Upcoming programs
CSU Todos Santos has and continues to offer a variety of programs from CSU in Fort Collins, CSU Pueblo, and other U.S. universities, as well as community engagement.
Summer 2025
Fall 2025
Spring Break 2025
Winter Break 2025
Past and ongoing programs
CSU Fort Collins
Art Meets Environment
Art Meets Environment in Baja California Sur is a field-based, studio art course that explores the intersection of visual arts, community, and environment in Baja California Sur through direct experience, creative practice, collaborative processes, and contemporary and historical art theory.
Boettcher Service and Sustainability
This one-week non-credit experiential service-learning program allows Boettcher scholars to immerse in language and culture, participate in local sustainability and zero waste initiatives, and explore the unique ecosystems of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez. Through this program, scholars build intercultural communication skills, learn best practices for designing and implementing community-based service, and develop an appreciation for tropical ecosystems while strengthening bonds with their fellow scholars.
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS) Student Externship Program
The Veterinary Student Externship Program engages fourth-year CSU veterinary students in two-week educational and cultural exchange opportunities in BCS. Throughout the year, teams of CSU students (three students per trip) provide surgical and medical support to local shelters, participate in spay/neuter campaigns, and work with local ranchers to study their herds. The teams participate in more than 20 community spay/neuter clinics each year, providing more than 1,000 free surgeries to the public. CSU also supports and organizes a large, collaborative spay/neuter campaign biannually bringing together veterinarians and veterinary students from Todos Santos, La Paz, and the United States.
Community Engagement
A variety of service-learning and leadership experiences are available for students studying in Todos Santos. These programs work with community organizations on their priorities, including waste management and recycling, public health, food security, education, and more.
Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology Semester Program
Each spring, undergraduate students in the Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology program live and learn at CSU Todos Santos for an entire semester. Classroom-based lectures focus on the marine and desert ecosystems in and around Todos Santos and the methodology of studying fish and wildlife populations. Hands-on field learning, excursions, and student-led research projects provide high-impact learning opportunities to promote integration of principles in conservation biology and fish and wildlife ecology across the curriculum. Service learning activities focus on working with existing community nonprofits to aid waste management efforts and reduce reliance on plastics.
Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Winter Break Program
The annual two-week Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology program includes excursions and experiential learning opportunities in Todos Santos, La Paz, and along the region’s beaches and deserts. Students and faculty visit the diverse ecosystems of the Pacific Ocean, Sea of Cortez, estuaries, deserts, and mountains to learn about the natural history of fish and wildlife species, understand wildlife management and conservation history, and identify common and contrasting wildlife management practices. These experiences, combined with conversations with local ecologists and natural resource managers, invite students to integrate wildlife ecology principles into management actions.
Global Leadership Program
Students cultivate global competencies while exploring leadership through a global lens. The student-led program seeks to build community among CSU and Mexican university students, faculty, and staff. Students plan and facilitate multinational panels and workshops on identity, leadership styles, trade policy, and environmental concerns in an effort to maintain strong global relationships with peers.
History, Community and Environment
History, Community and Environment in Mexico offers students a rich opportunity to learn about the history of community identity, formation, and change — including humans' dynamic relationship to the environment — in Todos Santos and the surrounding region. Students study the history of the people in the area, learning how they have forged ties with one another and navigated challenges and differences over time, especially in relation to local and regional cultural values, the political economies of Mexico and the United States, international tourism, and environmental change.
Sustainable Agriculture
CSU students study sustainable agriculture work with BCS farmers and students to incorporate technological advances and community knowledge into agriculture-related issues in the area. Students create opportunities for the exchange of information, learning techniques from local farmers that they can bring to the United States, and host community workshops related to their studies.
CSU Pueblo
Ecotourism
This ecotourism course explores the political, economic, and social impacts of ecotourism and sustainable development. Students participate in a cultural exchange in La Paz with Alternative Tourism students from the Autonomous University of BCS, and experience ecotourism in the form of a two-day camping trip to Espiritu Santo Island in the Sea of Cortez, service-learning activities with Todos Santos middle school students, a cliff hike from Punta Lobos to San Pedro, and surfing at Los Cerritos Beach.
