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Spanish & Portuguese Language & Culture Education Abroad Guide

Spanish hillside
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 Language and Literature 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.
  • 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 and complete SPAN 3000 as soon as possible. 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). Note that the following two major requirements must be taken on the CU Boulder campus: 4150/4160 and 4170/4180. 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/ PORT A&S Gen Ed SPAN/ PORT A&S Gen Ed SPAN/ PORT
Overall credit hours  Arts and Humanities, Natural Science (Non-Lab), Social Sciences Upper-division SPAN/ PORT electives  
 		 Global Diversity Hispanic linguistics, SPAN 3100,  SPAN 3120 
 		 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