Is This Program Right for You?

This program is best for students that wish to take courses taught in Spanish and immerse themselves within a Mexican university campus setting.  Students study in Cholula, a suburb of Puebla, Mexico at the Universidad de las Americas Puebla for a semester or a full year. This is an ideal program for intermediate to advanced Spanish language learners who wish to improve their Spanish language skills by taking courses in Spanish with local students and/or courses in Spanish for international students.  See Puebla's website here!

Academics

When studying at the UDLAP, students are expected to take a minimum of 4 courses (24 units) and a maximum of 5 courses (30 units) per semester. Depending on your Spanish proficiency, you may take Spanish courses as a second language offered by the Language Department or content courses offered in Spanish with other international students and/or alongside local Mexican students. 

Students pursuing academic study in Spanish (courses alongside local students taught in Spanish) must receive a qualifying score on the language placement exam. Students can take courses in the Arts, Sciences, and Social Sciences in Spanish.

 

Spanish Courses and Levels

Students will all take a language placement test to determine their Spanish level and the suggested course schedule for the term abroad.  Students that test into the Intermediate Level are recommended to take all Spanish as a second language courses and content courses taught in Spanish for international students.  Courses on topics such as Mexican culture, literature, and history are available.  Students that test into the advanced level are recommended to take Spanish as a second language courses, content courses offered in Spanish for international students, and/or courses alongside local Mexican students from the regular university offerings.  Subject areas that UDLA specializes in include: anthropology, archaeology, political science, communication, journalism, law, psychology, international relations, Mexican/Latin American Studies, multicultural affairs, studio art, dance, literature, language acquisition, engineering, business, science, math, physics, and chemistry.  UDLA recommend that advanced students still take a minimum of two Spanish as a second language courses in order to balance their schedule.

Descriptions of the Spanish language courses and content courses taught in Spanish can be found here on Puebla's website.

Other courses on offer taught in Spanish can be found here on Puebla's website. 

Only a few courses are taught in English at Puebla and they can be found here on Puebla's website.

Student Life

UDLAP's campus occupies 175 landscaped acres on the site of a former hacienda, with views of snow-capped mountains and the legendary volcano, Popocatepetl. The university's colonial-style buildings create a self-contained campus with classrooms, cafeterias, dormitories, and a small lake. Additional facilities include a medical clinic, computer labs, a gym and swimming pool, and bus service to and from the region's capital city of Puebla.  The campus itself is located in the town of Cholula, a town of approximately 200,000 and is a is a suburb of the nearby state capital city of Puebla.  Puebla is home to more than 2 million people.  

Housing and Meals

Study abroad students live in a Residential College on the UDLAP campus during their time in Puebla. Residential Colleges have shared bathrooms and common areas, and every effort is made to place program students with Mexican roommates. Meals are taken in the campus cafeterias.  Living in the dormitories at UDLAP allows students to integrate with local Mexican students and to get an idea of what Mexican student life is like. 

All halls have a secure swipe-card entry system with 24-hour security presence and wireless Internet is available. Residences are fully furnished and equipped with laundry facilities and common areas. There are 4 halls inside campus: Cain Murray, Ray Lindley, Ignacio Bernal and José Gaos. All of them are ideally located for easy access to academic, sport and recreational facilities. Dorms have shared bathrooms and common areas, and every effort is made to place program students with Mexican roommates.

Meals are taken in the campus cafeterias and are provided twice a day from Monday to Friday in the main dining hall and in the 2 cafeterias located around campus.  More information on the various dormitories can be found on Puebla's housing website.