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Spanish for the Professions Education Abroad Guide

Mountains in theTorres del Paine National Park, Chile
CU Boulder Education Abroad offers over 400 programs in over 70 countries! You can go abroad for a semester, year, 2-12 weeks in the summer, or even winter break. Going abroad is strongly encouraged by the Spanish department. Use the following information as a general guideline to plan your time abroad, and connect with your academic advisor as well. Work with Education Abroad advisors to get more details on how to get started, discuss your program options, and next steps. 

Quick Facts

  • Go abroad during your junior year. Sophomore year is also possible but less common
  • Programs are available for students at various Spanish levels, but most majors will go abroad after taking Spanish 3000 at CU.
  • The most common major requirements taken abroad are upper-division electives, 4000-level electives, and area studies courses.. If possible, save some of these courses for education abroad.
  • Note that education abroad courses cannot count towards a Business minor.
  • Use the Course Approvals List to find programs that offer courses approved for the credit you need

Planning and When to Go

  • First-year: Start planning for education abroad! Start progression with the language sequence courses as soon as you can.
  • Sophomore: Continue with your language progression.Education abroad during sophomore year is less common, but possible. If you go abroad before completing SPAN 3000, be certain that any language courses you take abroad are pre-approved and allow for continued progression. Also, be aware of the language placement test that is usually required upon arrival abroad (if you place lower than anticipated, you course plans might be impacted). 
  • Junior: Go abroad! This is a good year for education abroad as you will likely be finished with the 3000-level sequence and better able to communicate in the language abroad.
  • Senior: Education abroad as a senior is only recommended if you have already complete all required language courses (or have a realistic plan to finish the sequence upon return in your final semester). Work closely with your advisor to ensure that you can get all of your requirements completed.
    Be sure that you know when the credits may be transcripted, as this can delay your official graduation date.

What Kind of Credit Can You Earn Abroad?

Usually Doable Tricky Probably Not
General Electives  A&S Gen Ed SPAN A&S Gen Ed SPAN A&S Gen Ed SPAN
Overall credit hours  Arts and Humanities, Natural Science (Non-Lab), Social Sciences Upper-division SPAN electives
 		 Global Diversity SPAN 3100, 
SPAN 3030, SPAN 4060		 Natural Science (Lab), Written Communication SPAN 4150/4160, 4170/4180
 

Suggested Programs

Use these links to find programs that may be a good match for you and your course needs.
   

Additional Resources

Last Updated March 2023