Study Abroad
Students at the University of Maryland are encouraged to study abroad. The Department sponsors and/or participates in academic semester and summer programs in Mexico, Spain, and Brazil.
Ecuador
Winter term in Quito and Cuenca: Andean Spaces - Traversing the Colonial City and the Natural World
SPAN 448E In this program, students can explore the history and cultures of Ecuador from the colonial period to the onset of independence. By studying the socio-spatial configuration of the colonial city as exemplified by Quito and Cuenca, we will open a window into the transcultural aspects of artistic, architectonical, and cultural manifestations of Ecuador. Classes are held at the Universidad de San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) and the Instituto Santiago de Quito (ISQ). Numerous visits to museums, churches, and cultural institutions within Quito will complement classes. Other excursions include: a day trip to the Indian Market of Otavalo, a half-day trip to the equator, and an overnight trip to the City of Cuenca to visit Riobamba, the Chimborazo volcano, Ingapirka ruins, etc. Although the language of instruction will be English, participants will stay with local Quiteño families providing full room and board or housed in dormitories while traveling. For more information, visit the Study Abroad Website
Mexico
Summer: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Taxco
The University of Maryland System, (UMS) in collaboration with the Centro de Enseñanza para Extranjeros (CEPE) of the Universidad Autónoma de México (UNAM), offers an intensive Spanish language program in Taxco, Mexico, that is open to university students as well as to teachers of Spanish. Applicants should have completed minimum elementary Spanish.
For more information visit the Study Abroad website
Spain
Semester Program: Maryland in Alcalá
Based at the University of Alcalá, the Maryland-in-Alcalá program is open to all UM students, as well as students from other accredited American universities. Students on the program take language courses at Alcalingua, the Spanish language division of the University of Alcalá, in addition to six credits of coursework with Maryland's Resident Faculty Director. Students also choose to either enroll directly in content courses at the University of Alcalá or pursue a credit-bearing internship. In order to qualify for the program, applicants must have completed two years of college-level Spanish (or the equivalent).
The Maryland-in-Alcalá program is only available for the Spring Semester.
Winter term in Spain: Cultures of the Contact Zone - Seville, Al-Andalus, and the Atlantic World
SPAN 225 / HONR 248E / SPAN 699 / CORE
Drawing from the cultural mosaic of the city of Seville and its surrounding region, students enrolled in Cultures of the Contact Zone will explore the Mediterranean and Transatlantic contexts that have influenced and shaped Spain’s history, identity, cultural and artistic expressions. Students will analyze the so-called convivencia period, when Jews, Muslims, and Christians co-existed in medieval Spain, aiming to understand the repercussions of this legacy. We will also examine the flourishing of the Spanish empire, its expansion towards the Atlantic islands and the New World and how this process changed the Old World forever.
Classes will combine lectures, discussions, readings, and to allow students to interact with the local culture and living history of the convivencia. Students will stay with local Spanish families and in hotels.
For more information, visit the Study Abroad Office website
Summer: Salamanca & Barcelona
Maryland's Department of Spanish and Portuguese, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, in cooperation with El Colegio Hispano Continental and International House-Barcelona, is conducting a six-week intensive summer program in Salamanca and Barcelona. The program seeks to develop students' language proficiency in Spanish and introduce them to the culture and life of Spain through active participation in academic courses, interaction with families, as well as excursions throughout the cities and surrounding countryside.
Salamanca is in the northwest region of central Spain, near the Portuguese border and two hours from Madrid, the capital. With two universities, two cathedrals and many palaces and churches, Salamanca balances the pace of contemporary university life with its historic and cultural status as a centuries-old city.
Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is 2002 years old and rivals Madrid as the industrial and business center of Spain. After its refurbishment for the 1992 Summer Olympics, it has become one of Europe's most modern and beautiful cities. It offers the perfect mix of old and new, ranging from its gothic architecture to a number of modern beach resorts.
For more information, visit the Study Abroad website
Brazil
Summer-Brazil: Environmental Conservation and Indigenous Peoples
The course will address biodiversity concepts, tropical forest ecology, conservation of Amazonia, and the role of the indigenous Kayapo in the protection of their lands.
The Amazon basin is the largest remaining tract of tropical rainforest in the world. A number of indigenous groups of the Brazilian Amazon now participate in arrangements of partnering with outside entities, intended to increase security of their lands. Students will visit and work with one such innovative partnership in which indigenous peoples participate at every level of decision-making and knowledge-sharing.
Kayapo territories now represent one of the largest remaining stretches of neotropical rainforest in the world. The Kayapo are best known for their precedent-setting triumph in garnering international support to halt plans to build a large hydroelectric project in 1988.
The Pinkaiti Research Station has been in Aukre, center of the indigenous area Kayapo, for 15 years. During this time, researchers have studied the sustainability of local hunting practices and their impact on fauna. In a rare partnership with Pinkaiti, the University of Maryland has arranged for a small class of students to visit this reserve, live among the Kayapo, and be taught by them along with researchers.
Exchanges in Brazil
University of Maryland students interested in exchange programs to Brazil are eligible to study at:
Students interested in studying Health, Special Education or Disability Policy can also apply to study at:For more information, visit the Study Abroad website.