Study Abroad

The Department of Romance Languages offers a semester or year in Spain at Salamanca, the site of a well-established Spanish university. Students go as a group accompanied by a professor from the College. No particular major is required for eligibility. However, students (1) should be of junior standing, must have completed 220, Spanish conversation, and (3) should be approved by both their major department and the Department of Romance Languages. The Salamanca program welcomes applicants from students from other academic institutions. Interested students should contact Professor Candelas Gala, Coordinator of the Salamanca program in the Department of Romance Languages. e-mail: galacs@wfu.edu

 


* Why choose to study in Salamanca (Spain) with the program sponsored by the Department of Romance Languages at Wake Forest University? For many reasons!

· For Courses and Information in Salamanca, and for information about other study abroad programs, such as Dijon (France), Querétaro (México), and Venice (Italy), visit:

WFU Study Abroad- Main homepage

 

DEPARTMENT OF ROMANCE LANGUAGES

STUDY ABROAD: INFORMATION AND POLICIES

The Programs

The Department of Romance Languages sponsors semester and year long abroad programs, in the fall in Dijon (France), in the fall and spring in Salamanca (Spain), and intensive summer language institutes (ISLI) in Querétaro (Mexico) and in Venice, Italy. As Wake Forest programs, these study abroad opportunities are evaluated in accordance with Wake Forest guidelines, fall under the Wake Forest Honor Code, and are administered as a regular Wake Forest study program. As part of these academic programs, and included in their respective costs, a number of group excursions and trips to places of cultural interest are offered.

The Director

The Director of the study abroad program is a faculty member in the Department of Romance Languages who is authorized to supervise all aspects of the program. The Director remains with the group throughout the length of the program, accompanies students on group excursions, and is available to aid, advise, and attend to students and their concerns during the stay abroad. In Dijon, Salamanca, and Venice the Director teaches one course. In Querétaro, the Director may on occasion teach Spanish 213.

The Faculty

Except for the course taught by the Director, all courses are taught by professors from universities located in the respective study abroad sites. The Department of Romance Languages considers this collaboration with native professors an asset to its programs. Their European or Latin American background and perspectives provide students with a more international and global approach, an essential goal of the study abroad experience. Students should expect their professors to offer a different approach to the discipline, not only in perspective, but also in terms of course plan and evaluative tools. Students should not expect the teaching style of their Spanish, Italian, French, or Mexican professors to replicate the style of the professors on the Wake Forest campus.

Courses

Courses taken as part of the Romance Languages study abroad programs are Wake Forest courses and are evaluated as such. All courses are taught in the target language by the Director and/or the faculty from the local university. Course content is presented either in a syllabus or in a general description of the course.

Grades

As part of the Wake Forest curriculum, courses taken as part of any of the Romance Languages study abroad programs are evaluated in accordance with the grading system on campus. Native professors are provided with a translation into the respective language of the description of grades published in the Wake Forest undergraduate bulletin. When the grading system used is that of the country of the study abroad site, grades are translated into the American system before they are reported to the Office of the Registrar.

Cultural Activities

Participants in the Romance Languages study abroad programs are encouraged to explore the culture of the country where they study. Program monies underwrite many cultural activities, including group trips and excursions. During such trips, students must remain with the group and follow its itinerary. A student may not separate from the group to visit other cities. The program will pay for cultural activities under the following circumstances: when the group is together; when, in the judgment of the Director, the activity is related to the Program or to a course; and when the Director organizes the activity. In the event that a student declines to participate in a cultural activity sponsored by the program, s/he will not be reimbursed for the cost of that activity.

Books

The program will pay for books and other materials (e.g. newspapers) that students need for their coursework while studying abroad. The Director will inform the group of where texts may be picked up or purchased. Students may receive some of their textbooks at Wake Forest before leaving the U.S. while other texts may be purchased after they arrive at the study abroad site.

