Study Abroad | Department of Spanish and Portuguese

Study Abroad Options

Students are strongly encouraged to add an international dimension to their undergraduate education through studying abroad. By participating in a study abroad program, students earn credits toward their degree.

The following are study abroad options for Pitt undergraduates in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries:

Panther Programs:	Term
Global Service Learning: Bolivia	Spring Break
Global Service Learning: Puerto Rico	Spring Break
International Internship program: Madrid (Spain)	Summer
Pitt in Bolivia: Culture, Society, and Health	Summer
Pitt in Spain	Summer, Semester

In 2024 The University of Pittsburgh will be offering the following programs in Brazil, Bolivia, and Ecuador:

https://abroad.pitt.edu/bolivia

https://abroad.pitt.edu/classeminar

https://abroad.pitt.edu/energy

https://abroad.pitt.edu/digitalnarratives

University of Pittsburgh students can also choose from a variety of study abroad experiences in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries through ISA.

For more information on study abroad, please contact the Global Experiences Office.

Study Abroad Experiences

View our "Undergraduate Study Abroad Experiences" Flickr album. If you want to submit your study abroad photos to be featured, please contact Erin Delaney.

Study Abroad Guidelines

If you choose to study abroad in a program other than the ones sponsored by the department, then you should obtain prior departmental approval of those courses in order to have them count toward your Spanish major or minor. To do so, you should schedule a meeting with an undergraduate adviser -- and make sure to do this well in advance of your intended departure date.

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

Course overview or syllabus
Number of contact hours (a minimum of 45 hours is required)
The fact that Spanish is the language of instruction
The contract you receive after meeting with the Global Experiences Office staff.

* To document 1-3, please bring materials from the foreign university (web printouts are acceptable).

Play It Safe

Get approval for more courses than you expect to take; this way, you will save yourself some trouble in case some courses get canceled once you are abroad.

To help you narrow down your choices, remember that for a course taken at a foreign university to be validated, it has to be taught in Spanish and meet the following minimum requirements:

SPAN 0001, 0002, and 0015: 75 contact hours
SPAN 0003 and higher: 45 contact hours

Credits in Residence at Pitt

Remember that Spanish majors must take a minimum of eighteen (18) credits of the thirty-eight (38) required for the major in residence at the University of Pittsburgh. Spanish 0055, Spanish 1806, and one upper-level elective must be included in these eighteen (18) credits. Minors must take at least nine (9) credits in residence, including one upper-level course. So, even if more courses are eventually approved in your study abroad contract, you will only be able to transfer as many credits toward the major or the minor as the in-residence rules allow.

Once You Are Abroad

Enjoy! And let a departmental advisor know if there is any change in your plans. More often than not, some of the courses you plan to take will be canceled, and replacements must be identified. If this occurs, or if you decide to drop a pre-approved course and add a replacement, to ensure that a new course will count, check the course with an adviser via e-mail. Keep a copy of all the correspondence.

How to Register for Pitt Classes 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 online.

Upon your return

Please bring a copy of your foreign university transcript and give them to the department so that you can get credit for your work. Until the copy is in your file, the department will not be able to certify you for graduation. In addition, if you took courses other than those listed on your Global Experiences Office contract and you discussed them with an adviser via e-mail, please bring copies of those e-mail exchanges. This will help the adviser prepare the crediting in an expedited manner.