Pitzer in Brazil Summer Program
Experience Salvador through Portuguese language, Afro-Brazilian culture, community relationships, and everyday life with a host family. Learn from local scholars and organizations while exploring the people, traditions, and histories that shape contemporary Bahia.
“We want students to explore Brazil’s richness in ways that are tangible and lived. The most important part is building real relationships.”
Luciana Reis
Pitzer in Brazil program director
This program takes place from late May to early July
Start Your Journey - Apply Now
The Pitzer in Brazil Summer Program combines intensive Portuguese language study with interdisciplinary exploration of Afro-Brazilian history, culture, and contemporary life in Salvador. In partnership with the Steve Biko Institute, students learn from local scholars, community leaders, and organizations throughout Bahia.
The program is particularly well suited for students interested in Africana Studies, Latin American Studies, sociology, anthropology, history, politics, public health, education, gender studies, and related fields. Learning extends beyond the classroom through your host family, cultural workshops, community engagement, and field-based study.
The Pitzer Program Advantage
Community Engagement
Connect with Salvador through community-based learning with the Steve Biko Institute and other local organizations. Meet and learn from educators, community leaders, and organizations working on issues including education, racial and gender equity, public health, and community development, bringing the themes of your coursework into conversation with people doing this work in Bahia.
Homestay
Live with a host family in Salvador throughout the six-week program, making family life part of your everyday experience in Bahia. Share meals and daily routines, practice the Portuguese you're learning in class, and build relationships that offer perspectives on Brazilian culture and life beyond the classroom.
Study Trips & Excursions
Explore Salvador and Bahia through study trips that connect coursework with the region's history, communities, and cultural traditions. Recent program experiences have included Cachoeira, the Quilombola community of Kaonge, Praia do Forte, capoeira and samba, cultural institutions, and celebrations such as São João.
Pitzer Students: Get Credits Towards Graduation
The Pitzer in Brazil Summer Program can fulfill Pitzer's Social Responsibility Praxis (SRX) educational objective through its community engagement component.
Location
Spend six weeks in Salvador, the capital of Bahia and a major center of Afro-Brazilian history and culture. Brazil's first colonial capital, Salvador offers a distinctive setting for studying the country's African diaspora, histories of race and resistance, religion, music, food, and contemporary social issues.
Your host family, classes, community engagement, and excursions are rooted in the city, making Salvador itself an important part of what you study and experience.
Academics
| Course | Claremont Credits | Semester Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Course: Brazil in the Bahian Context | 1.0 | 4 |
| Intensive Portuguese | 1.0 | 4 |
| TOTALS | 2.0 | 8 |
The Pitzer in Brazil Experience
Learn more about student experiences and get a taste of the sights and explorations you may experience during your summer in Brazil.
Explore Gallery gallery_thumbnail
Pitzer Perspectives
"The most valuable thing to me was improving my comfort and knowledge of Portuguese through forming amazing life-long relationships with my host family and friends that were so supportive and patient with my learning."
Juliana Jaasma ‘26
she/her
Organizational Studies major
Start Your Journey - Apply Now
Ready to experience Brazil through language, community, and Afro-Brazilian history and culture? Follow the links below for detailed program information, application deadlines, and instructions on how to apply.
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Immersion, Dialogue, Discovery: Inside the Brazil Study Abroad Program
Community engagement and meaningful connections are the keys to Pitzer student experiences of Brazil's rich culture
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- Director of Pitzer Programs
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