Eligibility
- 18 years of age or above
- Good academic and disciplinary standing at Penn State
- 2.75 cumulative GPA or better at the time of application
- Sophomore standing or above at the start of the program
- 4 semesters of college-level Spanish language or equivalent
- Completed SPAN 200 or equivalent
Program Description
The Language and Culture program in partnership with the University of Virginia offers a wide variety of courses in Spanish language, literature, history, art history, and culture taught in Spanish by Spanish faculty. Through living with a host family, their language partner program, service learning (semesters only), and cultural activities and trips students will improve their fluency in Spanish and get to experience firsthand the vibrant culture of Spain.
Dates
Fall: early September - mid December
Spring: early January - late April
Refer to UVA Valencia's website for the specific dates, if available.
Location
The city gracefully mixes new and old, with modern public services, business establishments, and leisure attractions, all moving against a backdrop of historically important civic and religious buildings, monuments and museums. Among these are the Fine Arts Museum, Modern Art Museum, Ceramics Museum, Taurine Museum, Fallas Museum, City of Arts and Sciences.
Valencia is the third largest city in Spain, and has a population of nearly 800,000. It is a coastal city on the Mediterranean and is surrounded by immense beaches. Because the regional climate is so mild (yearly average temperature 73 °F), it is quite pleasant to visit the beaches during the greater part of the year.
Valencia is well located with respect to other interesting cities in Spain. There are good continuous connections to these cities. Valencia is also the natural stepping stone that connects the Iberian Peninsula with the Balearic Islands: Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.
Education Abroad in Countries with a Penn State Restricted Travel Designation
In order to comply with Penn State’s International Travel Policy, students interested in studying abroad in countries that Penn State has designated as “restricted” for travel, a petition for a waiver must be submitted. Once a petition is complete, and if the student is approved for study on the program in question, the student may be asked to meet with the Director of Education Abroad and the petition will be reviewed by the Penn State International Restricted Travel Committee (IRTC). The necessary petition will be included in the online application process for this program. To see if your program is taking place in a restricted travel country, please visit the Penn State Global website.