ACADEMIC PROGRAM

Graduate Program in Caribbean Cultural Studies (Semester)

Calling all juniors and seniors with a sense of adventure!

The University at Buffalo invites all mature juniors and seniors with a sense of adventure and a thirst for knowledge to accept the challenge of spending the Fall semester in Cuba. Our program offers qualified students the opportunity to live for three months in Havana, one of the liveliest and most fascinating cities in the World.

In addition, the program also includes a unique 12-day study tour around the entire island of Cuba. No other program of study takes participants in such a comprehensive educational excursion, visiting 12 of Cuba's major cities, its most significant historical sites, its principal production centers, and all of its major ecosystems.

Spend an entire semester studying in Cuba

Cuba is without a doubt one of the most fascinating destinations on Earth. It is the largest island in the Caribbean, a country the size of England situated in the center of the Western Hemisphere. While it is the closest non-contiguous neighbor to the United States its recent history place it a world apart.

U.S. citizens have found it almost impossible to travel to Cuba over the last four decades. Recent US Government directives have made it even harder. Yet, the University at Buffalo has managed to build and develop its own unique, comprehensive and intensive study program in Cuba. Offering a full masters program in Caribbean Studies in conjunction with the University of Havana, as well as this full semester study program for qualified undergraduate juniors and seniors at the University of Havana every fall, the University at Buffalo distinguishes itself for having one of the very few and the most comprehensive of all programs of study in Cuba. All UB study programs in Cuba are fully licensed by the US Government.

Program of study

The Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Havana is host to the University at Buffalo programs in Cuba. Established in 1728, the University of Havana is one of the oldest and most acclaimed houses of learning in the Western Hemisphere. The faculty of Arts and Letters is one of the most renowned of all the university dependencies and home to world acclaimed writers and scholars.

All participants must be enrolled as full-time (12.0 credit hours ) matriculated students in the University at Buffalo. They will take four 3.0 credit hour courses. Two of these will be mandatory, the other two elective. The breakdown is as follows:

1- An introductory course to Cuban and Caribbean history and culture. Taught by the Program Director, UB professor Dr. Jose Buscaglia, this course is only open to UB students in Cuba. The 12- day study tour is an integral part of this course.

2- An advanced Spanish language course taken at the university with other foreign nationals. Placement in the course will be determined by a test administered on the first day of classes.

3- Two elective courses chosen from the Fall catalogue of the Faculty of Arts and Letters. This option allows students the widest selection and affords them the opportunity to tailor their program of study in Cuba to suit their own academic and research interests. Choices range from Cuban, Caribbean, and Latin American history, literature, and art courses, to seminars in Cuban and Latin American cinema, Afro-Cuban culture, and women's studies. Erollment in these courses will afford UB students the opportunity to mingle and work together with other foreign nationals and with Cuban students. Click here for a list of electives available for Fall 2007.

All courses are taught in Spanish. 

Program advantages

Participating students will not only come back from Cuba with an invigorated sense of inquiry, a better calibrated critical approach, and a wealth of newfound knowledge. They will also have established important contacts in a country where few US citizens have been allowed to travel in recent memory. Thus, students will be well positioned to apply to graduate school or for jobs in the private as well as public sectors. Be certain that the name of Cuba in any such application will get you noticed for good.

In addition, participating student will be well poised to continue their studies in the area by applying to the UB-UH Masters in Caribbean Cultural Studies. Selected seniors may also qualify for a partial tuition scholarship. For more information on the masters program visit: www.caribbeanstudies.buffalo.edu