bachelor of Law

Doctor of Law

Liberal Arts

Education

Psychology

Development Sociology

International Relations

Medicine

Nutrition

Optometry

Dentistry

Journalism

Organizational Communication

Advertising

Visual Communication

Hospitality Management

Food Beverage Management and Gastrology

Tourism Development

USFQ also has a Community College, a College of Continuing Education and it is associated with the private, non-denominational K-to-12th school Colegio Menor San Francisco de Quito

The belief at USFQ is that every university student should have the opportunity to study within another culture. Fifteen percent of the student body is comprised of international students. USFQ is proud of the success, that both its students who have gone abroad and foreign students who have come to Ecuador, have had through exchange programs with international universities.

The Office of International Programs at USFQ proudly administers approximately 35 exchange programs with the following universities:

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

Kalamazoo College, Michigan, USA

University of North Carolina at Wilmington, USA

Boston College, Massachussetts, USA

Boston University, Massachussetts, USA

Brethren Colleges Abroad, USA

Clemson University, South Carolina, USA

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA

Pitzer College, Claremont, California, USA

Brookdale Community College, New Jersey, USA

Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, USA

Oregon University System Consortium, USA

The Partnership for Service Learning, New York, USA

Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA

University of East Carolina, North Carolina, USA

Washington College, Maryland, USA

The College of Staten Island, USA

Reed College, Oregon, USA

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Grant MacEwan Community College, Alberta, Canada

University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Michigan State University, USA

Simon Fraser University, Canada

San Diego State University, USA

University Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain

University Polytecnica de Catalunya, Spain

University of Montpellier II, France

University of La Sapienza of Rome, Italy

University of Birmingham, England

Instituto de Empresas, Madrid, Spain

University of Tuebingen, Germany

University of Reutlingen, Germany

USFQ students are eligible for study abroad in the third year.

They must maintain a GPA of 3.2/4.0 and go through an application process that includes two personal interviews with USFQ faculty members. The possibility of studying abroad is open to students with financial aid.

U.S.F.Q. and certain university partners offer scholarships for needy students who meet the study abroad requirements.

USFQ established the Tiputini Biodiversity Sation in 1995, principally for research, education and conservation. The station with its 650 hectares (1500 acres) is located 300km or 200 miles east-southeast of Quito on the north bank of the Tiputini River, a right bank tributary of the Napo River in eastern Ecuador. The station is operated in conjuntion with Boston University.

The region has enjoyed exceptional protection due to its history as part of the traditional territory of the Huaorani people and total isolation from modern development. The region is noted for its extremely high biodiversity. With over 520 species of birds recorded and more than 10 species of monkeys seen regularly, this is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable places in the world.

David Pearson, Ph.D., in The New Key to Ecuador and the Galapagos, Second Edition, "unabashedly recommends TBS as the best place in all of Ecuador to see wildlife." The Tiputini Biodiversity Station also received favorable mention in the February 1999 issue of National Geographic: "... according to her (Virginia Morell) the most extraordinary place she visited was the Estación Tiputini de la Biodiversidad."

The Station boasts an extensive trail network, laboratory facilities, and special access to the tree canopy provided by a 38-meter (100 foot or the equivalent to an 11 story building) tower built high around a majestic kapok tree, and a 100-meter long series of suspension bridges. Several full-semester university-level ecology courses are based at the Station.

The accommodations are highly comfortable, with private bathrooms and electricity in all rooms. The various buildings are scattered within virgin forest, so the jungle is literally just a step away. The spacious dining hall faces the river with a spectacular view of the surrounding forest.

Universidad San Francisco de Quito

Tl.: 593 2 895 723. Fax: 983 2 890 070

Address: Vía Interoceánica y Jardines del Este,

Círculo de Cumbayá.

P.O. Box: 17-12-841 Quito-Ecuador

Web site: www.usfq.edu.ec

Office of International Programs

Angela Fuchs, email: angela@mail.usfq.edu.ec