Faculty-Led Custom Programs
in Spain, Argentina, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Panama.
Customized Study Abroad Programs
SSA Custom Programs for Educational Institutions
Make your own faculty-led study abroad program
SSA offers custom faculty-led study abroad programs for educational groups in a wide range of areas. For decades, we have helped to plan, support and deliver hundreds of group programs designed to provide a rich learning environment in a short amount of time.
College faculty members appreciate our planning, logistics and range of options to achieve their objectives. We like to say “Anything is possible.” because you can choose your dates, length of study, academic components, excursions, service learning opportunities and type of housing. You can even do a travel-intensive program with multiple cities.
Some of the USA’s most famous universities turn to us every year to arrange programs during their spring or summer breaks.
These are the most common features of our custom faculty-led programs:
- Intensive Spanish Study
- Service Learning
- Agriculture
- Ecology
- Cultural Sites
- Specialized Lectures
- City Tours and Architecture
- Local History, Culture and Sports
- Business and Entrepreneurship
- Public Health
- Politics
- Education
- Diet, Nutrition and Culinary Arts
Currently, we provide custom faculty-led study abroad programs in the following sites:
SEVILLE, SPAIN
ALICANTE, SPAIN
BARCELONA, SPAIN
HAVANA, CUBA
CÓRDOBA, ARGENTINA
PANAMA CITY, PANAMA
BOQUETE, PANAMA
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
Faculty-led Study Abroad Program:
Case Studies & Articles
Spanish Studies Abroad Tips for Launching and Organizing the Best Faculty-Led Programs
David Anderson 04/21/2022
Faculty-led programs have grown in significance in US higher education in recent decades. For many students, these short-term study trips are their only chance for
Customized Faculty-led programs in Cuba – why universities find a partner organization
David Anderson 03/21/2021
American colleges and universities find Cuba to be a fascinating destination, and logically so. The island is close to the USA but represents such a
Why send your students to SSA?
💡Student Support, Safety & Inclusion
💡Cultural Immersion
💡Education/Career Opportunities
💡Academic Enrichment
💡Personal Growth
💡Global Citizenship
💡Student Support, Safety & Inclusion
- Spanish Studies Abroad has been looking after students and welcoming them on life-changing study-abroad programs for over 50 years.
- Our Admissions Team helps your students through each step of the process, from course selection to visa instructions, flight advice, and more.
- SSA is a family business and our students become part of the SSA family. Resident Directors are available 24/7 for both academic and personal support.
- All SSA staff undertake specialized training on essential topics such as mental health.
- 93% of students from 2022-23 program evaluations reported that the availability of SSA’s support staff for academic or personal needs was ‘excellent’ or ‘above average’.
💡Cultural Immersion
- Students immerse themselves in a new way of life, learn a new language, and gain a better understanding of the world around them.
- Boost cultural encounters from flamenco dancing to guitar building and other local activities to discover culture and have genuine authentic interactions – all Spanish Studies Abroad semester programs guarantee a minimum of five cultural encounters.
- Students hold regular conversation exchanges and social meetups with local students
- Students see and experience an alternative way of life first-hand with the opportunity to try things they never would without Spanish Studies Abroad’s immersion options activities
- Students find it considerably easier to build relationships in a setting specifically engineered for this purpose
- Students often create long-lasting relationships with local students, friends, homestay families, and resident directors and their teams for many years
💡Education/Career Opportunities
- SSA knows that studying abroad can enhance a student’s resume and increase their chances of being accepted into a prestigious post-grad program or landing a job in a global marketplace. Employers value candidates with international experience and language skills.
- Students experience different values and a different educational system to compare with their own.
- Students study the same topics and themes as at home but from a different perspective/cultural bias.
- Students boost their resume with courses in Spanish or English in the majority of academic degrees.
- SSA holds resume boosting workshops such as “How to Include Study Abroad on Your Resume?” or “Perfecting Interview Techniques.”
- Students build a network of international contacts to help with future academic and professional opportunities.
💡Academic Enrichment
- Academic excellence is at the forefront of our mission.
- SSA has a broad selection of both Spanish language immersion programs and university courses taught in English for a variety of majors and minors.
- SSA offers programs all year round, from semesters and academic years to January and May terms, quarters, and summer programs – we have them all!
- Students who participate in SSA programs have the opportunity to study subjects that may not be available at their home school. They also get to learn from new professors and experience different teaching styles.
- Learn real, colloquial Spanish used day-to-day, and learn formal alternatives in your Spanish courses for a comprehensive approach to improving your Spanish.
- SSA offers the option to level test students before and after their exchanges to measure their language improvement, and include this on their resume.
💡Personal Growth
- Living in a new country and attending school in a different environment can be challenging, but it also helps students develop independence, self-confidence, and problem-solving skills. They learn to adapt to new situations, make new friends, and navigate unfamiliar surroundings.
- 76% of students from 2022-23 program evaluations reported that SSA programs were “excellent” or “above average” in improving their ability to identify and solve problems.
- 89% of students from 2022-23 program evaluations reported that SSA programs were “excellent” or “above average” in improving their self-confidence and self-knowledge.
- 90% of students from 2022-23 program evaluations reported that SSA programs were “excellent” or “above average” in improving their independence.
💡Global Citizenship
- By studying abroad, students gain a better understanding of global issues and become more aware of their role as global citizens. They learn to appreciate diversity, respect other cultures, and develop a sense of empathy for people from different backgrounds.
- 81% of students from 2022-23 program evaluations reported that SSA programs were “excellent” or “above average” in improving their tolerance and open-mindedness.
The hotels chosen, city guides and tours, visits to museums, choice of restaurants, and other cultural activities have all represented meaningful, oftentimes life-changing experiences for all, giving our students direct exposure to some of the realities and cultural richness Spain has been famous for."
"Traveling overseas is stressful. Particularly if you are leading a group of young students who are full of expectations. Without the efficiency and knowledgeable tour guides provided by Spanish Studies Abroad, my experience as a program leader would not have been as memorable as it was. I cherished every minute."
"I could not speak more highly of their professionalism and excellent customer service. They are problem solvers and pay attention to every detail on our schedule so our students can have the best cultural and academic experience possible, besides being available 24/7. Every year every participant on the program raves about the well-rounded and knowledgeable tour guides, the overnight trip accommodations and the excellent transit to the sites visited. Because of their highly-organized programs and travel offerings, other UMD departments have started to partner with Spanish Studies Abroad. "
Having taken students to Costa Rica and Spain for 30 years, I'm an extremely demanding trip planner looking for perfection. It has been a pleasure to work with the owners of Spanish Studies Abroad. They certainly do and will do whatever it takes to please customers and for a very good and reasonable price. I will continue using this company for all my educational and personal excursions and I highly recommend it.
"I have worked with Spanish Studies Abroad for over 10 years and I can attest to the quality of the programs that this organization has put together for the groups that I have led during this time period.
Time and time again, the staff at Spanish Studies Abroad designed high quality programs that were executed with consummate professionalism.
Words simply cannot express just how much I appreciate Spanish Studies Abroad for being such a trustworthy organization and for its uncompromising commitment to excellence.
It goes without saying that I look forward to working with Spanish Studies Abroad for many more years!"
“The staff at the US office and on-site were excellent. They were always happy to respond to our requests and helped organize a number of extracurricular experiences for me and for my students.”
“Spanish Studies Abroad was very accommodating in making sure we were able to see and do everything we proposed.”
“Members of the Spanish Studies Abroad staff are true experts in organizing and orchestrating every aspect of the program. They are savvy and responsive planners who prepare for every eventuality and keep faculty and resident directors in the loop at every turn.”
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