Students at an advanced level of Spanish will take courses at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso with local students and can choose from hundreds of courses offered from a wide variety of departments including history, business, art, geography, literature, psychology, education, religious studies, sciences and many more.

All students must take a Spanish language placement exam upon arrival in Valparaíso. The exam will indicate each student's language proficiency level, and will determine the Spanish courses in which the student is eligible to enroll.

Students are required to enroll in at least one "regular" course with locals and 3-4 additional courses of their choice. Students have the option of taking any course offered with international students through the Spanish Language & Chilean Culture program. However, in order to optimize the academic rigor of this program, ISA strongly recommends that students enroll primarily in regular courses with locals.

Please note that there are two different types of courses with locals offered at the PUCV -- General and Regular. Regular courses were designed for native Spanish speakers and the majority of students enrolled in them are locals. General courses, on the other hand, were originally designed with international students in mind; they are less challenging, more tailored to students who place into lower levels of Spanish language, worth less credit hours, and generally have more international students than locals enrolled.

All courses are held at the main campus of the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso and are taught by host university faculty. Classmates are international and local students.

Students who do not wish to enroll in at least one regular course with locals will be required to switch to the Spanish Language & Chilean Culture program.

Students may also add an Intensive February Month to the Spring/Year program for a discounted price. Contact the ISA office for further details.

*prices and dates are subject to change

Minimum GPA

Students must have a minimum grade point average of 2.50.

Minimum Admissions Prerequisites

Students must have completed or tested out of a minimum of four semesters (six quarters) of college-level Spanish.