Faculty-Led & Specialized Groups
Your students abroad. Your way.
CELA designs and manages custom international programs around your course, your learning goals, and your students. You lead your group, and we take care of everything on the ground.
On This Page
Find what you need.
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What You Teach
Health sciences and nursing, veterinary and animal science, marine and environmental science, history and culture, and pre-career programs.
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Where We Go
Belize, our home base since 2010, plus Greece, Thailand, and Costa Rica.
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How It Works
Built around your goals, with clear costs. Most proposals are ready in about a week.
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Our Team on the Ground
Long-serving local staff, hosts, guides, and drivers, plus a US team in your time zone.
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Safety & Risk Management
E&O and general liability coverage, vetted sites and transport, and trained staff on call 24/7.
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Who We've Worked With
Nursing capstones, pre-health clinical shadowing, Indigenous studies, and more.
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What You Teach
Programs designed for what you teach.
We specialize in health sciences, animal science, environmental science, and community-focused disciplines. Our team includes veterinarians, public health professionals, and marine biologists.
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Health Sciences and Nursing
Pre-health clinical shadowing, nursing, global health, public health, psychology, and mental health. Hospital partnerships and clinical site access in Belize, Greece, and Thailand.
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Veterinary and Animal Science
Pre-vet experience, wildlife health, large animal practice, veterinary technology, and conservation medicine. Students work alongside licensed DVMs in clinical and field settings in Belize, Greece, Thailand, and Costa Rica.
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Marine and Environmental Science
Marine ecology, reef surveys, and conservation fieldwork in Belize, Greece, Thailand, and Costa Rica, including protected marine areas and active research sites in Belize.
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History, Culture, and Social Sciences
Programs spanning anthropology, cultural studies, agriculture, and more. Long-standing partnerships with community organizations and government ministries across Belize.
Pre-Career Programs
Hospital shadowing with practicing physicians in Athens, Greece and Chiang Mai, Thailand. Hands-on veterinary work with licensed DVMs in Belize, Greece, Thailand, and Costa Rica. Marine field research at active conservation sites. Community health work alongside local clinic staff. Students come home with documented hours, professional mentorship relationships, and experiences they can describe with specificity in essays and interviews.
Where We Go
Where we have programs.
Belize. Greece. Thailand. Costa Rica. These aren't pins on a map. We have staff, offices, or established partner teams in each one. We can also develop programs in additional locations where Loop Abroad, our parent organization, has operations.
CELA Belize · Our home base since 2010
Belize
Belize is where CELA began, and most of the students we welcome there travel with their professor. Our office and full-time staff are in San Ignacio, with a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Health and programs in nursing, global health, veterinary medicine, agriculture, wildlife, marine ecology, history and culture, and Indigenous studies.
Greece
Pre-health clinical shadowing at a hospital in Athens, veterinary medicine, marine biology, and psychology and mental health programs.
Thailand
Pre-health clinical shadowing, veterinary medicine, wildlife conservation, elephant care, marine biology, and mental health programs.
Costa Rica
Veterinary medicine, marine biology, and more through CELA's partnership network.
Ask about Costa Rica
How It Works
Built around your goals, with clear costs.
Faculty always travel with their group. We build the program around your course's goals and learning objectives, for the group you actually bring. You'll see exactly what's included, and what isn't, before you commit.
Built around your learning objectives
Tell us your course's purpose and goals. We offer the sites, activities, and people that meet them, and shape the itinerary around your group.
Guest lecturers and local experts
We bring in the professionals your students should hear from, from clinicians and veterinarians to conservationists and community leaders.
Start from our programs, or from scratch
Many faculty pick visits from our open-enrollment programs. Others ask for something entirely their own, and our local team makes it happen.
Transportation
Meals and culture
Excursions
Included
Housing and meals
Safe, clean, welcoming accommodations and meal plans suited to your group and destination.
Transportation
Airport pickup, ground transport between sites, and everything your group needs to get where they're going.
Site access
Hospital rotations for health programs. Working farms for veterinary programs. Reef sites for marine science. Community organizations for public health. We've spent years developing relationships in every destination and they're available to your group.
Cultural programming
Guided experiences, community visits, and excursions that connect to your academic goals and help students feel the place, not just pass through it.
Orientation and debrief
A pre-departure orientation for your group 3 to 6 weeks before you travel, and a debrief with faculty after you return.
Not included
- Airfare
- Health insurance that covers you in your destination
- Personal expenses
- Credit enrollment fees (optional)
Timeline
We can usually have a proposal to you in about a week. Most schools set study abroad deadlines about a year before travel, so we recommend starting the conversation early.
Written agreements
Every program is backed by a written agreement covering roles, responsibilities, financial terms, cancellation policies, insurance, and emergency protocols.
From first call to final debrief.
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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.
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You get a proposal
An itinerary and costs built around your goals. Most proposals are ready in about a week.
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We plan together
Itinerary, excursions, dates, recruitment, risk management, and all the details.
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Orientation
We hold a pre-departure orientation for your group 3 to 6 weeks before you travel.
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Your program comes to life
You travel with your students. Our local team takes care of the logistics and arranges the site visits, guest speakers, and hands-on experiences that fit your goals.
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Debrief
After the trip, we meet with you to talk through how it went and plan the next one.
