Programs and Courses Abroad

The Salamanca Program at the Universidad de Salamanca

The Study Abroad Programme in Spain offers Dalhousie students the possibility of studying foursix, or ten-week programs in one of the oldest universities in Europe, the prestigious Universidad de Salamanca, founded in 1218. The program offers an intensive study of the Spanish language and classes in Spanish language, culture, literature, history, art, business, and cinema. Students have the option to live with host families in university residence halls or apartments.

To apply, students must have completed an intermediate level of Spanish (SPAN 2021.03 and SPAN 2022.03, SPAN 2035 or equivalent) with at least a standing grade of B-. Dalhousie University will grant to those students who successfully complete their classes in Spain up to:

  • eighteen credit hours to those students who successfully complete their classes in Spain for ten-week,
  • twelve credit hours for the six-week and,
  • six credit hours for the four-week program.

Why Salamanca:

Salamanca is an ancient university town situated in the west of Spain in the Autonomous Communities of Castilla and León. Among the various virtues of this city, the study abroad program in Salamanca, run by Cursos Internacionales, intends to highlight its lively, young, and dynamic atmosphere. It has one of the first universities in Europe, which makes it a unique location to learn Spanish.

 

Salamanca is vibrant. You can feel it as you walk down its streets, full of young people at any time of day or night throughout the year. Salamanca was one of the first cities to understand that bars and night-time establishments were also venues to relax, meet people, and experience different emotions and that the aesthetic of the bar plays a significant role in this.

Mysterious venues are full of fantasy that is well worth discovering. Salamanca is a pioneer when it comes to its concert calendar. An unending array of local, national, and international artists and groups have played at its many musical venues. This is one of the characteristics of the city’s nightlife.

All the students of Cursos Internacionales will enjoy the best conditions and many benefits when accessing different services offered by Salamanca City Hall, thanks to the Salamanca Ciudad del Español student card.

To enjoy all these benefits, students can obtain their cards at the Salamanca Ciudad del Español Student Service Ofice (18 Main Square, Salamanca).

Description of the Courses:

The courses follow a methodology based on communication and active learning of Spanish in small groups of students.

Compulsory course For Four, Six, And Ten-Week Program (2 Hours Daily):

  • Spanish Language / Lengua Española

This course aims to improve students’ fluency in Spanish, paying special attention to grammar and vocabulary. Following a communicative and functional approach, the course offers students a wide range of tasks and activities that familiarize them with real communicative contexts.

At least ten days before the start of the course, the student will have to take an online classification test that they will receive by email.

Optional Subjects

For the four-week program, in addition to the Spanish Language/ Lengua española class (compulsory), Dalhousie students can choose up to one optional course. Do the same with up to two optional courses. from a wide range of courses for a total of 6 Dalhousie credits.

For the six-week program, in addition to the Spanish Language/ Lengua española class (compulsory), Dalhousie students can choose up to two optional courses from a wide range of courses for a total of 12 Dalhousie credits.

For the ten-week program, in addition to the Spanish Language/Lengua española class (compulsory), Dalhousie students can choose up to three optional courses from a wide range of options for a total of 18 Dalhousie credits.

Group 1

  • Conversation and Composition / Conversación y Redacción

During this course, students work on their writing and speaking skills by analyzing and producing different written and oral texts.

  • Spanish History/ Historia de España

This course introduces and analyses the different periods, facts, and relevant figures that, from Prehistory to current days, have been building the multicultural History of Spain. Practical approach through images, texts, and documents.

  • Contemporary Spanish History / Historia de la España Contemporánea (Only in the Summer – 6 weeks) 

In this course, students analyze the most relevant events and figures from the 20th century and understand their repercussions on modern Spain.

  • Spanish For Business / Español de los Negocios (Only in the Summer – 6 weeks)

This course is designed for students who need to go deep into Spanish, more specifically, focusing on the variety of languages used for business. Particular emphasis on specific vocabulary regarding this area and the main language skills within this domain.

Group 2

  • Spanish Culture / Cultura Española

This course aims to help the student understand the different aspects of Spanish culture. The program includes information about geographic, political, and historical aspects and the customs, behavior, and values that form a part of the Spanish character.

  • Oral Skills Practice / Prácticas de Destrezas Orales

During this course, students will develop their listening and speaking skills through guided activities which reproduce a variety of real communicative contexts.

  • Spanish and Latin American Literature / Literatura Española e Hispanoamericana

This course offers a general overview of Spanish and Latin American literature. Along this course, students get familiar with the different literary movements and the works of the most relevant writers.

Group 3

  • Written Skills Practice/ Prácticas de Destrezas Escritas

With this class, students will learn to use their writing skills as a communicative tool. They will improve their writing through reading comprehension and the production of different exts.

  • Spanish and Latin American Cinema / Cine Español e Hispanoamericano

This course aims to analyze in detail the narrative strategies thanks to which cinema can be defined as an artistic expression. For that purpose, students will view and study a set of films from Spain and Latin America, fillmed in different periods.

  • Spanish Art / Arte Español

With this course, students learn the main periods and trends of Spanish art through History. During the course, students analyze the most important artworks (paintings, sculptures, and architecture) of the Spanish heritage.

