A new study abroad program with the University of Córdoba (UCO) launched this fall, replacing the longstanding Programa de Estudios Hispánicos en Córdoba (PRESCHO) program that ended last spring due to fiscal and legal burdens.
The new program follows a similar model to the PRESCHO program, which includes continuing the homestay model and direct enrollment at UCO. It also includes new features, such as a ten-day guided orientation tour of Spain, cultural workshops in guitar, dance and ceramics, as well as €400 (approximately $470) in for self-identified cultural activities.
According to Carlos A. Vega, Professor of Spanish, the new program also has the purpose of building a more reciprocal exchange with UCO.
“Students at the University of Córdoba don’t have as many facilities for international study as we do,” Vega said. “I would like them to [study in] the United States, and I would like some more of our students to go to this program.”
He emphasized that the heart of the new program is in the historic and present day value of the city of Córdoba itself.
“It was the city that was most associated with a period in which Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together. They were not celebrating each other’s religion, but they were at least there, and you saw tremendous culture evolve that came from the sharing of the virtues of each culture,” Vega said.
That legacy, Vega explained, has given Córdoba a symbolic weight that makes it an ideal place for a modern exchange.
“Even to this day, it has more UNESCO patrimony of humanity sites than Paris or Rome,” he said. “It’s a magical palace, and PRESHCO was their ongoing contact with the US. So it took on this emblematic role of a current-day embodiment of a city where different cultures come together.”
In addition to an enhanced student experience, Jennifer Thomas-Starck, Director for the Office of International Study (OIS), emphasized that this new arrangement should be more durable than PRESHCO’s administrative setup, which hinged mainly on oversight from Wellesley’s senior administration.
“It won’t be dependent on any one college or university in the US in the long run,” she said. “Hopefully it will be a lot more sustainable and can weather changes in enrollments from different institutions.”
The History of PRESCHO
The PRESCHO program, a Spanish-language immersion study abroad program in Córdoba, Spain between Wellesley, Smith College and PRESCHO, was established for nearly 45 years. Over the years, Wellesley has sent over 700 out of 3000 total students, according to Vega.
Last spring, both colleges pulled out of the partnership. Thomas-Starck explained that the nonprofit structure that ran PRESHCO created different auditing requirements, tax filing requirements, and liability issues for senior administration. The process was too burdensome for the number of students participating.
“We had worked closely with the team in Spain for decades,” she said. “I know how important that program has been to students and to alums.”
Vega traced the program’s evolution, from its beginnings as an “island program” in which Americans took separate classes, to a hybrid model with direct matriculation at the University of Córdoba.
“In about 2004, we decided that we wanted students to have an authentic experience in Spain, so we began what’s called direct matriculation, where students took classes directly at the University of Córdoba, with the other Spaniards,” Vega said. “So PRESHCO went from an island program to what we would call a hybrid program.”
Laura Vandermillen ’27, who decided to enroll in PRESCHO because of the language and cultural immersion, described the academic and personal transformation of the program.
“More than anything, I gained Spanish language skills. For a long time, I had been sort of stuck at a lower-intermediate level, but now, I feel so much more confident in my ability to actually speak Spanish,” Vandermillen said. “I also gained a genuine connection with my host mom, who I still stay in touch with and hope to be able to visit again one day.”
Moving forward, the continuity of structures like homestays, direct matriculation, and cultural programming makes the transition to the new UCO program promising, according to Vega.
“For Wellesley students, I would like them to be able to continue to go to, in my opinion, the best program in Spain,” Vega said.
Contact the editor responsible for this story: Jessica Chen
