Madrid, Spain

Summer Abroad - Madrid, Spain

Immerse yourself in Spanish language, history, and culture during this five-and-a-half-week intensive program in Madrid, Spain's cultural and political capital.

Summer 2025 applications will open on November 1, 2024.

Application Open

November 1, 2024

Early Application Deadline

January 31, 2025

Final Application Deadline

February 15, 2025

Please join us for an information session to learn more about the Penn Summer Abroad Madrid program. Check back for dates and locations.

Thursday, May 23, 2024 Recommended arrival in Madrid
Thursday, May 23, 2024 Program housing check-in date
Friday, May 24, 2024 On-site orientation
Monday, May 27, 2024 Classes start
Friday, June 28, 2024 Classes end
Saturday, June 29, 2024 Program housing last checkout date

All students register for a total of two course units (c.u.)*. Course offerings are subject to change. The minimum requirement to participate in the program is successful completion of SPAN 0400, 0305, 0340 (or equivalent) by the start of the program.

Advanced Spanish 1

SPAN 1000 (1 c.u.)

This course is designed to develop students’ communicative abilities in Spanish as well as their knowledge of Hispanic cultures and societies. Students practice communication through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. All activities are highly interactive and focus mainly on speaking and listening. Students must have fulfilled the language requirement to enroll in this course.

Foundations of Spanish Culture and Civilization

SPAN 1300 (1 c.u.)

A general introduction to the study of Spanish culture, this course is designed to help students understand the historical foundations of contemporary Spanish society, its values, and its institutions. The focus is on the main events of Spanish history and the origins and continuity of social and political institutions from pre-modern Spain up to the beginning of the modern era. This course is offered in the Penn-in-Madrid summer program.

Modern and Contemporary Spanish Literature

SPAN 3430 (1 c.u.)

This course, which complements SPAN 3500, will introduce students to the intersectionality of the main literary, historical, and social currents in modern and contemporary Spain

Madrid: Art and Society

(Term title for Studies in Modern and Contemporary Spanish Culture)

SPAN 3500 (1 c.u.)

This course offers a survey of Spanish modern and contemporary art history, with a special focus on Madrid. (Additionally, we will see some architectonic and artistic examples in various other Spanish cities that students are likely to visit, such as Barcelona, Sevilla, or Toledo). Its main objective is to provide students with a useful tool to explore and understand the city in which they will be living and studying during these weeks. As an introduction, we will examine Madrid’s origins and its important mannerist, baroque, and neoclassic heritage, framing the transformation of the city into the kingdom’s capital during the Hapsburg and early Bourbon reigns. But the core of our course will be the 19th and 20th centuries: Romanticism, Real-Naturalism, Modernism, the Avant-Garde, the impact of the Franco dictatorship on Spanish arts, and its later evolution after the return to constitutional monarchy in 1975. Students will have a very active role in the development of the course, both inside and outside the classroom –touring and reporting on neighborhoods, museums, and important landmarks.

 

Students will live in apartment-style housing.

Tuition and fees are subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and may change without notice. Tuition and fees below reflect rates for 2024 or estimated rates for 2025. Rates for summer 2025 programs will be available in spring 2024.

  • Tuition for summer 2024: $5,200/c.u. General fee: $448. Total: $10,848
  • Program fee for summer 2024: $3,150
    • Penn Summer Abroad deposits ($500) will be credited to students’ accounts when final program costs are posted
    • Includes administrative costs, accommodation including kitchen, and all group activities and excursions
    • Program fee does not include airfare

Download: Estimated Cost Sheet for 2024 (PDF)

Penn Summer Abroad disclaimer

The running of all 2025 Penn Summer Abroad programs is dependent on approval from the Committee on Travel Risk Assessment (CTRA). Please be advised, CTRA approval may also be rescinded at any time prior to the running of the program. Programs may also be canceled independently of the CTRA process. Any of these scenarios would result in your summer 2025 Penn Summer Abroad Program not moving forward. All PSA students are strongly encouraged to consider the consequences if their summer 2025 program is canceled for any reason. Cancellations carry financial risks as well as academic risks, including the potential impact on academic progress.

Contact information

For details about the program, courses, or location including academic advising, travel dates, housing, and orientation:

Óscar E. Montoya

Program Director
Dr. Óscar E. Montoya
University of Pennsylvania
Tel: (215) 898-5626
omontoya@sas.upenn.edu

For assistance with the application, financial questions, pre-departure, or other general information:

Penn Summer Abroad Office

Penn Summer Abroad Office
College of Liberal and Professional Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Fisher-Bennett Hall, Room 101
3340 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19104-3335
Tel: (215) 573-7016
summerabroad@sas.upenn.edu


*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). A course unit (c.u.) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A c.u. (or a fraction of a c.u.) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One c.u. is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course.