Meals

For students participating in the Salamanca program, all meals are provided by their respective host families. Querétaro students receive breakfast and dinner from their host families and purchase lunch for themselves. Host families participating in the Dijon program offer students a daily breakfast and two evening meals per week; they receive a daily allowance from the Director to pay for the cost of other meals, available in cafes or restaurants in town or at student cafeterias at the university.
Breakfast and dinner are included during all excursions and trips that are a part of the academic program in Salamanca and Dijon; during these, students also receive a daily allowance for lunch. Students will receive no reimbursement for meals they miss either with the host family or during group excursions and trips.

Transportation

The Dijon and Salamanca programs pay for students’ roundtrip transportation costs to and from the foreign study site (up to $1,200). While the program will pay transportation costs for group excursions and trips, when students travel on their own during weekends and other breaks, they must pay their own way. Because Dijon and Salamanca pose different local transportation needs, policies pertaining to local transportation are different at the two sites. Participants in the Dijon program will be provided funds to purchase the bus passes they will need to get to their university classes. In Salamanca, no travel allowance will be provided for transportation unless a student is housed outside a normal radius from the town center. Students in Querétaro and Venice provide their own transportation to and from Mexico/Italy and within Querétaro and Venice.

Schedule

To give students participating in the Dijon and Salamanca programs time to travel on their own, the academic program allows for three-day weekends (except when group excursions and trips are scheduled) and other breaks, as the calendar permits.

E-mail

Students participating in the Romance Languages study abroad programs should not expect to find the same technological infrastructure and on-demand access to e-mail and the Internet that they have on the Reynolda Campus. Arrangements will be made, however, for them to have access to e-mail accounts while they are in Dijon and Salamanca, although, this may be on a more limited basis than what they are accustomed to. All Wake Forest students participating in a study abroad program are required to complete forms on which they state their intent to leave, store, or take their computer with them. They must also sign computer liability and insurance forms.

Medical Insurance

Students enrolled in the Salamanca program receive insurance, paid by the Program, through the Office of International Studies at the University of Salamanca. Students must be prepared, however, to pay for any medical expenses not covered by the insurance and then to present receipts for those expenses to their insurance company in the United States. Students enrolled in the Dijon and Salamanca programs must confirm with their insurance company that their policy will cover their medical expenses while they are abroad. They will then be expected to pay their own medical expense and present receipts to their insurance company once they return to the United States. Students in Querétaro and Venice must have medical insurance in the United States.

Visits from Family

Students are encouraged to invite their families to visit them while they are abroad. Such visits should take place after students have settled into life with their host families; it is recommended that families from the United States not visit during the first three weeks of the program. Visiting family members and friends should not expect to stay in the home of the host family. It will not be possible for anyone not enrolled in the Program to participate in group trips and excursions.

Important: Salamanca Policies

A Free airfare is extended to all students whose flight falls under a $1200.00 limit. The program will do everything to negotiate the cheapest airfares possible for its students, but can not guarantee that all flights will fall under this limit. Students whose ticket passes this limit in cost may be asked to pay a penalty to cover the difference.

As of the drafting of this memorandum (September 19, 2003) all students will receive tickets exclusively negotiated by the Director and may not arrange their own travel expecting compensation from WFU in any amount towards their travel. However, if the director determines that students will generally receive more favorable fares through individual rather than group purchase, WFU in Salamanca may extend compensation of up to $1200.00 to students purchasing their own tickets. The director will announce any change to the standing ticket policy in due time.

B WFU in Salamanca does not take responsibility for arranging student visas, which are not required for participation in the program. All students and parents should read carefully the section below regarding visas.

C All students participating in the program must reside with the families approved and assigned to each student by the program. Students may not make their own arrangements for residence, as the home-stay is considered an essential part of the program.

D Students will receive a cash stipend from their director for internet access in Salamanca at the facilities of their choice. This cash stipend is calculated to defray the costs imposed by a reasonable amount of internet use, but is not guaranteed to cover all internet expenses that students may incur.