Ecotourism Symposium & 100K Strong in the Americas Grant
CSU Pueblo, in collaboration with the Autonomous University of BCS, earned a grant from the Partners of the Americas Foundation, to implement a project titled “Establishing the Institute of Ecotourism Studies: Collaborative Workforce Development and Cultural Exchange Strategies in BCS.” A major piece of the initiative was hosting an inaugural Ecotourism Symposium at CSU Todos Santos. The one-day symposium included workshops with topics ranging from sea turtle conservation, mangrove/reef protection, whale shark tourism, sustainable practices in ecotourism, conservation in the Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve, green practices in the workplace, and an overview of the tourism economy and sustainability in BCS.
Social Work
Social Work students have the privilege to learn about community action and social change efforts from those doing the work in the region in this experiential learning opportunity. Community partners take the time to explain their process, intent, and needs and exchange information by asking and answering questions about social work in the U.S. and Mexico. These experiences contribute to the improvement of communication abilities, expand cultural competence, and develop ethical travel skills.
Other university programs
California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI)
This program focuses on nature and sustainability in Baja California Sur, with a focus on human impacts on coastal areas.
University of Utah Field Anthropology School
This bi-annual program is led by University of Utah faculty member Dr. Shane Macfarlan. Students from the university come to BCS to learn about the history and families of the region.
Western Washington University (WWU) English Language Learning Program
Aspiring teachers from WWU spend a quarter at CSU Todos Santos to learn the pedagogy of teaching English language learners. Students observe classes and teach lessons with CSU Todos Santos English students and local high school students. Activities and excursions supplement classroom experiential learning and enhance cultural competency and reflections.
BCS community engagement programs and activities
CSU students engage regularly with community members and organizations, hosting a variety of learning opportunities each year, specifically geared toward BCS community members.
Computational Biology and Genomics
The CSU Department of Biology conducts annual workshops on computational biology and genomics. Participants from regional Mexican research institutions come to CSU Todos Santos for the workshop, which focuses on training in the core computational tools necessary for analyzing genomic data in the modern biological sciences.
Classes and events
CSU is an active member of several regional committees focused on education, waste management, food security, and more. CSU co-created and hosted the first Educational Fair in Todos Santos bringing together 10 public and private universities from La Paz and Los Cabos to share educational programs and opportunities with more than 500 local students and families from Todos Santos and El Pescadero.
English classes
The English program addresses one of the top community priorities – working with local citizens to improve their English, which directly supports their livelihood. Courses are offered based on community demand and needs and range from semester courses to short courses on English for specific purposes.
Environmental education
CSU groups regularly engage in environmental education and awareness activities related to waste management in Todos Santos, one of the top environmental-related priorities in the community. Such activities include beach and desert clean-ups, service-learning projects at the local recycling center, environmental education in the local schools, and contributing to an awareness campaign to reduce single-use plastics at a local and regional level.
Kids Do It All
From 2014 to 2019, CSU’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance hosted a donor-funded Kids Do It All music-theatre camp in Todos Santos for children from the United States and the local community. The annual student-led effort in Todos Santos is an adaptation of a long-standing and popular music-theatre program; the Todos Santos version of the program creates a bilingual and bicultural experience for more than 50 children aged 7-13. The students conclude the week by performing a community play.
Internships and volunteer opportunities
CSU Todos Santos internship and volunteer positions provide an opportunity to engage in cultural and academic exchange between Mexican and U.S. students, as well as with local members and organizations from the Baja California Sur community. Selected interns and volunteers may work as a member of the CSU Todos Santos team and will choose an area of interest and a specific project to pursue. Each project will support an outreach component of a CSU-related program, which may develop, expand, or continue existing or new projects.
Lectures and workshops
CSU Todos Santos provides a platform for nonprofit organizations, governmental entities, and faculty and students from nearby universities to share their research, knowledge, and experiences with Todos Santos community members. CSU Todos Santos also offers local lectures and workshops, including a series on nutrition and health that addresses health-related priorities in BCS, such as diabetes and childhood obesity.
Outreach events
CSU students regularly prepare and offer educational activities to the students of Todos Santos and Pescadero, including hands-on learning programs such as Little Shop of Physics, Anatomy and Physiology Outreach, Bioblitz, science learning, and more.
Spanish immersion
Regularly-scheduled Spanish immersion courses at CSU Todos Santos combine online and in-person learning and allow participants to learn about Mexican culture, celebrate local holidays and customs, visit the region’s parks and UNESCO World Heritage Site, and practice Spanish with native speakers.
Thank you to our partners!
The relationships and partnerships in BCS are integral to each person’s educational exchange and experience at CSU Todos Santos. Thank you to our partners for the mutual learning and exploration!