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CELA Belize · Faculty-Led Groups

Bring your class to Belize.

Belize is where CELA began in 2010, and most of the students we welcome here travel with their professor. Tell us what your course needs, and our team in Belize builds the program around it.

Request a proposalBrowse Belize experiences

Why Belize

We know Belize, and Belize knows us.

  • Since 2010

    Our office and full-time staff are in San Ignacio. We have welcomed university groups here for well over a decade.

  • Official relationships

    A Memorandum of Understanding with the Belizean Ministry of Health and a working relationship with the Ministry of Agriculture.

  • English-speaking

    English is the official language, so students and faculty work directly with Belizean professionals.

  • Recognized

    GoAbroad named CELA Best Custom Programs in Belize in 2025.

What You Teach

Programs built around your discipline.

Tell us your course's goals and learning objectives. We build the program around them, with the sites and people in Belize that fit your field.

  • Nursing student holding a baby at a community clinic in Belize

    Nursing

    Clinical rotations with Belizean nurses in public and private hospitals, medical centers, home visits, and school health programs.

  • Nursing student on a home health visit in Belize

    Global and Public Health

    Community clinics, field visits with community health workers, and meetings with national and international health organizations.

  • Veterinary student standing in a cattle pen

    Veterinary and Animal Science

    Hands-on work with Belizean veterinarians on working farms, lab specimen analysis, and free small animal clinics.

  • Student holding lambs on a farm in Belize

    Agriculture

    Farm visits, livestock management, and the Belize Agricultural Health Authority lab, with support from the Ministry of Agriculture.

  • Students setting up a wildlife camera trap in the forest

    Wildlife and Conservation

    The Belize Zoo, the Community Baboon Sanctuary, camera trapping, and research on jaguars, tapirs, monkeys, and crocodiles.

  • Student snorkeling in clear tropical water

    Marine Ecology

    Snorkel surveys, marine research techniques, and conservation fieldwork at protected coastal and marine sites.

  • Traditional cooking demonstration in Belize

    History and Culture

    Maya sites like Xunantunich, San Ignacio and its market, and the National Institute of Culture and Heritage.

  • Students meeting a Maya elder in Belize

    Indigenous Studies

    Built with Dr. Filiberto Penados, CELA's founding advisor, with partners like the Tumul K'in Center of Learning and Maya land rights leaders.

See everything faculty can build from
Students with village elders in Belize

Truly Custom

If your course needs it, our team finds it.

Many faculty start from our open-enrollment programs and ask to include those visits. Others bring something entirely their own. One professor wanted students to have honest conversations with Belizeans about purpose and meaning in their lives, and our team in Belize found the people and made it happen.

Depending on your itinerary, credit may be available from our partner, Culver-Stockton College.

How It Works

From first call to final debrief.

  1. 01

    We talk

    Tell us what you're looking for, when you'd like to travel, how many students, and your budget if you know it.

  2. 02

    You get a proposal

    An itinerary and costs built around your goals. Most proposals are ready in about a week.

  3. 03

    We plan together

    Itinerary, excursions, dates, recruitment, risk management, and all the details.

  4. 04

    Orientation

    We hold a pre-departure orientation for your group 3 to 6 weeks before you travel.

  5. 05

    In Belize

    You travel with your students. Our team runs the logistics and brings in the guest lecturers and experts your course needs.

  6. 06

    Debrief

    After the trip, we meet with you to talk through how it went and plan the next one.

From Faculty

In their words.

  • When planning to travel and learn abroad, I hoped for fun experiences and learning new things. CELA was SO much more than that! We were welcomed into the culture and had life-changing experiences that will change us and our perspectives forever.
    FacultyVet tech faculty-led group, Belize · 2025
  • There is no way to describe the level of care which was taken to help our students meet program objectives and experience the world.
    FacultyFaculty-led group, Belize
  • I have traveled with other companies before but I enjoyed the CELA Belize experience tenfold! I look forward to working with them again in the future. They really hit the target with our learning objectives for this trip.
    FacultyLinguistic anthropology and culture, Belize · 2024
  • An amazing cultural experience for nursing students!
    BobbiProfessor, Viterbo University
  • This was an experience I will never forget. As a vet tech I learned so much and gained a new perspective on veterinary medicine. It also gave me opportunity to see so many different cultures and lifestyles.
    StudentVet tech faculty-led group, Belize · 2025
  • The sheep activity was my favorite activity, it was physically intensive but very fun. Learning to suture inspired me to continue to pursue suturing in the future.
    StudentVet tech faculty-led group, Belize · 2025

Let's plan your group's time in Belize.

Start with a call. Tell us about your course, and we'll put together a proposal, usually in about a week.

Request a proposalAll faculty-led destinations