For more than forty years, the WFU Salamanca Semester program has been offering students the opportunity to develop advanced language skills at one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Europe. The program runs both fall and spring semesters. It begins with an orientation to the beautiful city of Salamanca in the heart of Castile. It includes, over the course of the semester, guided, in-depth visits to the capital region (Madrid, Toledo, Segovia), Andalusia (Cordoba, Granada, Seville), and the Atalantic coast in Fall (Santiago de Compostela, Coruña, Rias Baixas) or a trip to Barcelona in Spring (including visits to Burgos and Zaragoza).
The program costs the same as a semester on campus. All expenses, including trips, books, and airfare up to $1500, are included. Students’ immersion experience is enhanced by homestays with host families selected by Cursos Internacionales of the University of Salamanca.

Students participating on the WFU/Salamanca program are required to obtain a visa prior to the program’s start date.  To help students and families understand the Spanish visa process, the Center for Global Programs and Studies has created a useful website.

Students should also check their passport’s expiration date and ensure that it will be valid for at least 6 months after the program’s end date.  If students need to renew their passport, they should visit the U.S. Department of State’s passport website for information on this process.  Students can also contact their study abroad advisor with any questions about this.

Salamanca is a cosmopolitan university city approximately two hours northwest of Madrid. Students come to the city from all over Europe to study at the university, which was designated a University of Excellence for the Teaching of Spanish in 2017 by the European Union.

The city itself has some of the most stunning architecture in Spain. The cathedral, plaza, and major buildings are constructed of a local sandstone that glows golden at dawn and sunset. University buildings, some of which date back to the year 1218 (when the University Salamanca was founded), include a recently-restored plateresque façade famous for its whimsical carvings.

Portugal and other parts of Spain are easily accessible from Salamanca. Students routinely visit Lisbon, Valencia, Seville, Madrid, and Barcelona.

Students in the Immersion Program typically take 4-6 courses during a semester in Salamanca.

SPA 304 Intensive Spanish (3h) is required and includes the group excursions to sites around Spain. This course may count towards the major/minor and is team-taught by the Resident Professor and the Salamanca Cultural Instructor.

Students may also elect to do an internship (SPA 199). Internships are Pass/Fail and do not count towards a Spanish major or minor.

Remaining courses are chosen from the following course list. All courses are taught in Spanish.

All academic courses are scheduled Monday through Thursday, leaving three-day weekends for exploring the city or travel to other destinations.

A WFU faculty member from the Department of Spanish serves as the semester or year resident professor. The resident professor teaches and oversees the academic aspect of the program. Two WFU staff members (both Spanish) serve as permanent administrators of the program. The On-site Director (Javier García Garrido) oversees logistical aspects of the program. The Cultural Instructor (Fernando Díaz) guides tours and leads cultural activities. The Resident Professor, On-site Director, and Cultural Instructor accompany students on the excursions included in the program.

Resident Professors:

Spring 2025: Sara Fernandez Cuenca, fernans@wfu.edu
Fall 2025: Irma Alarcon, alarcoi@wfu.edu
Spring 2026: Tiffany Judy, judyte@wfu.edu

All students participating in the WFU/Salamanca program are required to live in program-provided housing. WFU/Salamanca housing consists of homestays or a room within a university residence hall. In homestays, students live with a local host family. Only one student is hosted per family. Students will have a private bedroom, but they may share a bathroom. In the residence hall, students live in single bedrooms with shared common space in the building.  NOTE: Accommodations you may have on campus do not automatically transfer to abroad and certain housing accommodations (single rooms and private bathrooms, for example) may not be available.

The homestay allows for full cultural and language immersion. Families are selected by Cursos Internacionales of the University of Salamanca. Homestays include 3 meals/day and weekly laundry.  

The residence hall costs an additional fee of $2000. The residence hall includes 3 meals/day.

Over the course of the semester, students travel together with the resident professor and on-site team on a variety of excursions. Destinations include cities in central Spain, Andalusia, and northern Spain. These trips total approximately seventeen days and enable students to explore places of cultural and historical interest that they have been studying.

Sites that may be visited range from Christian and Islamic palaces (the Alcázar, the Alhambra, the Escorial) to medieval and modern cathedrals (the Giralda, the Valle de los Caídos) to ancient ruins and modern wineries (the Segovia aqueduct, Hacienda Zorita Natural Reserve Winery), to local restaurants and world-class museums (the Prado and the Guggenheim).

The program also includes tickets to plays, films, and dance performances and several long weekends which students may use for personal travel.

Program trips are an integral and mandatory component of the program. Do not make plans for personal travel without first consulting this calendar of trips for the semester.

Students must have the equivalent of 5 semesters of Spanish (SPA 280 or 303) and a GPA of 2.75 or higher to be eligible for the program. Applicants from all career paths are welcome. Preference will be given to those with a serious commitment to language immersion.

Early application is recommended. The program fills quickly and is limited to 25 students.

Students pay regular Wake Forest tuition, room and board. This covers the total cost of the program including tuition and fees, room and board, laundry, books, all group activities (including excursions), airfare, and internet.

Students are responsible for personal travel and expenses.

Scholarships are available through GPS and from outside organizations. Find further information at: 
https://studyabroad.wfu.edu/funding/#Summer%20Scholarship

Passport Information
Students need to check their passport’s expiration date and ensure that it will be valid for at least 6 months after the program’s end date.

Students going on a fall program need to make sure their passport is valid through at least mid-June of the following year. Students going on a spring program need to make sure their passport is valid through at least mid-November of the same year.

US passport holders who need to renew their passport should visit the U.S. Department of State’s passport website for information on this process.

Non-US passport holders who need to renew their passport should refer to their home country’s passport office.

Visa Information
All students participating on the WFU/Salamanca program are required to obtain a visa prior to the program’s start date. Until you have received your visa, students are advised to refrain from making international travel plans in the months preceding their study abroad semester.

To help students and families understand the Spanish visa process, the Center for Global Programs and Studies has created a useful website.

Salamanca Programs Application Officer:
Rebekah Morris
morrisrl@wfu.edu
336-758-4943
Greene 51

Resident Professors:

Spring 2025: Sara Fernandez Cuenca, fernans@wfu.edu
Fall 2025: Irma Alarcon, alarcoi@wfu.edu
Spring 2026: Tiffany Judy, judyte@wfu.edu

Dr. Kathryn Mayers
Associate Professor of Spanish
Director, Salamanca Programs
523 Greene Hall
mayerskm@wfu.edu
336.758.4739
Full Website with more FAQ can be found here