Guatemala offers a variety of education choices to foreign students that come to this country
Why study in Guatemala?
Guatemala is a multicultural country were many different cultures including Hispanic, Mayan, Xinca, and Garifuna all live alongside one another this gives the country a unique historical and cultural richness.Guatemala is an ideal country for having education Spanish because the Spanish education schools here are of high quality and they are much cheaper compared to other Hispanic education providing countries. In addition is the advantage for students who have their education here of one classes which means there is one teacher assigned per student.
Guatemala is country with a great variety of climates and sub climates, which allows for traveling from a cold to a hot climate in a short period of time.
Migratory norms in Guatemala are much more flexible in relation to those at work in other countries of the area.
Language Schools
The majority of foreigners that travel to this country do so to education Spanish language and to have education about the Mayan and Hispanic cultures in Guatemala. Here the language schools offer the opportunity to have education Spanish with the one to one system (one teacher per student), as well as participation in extracurricular activities including movies, chats our culture and history, trips to a variety of locations (volcanoes, beaches, lakes, hot water springs, mountains, indigenous communities etc), cooking and salsa classes etc. Some schools offer their students the opportunity to do volunteer work for a social organization while education in Spanish. this is optional, however there are 23 countries in the world that use Spanish as their official language. Yet Guatemala has the reputation of being one of the best locations for education of Spanish because the Guatemala accent is very clear and easy to understand.Guatemalan education System for foreign students
In reality there are families that move to Guatemala from other countries for the reason of finding jobs. They can register for their education for their children at primary and secondary schools in Guatemala. About 99% of the schools here offer education in Spanish and only 1% offer education classes in English. Therefore, in order to enter the Guatemala education system it is important to have good command of the Spanish language.However in the capital city of Guatemala and in the city of Quetzaltenango, there are schools that offer secondary level education with North America standards in English.
Educational system in Guatemala is structured in such a way that allows for education in high school while completing optional occupation such as education in computer, education in electricity, education in mechanics, education in accounting secretariat, etc. After finishing secondary school education in any of these specialties it is possible to continue on in any university field education.
University Education
There is one public university in Guatemala, University of San Carlos de Guatemala, which was established more than 300 years ago, making it one of the oldest universities in Latin America. There are also many private Universities some of the important ones are : University of Rafael Landivar, University of Francisco Marroquin, university of Mariano Galvez, Rural University of Guatemala, University of Galilei and the University og Guatemala Valley. There are also other smaller universities that have been established more recently.To register in any of these universities the completion of education in secondary school is required, in any of the specializations mentioned above.Before entering university it is obligatory to pass an examination the contents of which depend on the career interest of the student. This can include the following areas : languages, mathematics, chimistry physics, etc. and a good command of the Spanish language. Admission exams start around June, July or August since the academic year starts in January. The year is divided into two semesters for convinent education 1.from January to June 2.from July to November.Generally, i is easier for foreign students to register in private Universities for their education there whose cost is not very high compared to the standards in the other countries. The monthly tuition in a private university can vary from 300 quetzals (40 dollars) to 800 quetzals (100 dollars), depending on the university and the field of study.
However in the case of University of San Carlos de Guatemala (the public university) foreign students pay the following fees per year.
A. Central Americans 1,836,00 Q.
B. Latin americans 12,036.00 Q.
C. Rest of the world 24,046 Q.
All universities have a central campus in Guatemala City, and other campuses, which are located in different cities. However the main education centres.
For their importance, quality and choice varities in Guatemala city and Quetzaltenango.
Guatemala universities offer the following academic degrees : education in technical (3years), education in "licenciatura" which is a degree between bachelors and masters (6years), education of masters (2.5years), doctorate (2.5years). however the majority (approximately 75%) of graduated professionals from university have the academic title of "licenciatura".
Accomodation
The requirement for getting an education has generated a great internal migration in Guatemala. Many students move to urban centers to attend primary school, secondary school or university. Most of them stay with Guatemala families or in guesthouses.the average price that they should to stay in these places is around 1,300 quetzals (about 175 dollars, monthly) which includes a room to sleep in as well as three meals per day.The citizens of the following countries do not require visa for visiting guatemal, they only need a tourist card : Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Israel, Luxemburg, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, United Kingdom, NewZealand, and United States.
Those travelling under age of 18, must have a permission card for entering Guatemal. the card must be signed by both parents and must give their testimony to an official Guatemala consulate.
