As universities increase their international study opportunities, enormous potential exists to create geography field courses that provide undergraduates and graduate students with primary research experience and intercultural collaboration. This paper draws from our experience leading a two-week collaborative field course in Panama. We outline our principles of engagement: focus on problem-oriented research; build upon local research; create a reflexive working relationship between host and home scholars; foster student collaboration in multiple study stages, including data collection, analysis and interpretation; and make results available, especially to community stakeholders. We conclude that research-driven, collaborative approaches can result in meaningful learning outcomes.