Middlebury School in Chile: Valparaíso

Our goal is to provide an enriching academic experience and to give students the best chance of actively engaging in their new environment. Linguistic development and cultural understanding are at the core of the Middlebury Schools Abroad. Participants have many opportunities for immersion, from coursework entirely in Spanish to housing with local families; from internships and volunteer work to activities among the student body of the local universities.

Students take a combination of the following types of courses:

1. Middlebury-organized writing course
2. Direct enroll courses in a local university
3. Credit-bearing internships

Home to 300,000 inhabitants, Valparaíso's population grows to 500,000 when including the city of Viña del Mar to the north. Pablo Neruda was inspired to write of the city's people and seaport, made important when it served as a stopover to ships navigating the Strait of Magellan in the late 19th century. Students may study alongside Chilean students at the following host institutions:
-The Universidad de Playa Ancha
-The Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
-The Universidad de Valparaíso
-The Universidad de Adolfo Ibañez (Viña del Mar)
-Universidad Andrés Bello (Viña del Mar)

Students who have completed five semesters of Spanish language training are invited to participate in the program under the Middlebury Language Pledge®, a commitment to speak exclusively the target language for the duration of their time abroad