The university that Pitt has paired with for this trip is called Austral university (Fun fact: Austral means south, thus part of the reason Australia is named such). Today we visited the campus in Pillar City and listened to a few professors from the university speak. It was a very cool experience, especially because the university works differently than universities that we’re used to in the U.S.

One of the biggest differences is the living situations. In the U.S., many campuses offer housing, and it’s a big factor when it comes to choosing a college. However, in Argentina, they don’t offer campus-affiliated housing at all. Students either commute from home or find a “flat” located nearby. Another general difference between college in the two countries involves tuition. In both countries students have the option to choose between private or public (state) schools. Also, in both countries, private schools are more expensive than public schools, because they rely on tuition fees from the students, as well as donations from the public or former alumni, fundraising, etc. When it comes to public schools in the states, tuition is cheaper, but can still be pricey. In Argentina, public schools are free, completely funded by the government.

Austral University is much younger than the University of Pittsburgh. While the University of Pittsburgh has been around for 232 years, the university of Austral is only about 40 years old. In addition, it’s a bit smaller than Pitt, with more limited programs. The psychology and nutrition programs were just added last year, and the other schools include the school of business, medicine, nursing, engineering, and design. It also has a smaller student body. There are only 6,000 students that go to the University of Austral, while the University of Pittsburgh educates 4 times as more. Finally, while the University of Pittsburgh works closely with UPMC and all the hospitals it owns, the University of Austral has its own hospital for students to learn in. Similarly, to UPMC though, it’s rapidly growing and expanding.

After the few lectures we had today, we took a bus tour through the different neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. It has been a long day, but it was a great learning experience. I’m excited to eat dinner and tour the Hospital Universidad Austral itself tomorrow!