Residential Life Program

Life at UWC Costa Rica is Safe, Exciting, and Diverse.

Community living is central to the UWC Costa Rica experience. Learning from each other means living with peers from around the world with different backgrounds and points of view is a unique way to gain insight into other cultures and perspectives. The Residential Life Program at UWC Costa Rica uses an experiential learning approach to empower students as agents of change. Students learn and live together, creating a community built on diversity.

Eight Day Residence Coordinators and two Night Coordinators support the students’ daily lives at UWC Costa Rica, along with seven other residential staff. The team is integrated by various professionals who support the students living with balance and paying attention to their physical and mental well-being. The team is integrated by licensed psychologists, nurses, paramedics, physical trainers, educators, and a doctor, among others, so our students are supported in an integral manner that ensures they are both safe and informed about how to lead healthy, balanced lifestyles. Wellness activities, such as outings, camps, excursions, movie nights, dinners, meditations, and exercise activities, are regularly organized to ensure students feel supported and guided in their academic and social journey with us.

Residential Life Experiences

The Experiences Initiative is designed to foster community engagement, support holistic student development, and promote a vibrant and inclusive living environment. Each project's core objectives and tasks showcase the institution's dedication to nurturing its students and building a thriving educational community.

Residence Assistants are a support system for students. Their main focus is the holistic development of the students through close interaction and mutual collaboration. "RAs" are selected by all the residence members and function as representatives and main collaborators with each adult Residence Coordinator.
Building Sustainable Habits encourages a sense of responsibility and self-management among students at UWC Costa Rica through individual meetings, restorative action, cleaning duties, daily check-ins, and other activities
Community Wellbeing Activities develops a preventive culture space in the residential area during the afternoons for students' comprehensive well-being.
Building Residence Identity cultivates a strong and distinctive identity within each residential space. This project aims to create a dynamic and inclusive living environment where students feel connected, supported, and proud to call their residence home.
Host Families is a volunteer project that allows participating students and local families to enrich themselves through cultural exchange. The host family becomes a key part of the emotional support network that students can have during their two years of stay in our country by welcoming them to their homes, offering constant communication, and hosting them during vacation periods.

Residences

Students live in one of the eight residences on campus, each named after one of the most iconic beaches of Costa Rica. Residences are mostly divided by gender, with a mix of non-binary/mixed residences. Every residence has its residence coordinator, a responsible adult living on campus who provides direct assistance and support for the students. Residence meetings, a series of topics, activities, and conversations within a healthy network of adults they can rely on or seek support from when needed, are also routinely held for the community.

Wellness Support

The Wellness Support Initiative aims to effectively support the mental, physical, and emotional health of all UWC Costa Rica community members through various projects, resources, and activities. The Wellness team strives to promote healthy lifestyles, resilience, and personal development, ultimately contributing to a thriving campus environment.

Emotional Support offers a deeply personalized approach to mental health support. It emphasizes individualized care and fosters a safe, empathetic space where students feel heard, understood, and supported.

Transition and Adaptation create safe spaces where students can process the different experiences that life's changes and transitions bring while strengthening social connections, developing self- and social awareness, and preparing for upcoming challenges with empowerment, consciousness, and a sense of purpose.

Wellness and Learning Support

Wellness and Learning support aims to promote the overall well-being and academic success of individuals by creating and participating in “one-on-one” and group spaces and programs. These spaces address the diverse needs of individuals and help create an environment that fosters personal development, mental health, and academic achievement.

The Student Academic Success System for Youth (SASSY) project is a UWC Costa Rica innovation that identifies possible candidates’ academic and emotional backgrounds to devise strategies to support future students and define the steps needed for them to prepare for the UWC Costa Rica experience. This project is a collaboration between the Residential Life and Academic Programs.

The Student's Internal Support project combines counseling, academic support, and wellness initiatives to create a supportive and conducive environment for personal and academic development.

Medical Support

UWC Costa Rica provides quality medical care with specialized resources and technology for the comprehensive health of the students and staff. It promotes humanism, development, innovation, and excellence in its staff to achieve patient safety, satisfaction, and trust.

The medical team coordinates with nearby private hospitals and has an agreement with LABIMED to perform laboratory tests on campus. They also collaborate with a dental clinic for dental emergencies and arrange appointments with specialists when necessary. In cases of illness or injury, students are cared for by the nurse or paramedic on duty and may be referred to the college's doctor or specialists. Medical personnel are notified through emergency telephone numbers or school staff members in emergencies.

The college's medical team comprises health professionals licensed in Costa Rica, including part-time doctors with telephone-based consultations available at any time and physical evaluations four days a week at campus. Nurses manage the daily operations of the medical support team, maintain students' and staff's medical records, and promote good health measures. Paramedics are available to monitor students' health and respond to emergencies when nurses are not on duty, usually during weekends or overnight shifts, and ambulance service is available at any time, providing transportation to local medical facilities and providing doctors to campus for emergencies.