Colby in Salamanca

Colby runs both a language acquisition program in Salamanca, and a semester-long or year-long university integrated program for juniors who have a high level of Spanish proficiency. 

A Language Acquisition Program:

Students on the language acquisition program attend classes for non-Spanish speaking students at the Cursos Internacionales of the Universidad de Salamanca. They will live in Spanish households for the duration of the semester, where their language skills will be reinforced in a supportive setting.

The Integrated Program:

Students on the integrated program have a three-week orientation program and then attend regular classes at the Universidad de Salamanca. They will live in a Spanish household for the first month and then have a choice to remain with their host families or to move into an apartment with Spanish students.


The academic program begins with an orientation, comprised of linguistic and cultural components. After completing an initial placement exam, students on both the language acquisition and integrated programs are placed at the appropriate level in language classes made up of students from around the globe and taught by the faculty of the Universidad de Salamanca.

Other Program Offerings

• Student support services provided by Program Director and Assistant Director. Students have use of the Colby in Salamanca center.
• Students can choose whether they want to live with a family or in an apartment with Spanish students (integrated program only).
• The program includes other activities with Spanish student animadores.
• Field trips and excursions are organized by Cursos Internacionales and Colby
  
• All cultural activities (museums, movies, theatre, sport, etc…) in Spain are reimbursed 50%.
• Volunteer activities through the University or in the community are also possible.

Salamanca: The City

Salamanca is about 200 km west of Madrid and 100 km east of the Portuguese border and is easily accessible to the capital by train and bus. With a population around 160,000, it is a medium sized city which is easily walkable. The city is large enough to be able to offer the advantages of a real city, but at the same time it keeps the intimacy of a village. In Salamanca, the inhabitants speak the "purest" Spanish in Spain - Castilian. For this reason Salamanca is enormously popular with people all over the world who want to learn Spanish. The University of Salamanca, which was founded in 1218, is the oldest university in Spain and the third oldest western university. Salamanca’s Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. The Colby Center is located right downtown, just off of the Plaza Mayor.