SSA provides learning experiences in Spanish-speaking countries, focused primarily on North American university-level students. Our history began in Seville, Spain in 1969, where we run the Center for Cross-Cultural Study in the historic, central area of the city.

Since then, we have expanded to other interesting cities including Alicante and Barcelona in Spain and Havana, Cuba; Córdoba and Patagonia in Argentina; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

SSA has a U.S. headquarters in Amherst, Massachusetts, and staff around the continent to work with our university and college partners.

Students choose to study with SSA – in both English and Spanish – to develop language fluency, experience new cultures, and obtain university credit. For university students, we offer academic years, semesters, and short-term programs in January, May, June, and July. Most of our students live with local families for a deep immersion in the culture as well as for language fluency.

In addition to our standard academic offerings, SSA supports many customized faculty-led programs. As of September 2023, we are proud to announce the inclusion of Panama (Panama City and Boquete) as a new custom-program destination.