The Summer Term consists of a four-week Intensive Language and Culture session during the month of June. All courses are taught in Spanish by highly qualified Cuban university professors with extensive experience in teaching American students.

Sample Course Options:

• Spanish Language (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels)
• Cuban Cinema (Intermediate and Advanced levels)

To enhance your cultural experience in Havana, Spanish Studies Abroad organizes various excursions, study visits and other activities throughout your summer term. These activities are coordinated to enhance your class studies.

Some sample cultural excursions may include:

• Old Havana
• Museum of the Revolution
• Afro-Cuban rumba performances
• Salsa concerts
• Cienfuegos Province
• Viñales in Pinar del Rio Province
• Matanzas Province

Summer Term Program Information

During your stay in Cuba, you are housed in a small hotel for visiting scholars that is part of the University of Havana. You share a room with another SSA Education Abroad student and are provided three meals a day.

Since the Havana, Cuba summer abroad program does not occur during the regular academic year, Federal, State, and Saint Mary’s institutional aid may not be applied to the program’s costs.

Havana’s Summer Program Costs

Costs Include:

• Tuition
• Double occupancy room
• Orientation & Study Tours
• Health Insurance
• Spanish Studies transcript
• Support of onsite staff

Scholarship Information

Students should research the details of non-Saint Mary’s scholarships for applicability and see the Director of Study Abroad for other scholarship and grant opportunities.

Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis. SSA Education Abroad recommends that you apply as early as possible to allow more time for pre-departure arrangements.

Click here for Program Dates and Application Deadlines

To be eligible, you must have a 3.0 GPA in Spanish Coursework, be of sophomore status or higher, and completion of one course in college-level Spanish or the equivalent and class standing junior or senior during program.

Apply online to the SSA Education Abroad. Complete the Saint Mary’s required paperwork, application may be picked up in the Study Abroad Office, the International Center, the Heights.

Acceptance is contingent on a thorough review of the student’s application and subsequent approval from SSA Education Abroad.

After acceptance, complete the following required items.

• Obtain a passport. Submit a copy of the first page to the Study Abroad Office
• Arrange travel plans. Submit a copy of your flight itinerary to the Study Abroad Office

The city of La Habana, founded in 1514, and named after a local aboriginal chief, is Cuba’s cosmopolitan capital.

Havana was once one of the most prosperous ports, and the third most populous city in the Americas. A beautiful city, with idyllic landscapes, captivating bays, and a rich, diverse culture, Havana is the site for an ideal learning experience.

• Explore the streets of Havana, the salsa rhythm and son cubano, the musical genre developed by African slaves, along with the sites, smells, and sounds of Cuban culture, surround you.
• Experience the island’s thought-provoking contradictions, spirited determination, and stunning, natural beauty.
• Walk along the malecón, or ocean seawall, a short distance from the center of the city. The malecón is a common gathering place for Cubans, as well as for students. Visit Finca Vigia, Ernest Hemingway’s home, located just outside Havana, where he wrote Islands in The Stream, A Moveable Feast, and The Old Man And The Sea.
• Delve into life in Cuba from a cross-cultural perspective, daring to step outside of yourself and experience reality from another point of view.

Learn more about the culture of Havana