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University of Pittsburgh
Undergraduate

Study Abroad

Overview

Study abroad is strongly encouraged. The department offers a Study Abroad Program in Spain in Alcalá de Henares that is matched directly with Basic and Mid-Level major requirements. A program in Latin America is currently being developed. To learn about the other programs available, contact the Study Abroad Office (stdyabrd@pitt.edu, 412-648-7419).

Study Abroad Guidelines

haciendesIf you choose to study abroad in a program other than the department sponsored ones, then you have to obtain departmental approval to have the courses you take abroad count toward your Spanish major or minor. To do so, you have to schedule a meeting with an undergraduate advisor, and make sure to do it well in advance of your intended departure date.

Come to the meeting prepared. To determine whether a given course offered abroad counts, the advisor needs the following information about it:

  1. Course overview or syllabus
  2. Number of contact hours
  3. The fact that Spanish is the language of instruction
    To document 1–3 please bring material from the foreign university (web printouts are fine)
  4. A contract from the Study Abroad Office (SAO)
    which entails having met with OSA staff.

Play safe

Get approval for more courses than you would actually take; this way you will save yourself some trouble in case some courses get cancelled once you’re abroad.

To help you narrow down your choices, consider that for a course taken at a foreign university to be valid, it has to meet the following minimum requirements:

  • SPAN 01, 02, and 15: 75 contact hours
  • SPAN 03 and higher: 45 contact hours

Once you are abroad

Enjoy! And let a departmental advisor know if there is a change in plans. More often than not, some of the courses you planned to take are cancelled, and replacements have to be found.

To ensure that a new course will count check it with an advisor via e-mail. Keep a copy of all the correspondence.

How to register while you are abroad

E-mail any of your advisors to discuss your enrollment plans, so that he/she can allow you to self-register on-line.

At your return

Please bring a copy of your foreign university transcript and give it to Lucy DiStazio, so that you actually get credit for your work. Until the copy is in your file, the department will not be able to certify you for graduation. Also, if you took courses other than those listed in you SAO contract and you discussed them with an advisor via e-mail, please bring copies of those e-mail exchanges. This will help the advisor do the crediting in an expedited manner.