 

Course Equivalencies Examples:

The following is an example of the equivalences; however, it can be changed depending on what the student is pursuing:

Courses

Credit hours

Equivalence

Spanish Language

9 credit hours

Spanish language 3000 and 2000 levels like 2005, 3005, 3035, or 3036

Conversation and Composition

3 credit hours

Spanish language 3000 level like 3005, 3190.

Spanish History or Contemporary Spanish History

3 credit hours

Spanish civilization at 2000 level, like 2100

Spanish Culture

3 credit hours

Spanish Culture at 3000 and 2000 levels like 3520, 3000, or 2105.

Spanish and Latin American Literature

 

3 credit hours

Spanish and American culture or civilization at the 2000 level. This is not equivalent to any of the literature courses we have in our programs.

Oral Skills Practice

3 credit hours

Spanish language at the 3000, like 3190 or 3005 level.

Written Skills Practice

3 credit hours

Spanish language at the 3000 level, like 3005.

Spanish and Latin American Cinema

3 credit hours

Spanish culture or 2150 or 2155.

Spanish for Business

3 credit hours

2140

Spanish Art 

3 credit hour

Spanish Culture at 2000 level

 

 

Registration:

  • Choose the courses you would like to take and the duration of the program ( four, six, or then weeks).
  • Check with the Spanish and Latin American Advisor if the courses and the equivalences you choose are the best to suit your degree. Contact the Spanish Advisor, Magali Dam-Mazzi.
  • Prepare the LOP ( Letter of Permission). Be sure to follow all the steps
  • Send the LOP
  • Register in the courses at Cursos Internacionales. Click here to register and select only the FOUR, SIX or TEN WEEKS option.

Accommodation 2023 /2024:

As a mere intermediary, Cursos Internacionales helps the students who so wish with their accommodation management. Cursos Internacionales carefully selects families from Salamanca who host students in a single or double room and provide a full board homestay in accordance with their terms. For more information about this and prices Click here.

Before going to Salamanca:

Before coming to Salamanca, students will have to register and send a request for accommodation. Students must pay tuition fees before the beginning of the course. Students also must check if they need a visa to visit Spain.

Click here for further information.

Undergraduate Academic Supervisor:

Magali Dam-Mazzi

Phone: 902-494-1082
Email: Magali.Dam-Mazzi@Dal.CaSpanadv@dal.ca

 

The Cuba Program at FLACSO/Havana

This program is given by FLACSO/Havana and generally takes place in the winter term. All course work is conducted in the Spanish language. Students must have completed SPAN 2021.03: Intermediate Spanish and SPAN 2022.03: Advanced Intermediate Spanish, or equivalent with at least a standing of B-. See course descriptions for INTD 3301.03, INTD 3302.03, INTD 3303.03, INTD 3304.03, and INTD 3306.06 in the International Development Studies Section of this Calendar. Students are able to receive either INTD or SPAN credits. For more information, please contact the Department of International Development Studies.

The Mexico Program at the University of Campeche

This program, designed for students with a minimum of two years’ university-level Spanish, is located at the Universidad Autónoma de Campeche, in the southwest of the Yucatán peninsula, in Mexico. Students must have completed SPAN 2021.03: Intermediate Spanish and SPAN 2022.03: Advanced Intermediate Spanish, or equivalent with at least a standing of B-. It started in the Fall of 1998, and is administered by the university’s Centro de Español y Maya. Students can be located with Mexican families if they desire. They are also encouraged to travel and see the superb Maya architectural sites in the Yucatán region. The city of Campeche, situated on the Caribbean coast, has a population of approximately 190,000. It was founded in 1540. The cities of Halifax and Campeche twinned in 1998, and there have been several educational, political, and commercial exchanges. This program is offered in the fall semester only.

Students will register for courses via Letter of Permission and will receive grades on a Pass/Fail basis. The courses will be noted on the student’s academic record as a transfer credit.

Courses taken at the University of Campeche are:

  • Gramática Intensiva (six credit hours)
  • Vocabulario Intensivo (six credit hours)
  • Historia Mexicana (six credit hours)

The Peru Program at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú

This program takes place during four weeks in July in Lima, at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP). Founded in 1917, today it is among the thirty most important universities in Latin America and occupies the first position in Peru. Students will study Spanish and Peruvian culture courses. The program offers four visits to the main cultural attractions in Lima to provide the subject of discussion in the language course. Students will have a PUCP buddy service to help them adapt to the academic and social life at PUCP as well as to the city of Lima and enrich the learning experience of the Spanish language. Students will stay at Peruvian families' homes where they will find every amenity they need and receive breakfast and dinner. All classwork is conducted in Spanish.

Students must have completed SPAN 2021.03: Intermediate Spanish and SPAN 2022.03: Advanced Intermediate Spanish, or equivalent with at least a standing of B-.

Dalhousie University grants up to 9 credit hours to those students who successfully complete their classes in Peru. Students will register via Letter of Permission and grades will be entered on a Pass/Fail basis. Courses will appear on the student's academic record as transfer credits.

Students will register for the following courses for a total of 9 credit hours:

  • Gramática español a nivel intermedio o avanzado (three credit hours)
  • Conversación en español nivel intermedio o avanzado  (three credit hours)
  • Indroducción a los Estudios Peruanos, solo nivel avanzado (three credit hours)

SPAN 3310.06: Cuban Culture and Society

See course description for INTD 3310.06 in the International Development Studies section of this calendar.