Depending on your itinerary, credit may be available from our partner, Culver-Stockton College.
Our Team on the Ground
The same trusted people, year after year.
Our teams don't change every season. The staff, hosts, guides, and drivers your students meet have worked with us for years. They've welcomed faculty-led groups and US university students again and again, and they know what your group needs before you ask.
Low staff turnover
Our in-country staff stay with us. The person coordinating your program has supported many programs like it, and the relationships with hospitals, farms, and field sites carry over from one year to the next.
Hosts, guides, and drivers we know
Many of our hosts, guides, and drivers have been with us for a decade or more. They know our standards, and they know our students.
Experienced with university groups
Our teams have worked with faculty-led groups and US university students for well over a decade. They know how a group moves through a day, what faculty need to teach in the field, and what first-time travelers worry about.
Calm in an emergency
Years on the ground means our teams have managed just about every kind of emergency. They know which clinic to call, how to change plans quickly, and how to reach our US team at any hour.
In Belize
CELA has Belizean roots. It was founded in 2010 in part by Dr. Filiberto Penados, a Belizean Indigenous studies scholar who still serves as an adviser and instructor. Our office is in San Ignacio, in the Cayo District, our team lives and works in Belize, and many of the hosts, guides, and drivers your group will meet have worked with us for years, some for most of CELA's history.
In Chiang Mai, Thailand
Loop Abroad has had a team in Chiang Mai since 2009. Your program leaders live in the city, speak Thai, and work with hospitals, guides, and drivers they have known for years.
In Athens, Greece
Your on-site coordinator lives in Athens and manages the relationship with Metropolitan General Hospital. They know the physicians, the city, and the neighborhoods where students stay.
In the US
Our US team designs your program with you, works with your study abroad office, and prepares your students before they leave. Someone in your time zone always picks up the phone.
What this means for your program
Your coordinator isn't reading a briefing packet on the plane. They already know the hospital director by name, which restaurant can seat a group of 20 on short notice, and what to do if a student gets sick at midnight. That's the difference between a staffed program and a supported one.
Safety & Risk Management
Your students' safety is the first thing we plan for.
It's the first question your risk management office will ask and the first thing parents want to know. Here's our approach.
- Insurance that meets your school's requirements
- Trained staff, on call 24/7
- Every site vetted
- Health and travel guidance
We're happy to walk your risk management office or study abroad director through any of it on a call.
Who We've Worked With
Programs we've created with faculty.
Belize
Nursing capstone
Faculty-led clinical rotations at public and private hospitals in Belize. Students shadowed Belizean nurses across community health, hospital, and school health settings.
Thailand
Pre-health clinical shadowing
Hospital rotations across specialties in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and now in Bangkok too. Students from several university campuses rotate through the ER, surgery, pediatrics, OB/GYN, and more.
Belize
Indigenous studies
Dr. Filiberto Penados, our founding advisor and an Indigenous studies scholar, has led the Indigeneity, Food, and Sustainability program through CELA for over a decade.
Greece
Medical shadowing in Athens, Greece
Clinical observation at a private teaching hospital, now available as both open-enrollment and faculty-led.
Since 2009
CELA is part of Loop Abroad, which has offered international education programs since 2009. Loop Abroad was recognized as the #1 study abroad organization on GoAbroad in 2024.
The relationships
Memorandum of Understanding with the Belizean Ministry of Health. Working relationship with the Ministry of Agriculture. Hospital partnerships in Athens, Greece and Chiang Mai, Thailand. Named Best Custom Programs in Belize by GoAbroad in 2025.
In Their Words
Testimonials
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 Doing my nursing capstone in Belize was one of the most amazing and rewarding experiences. This trip helped me grow as a nurse and ultimately changed my life.
Emily WiemerNursing student, Viterbo University You get so much hands-on knowledge. The people in Belize are so informational, kind, and patient. This trip brought me a whole new perspective on animal med and conservation all around the world.
StudentVet tech faculty-led group, Belize · 2025 After spending two weeks studying abroad in Belize, I feel extremely prepared to attend vet school and continue my career path. Belize is a beautiful country and getting to help this community was one of the most gratifying experiences I have ever had!
Ellison MallicoPre-vet student, Belize An amazing cultural experience for nursing students!
BobbiProfessor, Viterbo University This trip has opened my eyes in the best way. I appreciated the mix between being in the clinical setting, listening to speakers, and participating in excursions. I won't forget this.
StudentBelize 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
Press
In the News
Long Island Advance
SUNY Farmingdale nursing student spends four weeks in Belize on clinical rotations through CELA.
Read the story (opens in a new tab)SUNY Brockport
Biology student shadows across hospital departments in Chiang Mai through CELA's pre-health clinical shadowing program.
Read the story (opens in a new tab)Muddy River News
Culver-Stockton College named School of Record for CELA.
Read the story (opens in a new tab)Culver-Stockton College
Official press release on the CELA credit partnership.
Read the story (opens in a new tab)Rutgers Global
CELA Belize listed as official Rutgers partner program.
Read the story (opens in a new tab)
Let's design something for your students.
Whether you have a detailed plan or just the beginning of an idea, we'd love to hear about it. Tell us what you're thinking and we'll put together a proposal.