Tufts offers new summer abroad program in Cádiz, Spain

This May, a new five-and-a-half-week study abroad program in Cádiz, Spain will be added to the growing collection of summer language and culture programs offered by Tufts, according to Spanish language and literature lecturerAmy Millay.

According to Spanish lecturer Maria Ester Rincón Calero, the new program is the first of its type for students learning Spanish at Tufts, modeled after the summer abroad program in Talloires, France for students learning French.

Five different courses will be offered, and students will have the opportunity to select two matching their proficiency, Millay said.

According to Millay, course options will include two levels of language courses, two levels of culture courses and one upper-level literature course. The upper-level culture and literature courses will be on Spanish art history and Andalusian literature.

Rincón Calero said that the program will allow for students to interact with the local community in addition to taking classes.

“Students have the opportunity to do volunteer work, which would be a great experience [allowing them] to expose themselves to the Spanish language," Rincón Calero said.

The stay in Cádiz will also focus on cultural learning, according to Millay.

“Each of these courses is designed to take full advantage of the surroundings of Cádiz, including visits to museums, writers' homes, historical sites, etc.,” Millay said. “The curriculum is focused on the rich literary and cultural history of Andalusia, the southern region of Spain, and gives students the unique opportunity to become immersed in the environment they are studying. Homestay will be a key component of the program, and the group will also travel to Madrid, Granada, the Pueblos Blancos and Sevilla.”

Spanish lecturers Marta Rosso-O'Laughlin and Rincón Calero spearheaded the development of this new program, paving the way for the addition of Cádiz to Tufts’ repertoire of study abroad options.

“Our department has been discussing the possibility of starting a summer program for the past couple years. These discussions stemmed from feedback we received from Spanish students,” Millay said.

According to Millay, the planning for the program began last fall, when Rosso-O'Laughlin and Rincón Calera visited the University of Cádiz and decided it would be the ideal location for a Tufts summer abroad program.

“The relationship with Cádiz was developed by faculty from the Spanish program who will be working with the international office of the University of Cádiz to run the program,” Joseph Auner, dean of Academic Affairs for Arts and Sciences, said in an email. “Tufts faculty will be with the students throughout the five-week program and will serve as program coordinators on-site.”

Since then, the Department of Romance Studies has hosted information sessions to gauge interest in the program.

“We hosted two sessions ... that [were] well attended and served as a testament to the need for this type of program,” Millay said.

The summer program was, in part, designed to allow a greater number of Spanish-studying students the opportunity to study abroad, according to Rincón Calero.

“The intent is to help students who cannot study abroad for a semester,” Rincón Calero explained. “If a student can go for a full semester or a full year they should definitely do it… But, there are students who cannot do that, especially students who are pre-health or in the School of Engineering or cannot go abroad because they are pursuing two or three majors.”

The program can accommodate a minimum of seven and a maximum of 20 students, but the final number will not be known until after the applications are reviewed, Rincón Calero said.

Additionally, the Cádiz, Spain summer program will cater to students at varying levels of Spanish proficiency.

“The Cádiz program also gives students the opportunity to go abroad before they complete Spanish 22, which is the requirement to participate in the Tufts in Chile and Tufts in Madrid programs,” Auner said.

The new program has already started to gain the attention of students on campus interested in exploring  more of Spain.

“So far, it seems like we have a lot of interest,” Rincón Calero said. “Cádiz is very well known, but many people go to Madrid, they go to Seville, they go to Grenada, they don’t go to the coast... It’s a very interesting part of the country.”

Auner said he believed that ultimately, the program would provide students and faculty with a culturally and intellectually stimulating experience.

“We hope that [students] are going to have the experience of living with the language,” Rincón Calero said.