E Students will receive a cash stipend from their director for meals on all group trips. This stipend is calculated to defray the costs of dining at reasonably-priced establishments, but is not guaranteed to cover all dining expenses that students may incur.

F Group travel is a mandatory component of the program. Students may not abbreviate their participation in or skip these trips for personal reasons. Only program participants may travel on group transportation and lodge in group facilities on all official trips. Any friends or family seeing students during group trips must work around the group schedule in order to visit with students.

G. All students are automatically covered by medical insurance under Sanitas for the entire duration of the program. No solicitation of coverage is necessary.

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Important Note Regarding Visas

Students participating in the WFU in Salamanca program are invited but not required to solicit a student visa from the Spanish embassy covering their state of residence prior to departure from Spain.

The WFU in Salamanca program does not take responsibility for the successful solicitation of student visas or oversee the visa application process. The following information is intended to assist students, but does not represent a commitment on the University’s part to secure student visas for our program participants.

Foreign visitors to Spain are entitled to stay in the country for 3 months on a tourist visa, which is issued during air travel and requires no previous solicitation. Salamanca students only slightly overstay this grace period, and no student has ever encountered problems with Spanish authorities for overstaying in the country on their tourist visa. It is possible, though unlikely, that a student could experience legal complications due to this slight infraction. In this improbable event, WFU could not be held responsible for any legal actions taken against the student.

If you choose to solicit a student visa:

Go to www.spainemb.org

This web page has all the information necessary for visa application, but some additional tips will be helpful:

1. Be sure to find the Spanish consulate with jurisdiction over your home state – the state where you maintain permanent residence. This is where you must request your application.

2. Contact your local Spanish consulate by telephone and by letter to request a student visa application. Using both mediums will reduce the chance for oversight of your request by the Consulate. You must request a form personally. The University cannot do it for you, and you cannot make copies of others’ forms.

3. When you call the Consulate, ask them if you can send in your application materials by mail, with your visa to be delivered to you by mail. Some consulates will allow the process by mail, and some will require you to come in person. (Contrary to the information on the web page, for North Carolina residents the Washington consulate should currently allow you to complete the process by mail)

4. Request an application and gather up your materials as soon as possible, but DO NOT apply as soon as possible. Your application should be sent during a specific time window. (As of 2002 the Washington Consulate recommended that applicants send their application no more than 90 days and no less than 60 days before travel. Check with your local consulate as to filing time recommendations.)

5. See the web page for the materials required for the visa. To review, what you will need is the following:

a. PASSPORT valid for a minimum of 6 months (you will send them or bring them the passport and they will affix the visa to it upon approval)
b. 4 passport pictures
c. A letter from WFU attesting to enrollment & a letter attesting to your full payment (We will provide it upon request. Contact your Program Director)
d. Medical certificate
e. Visa application
f. A money order for $45.00 made out to Consulate General of Spain in ____ (your location)

Under the section with various options from which you must submit one document, you should choose the “letter from the study abroad program assuming financial responsibility” for you. This information will be provided in the aforementioned 2 letters from WFU.

As these WFU letters must be addressed individually to each Consulate General, please contact the Program Director with a short request for this letter (by e-mail is fine) and the location of your Consulate. We will have them notarized and send them to you or have you pick them up.

6. When you get to Spain you can request the “Student Residency Card” from the police station, so don’t worry about that right now.


Exchange Scholarship with the University of Burgos, Spain and with the University of Venice, Italy

Administered by the Department of Romance Languages, these exchange scholarships may be awarded to four students for one semester's study each or to two students for two semesters. Applicants must have completed at least two years of college Spanish/Italian or the equivalent. Scholarships provide remission of fees and the cost of books, board, and accommodations. Interested students should communicate with Professor Candelas Gala in the Department of Romance Languages (for Burgos) and with Professor Antonio Vitti (for Venice).