Summer in Alcala: Spanish Language & Culture
Host Institution
The Universidad de Alcalá was founded by the Regent of Spain, Cardinal
Cisneros, in 1499. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the
Universidad de Alcalá became the pre-eminent university in Spain and
was the model university for many universities opened in the Americas
in the 17th and 18th centuries.
In
the mid-nineteenth century, the university was moved to Madrid and was
re-opened again in Alcalá in 1977 after Spainâ??s transition to
democracy. Today's Universidad de Alcalá preserves its traditional
humanities faculties, a testimony to the university's special efforts
to promote and diffuse the Spanish language, as well as new degree
subjects in scientific fields such as health sciences or engineering.
Study
abroad students are hosted at the Institute for North American Studies
(IUIEN) in Trinitarios College. The institution provides fully
transcripted host institution language and content courses designed for
North American students.
Accreditation
The
Universidad de Alcalá is considered one of the top 10 universities in
Spain and is the university where the King of Spain annually awards the
Cervantes Prize for excellence in Spanish literature. It is recognized
by the Spanish Ministry of Education as a degree granting institution
of higher learning.
