Overview | Academics | Cost | Location | Life Abroad | Student Voices
Offered through the Institute for Study Abroad-Butler University (IFSA-Butler), the Argentine Universities Program (AUP) is co-sponsored by UW-Madison. AUP allows you great academic flexibility in the rich setting of Buenos Aires. You can choose between semester, yearlong or summer program options. On this program, students can chose to enroll in up to four universities in Buenos Aires with the assistance of the IFSA Butler staff in country. Students will take classes taught in Spanish at the universities along side Argentine and other international students. Students for the semester or yearlong program can choose to enroll in an academic concentration including human rights, cinema, diversity, minority and gender studies, theater, directed research or literature.
Buenos Aires is a complex city that is home to wonderful attractions and one of the most cosmopolitan societies in the world. Incredibly, the city and the surrounding areas are home to nearly forty percent of the Argentine population. This "Paris of the Americas" has almost no skyscrapers, making the city seem even larger. The bus and local train services are inexpensive and reliable, and many cultural and social sites are located in the compact city center or the nearby and easily accessible barrios.
Buenos Aires is a complex city that is home to wonderful attractions and one of the most cosmopolitan societies in the world. Incredibly, the city and the surrounding areas are home to nearly forty percent of the Argentine population. This "Paris of the Americas" has almost no skyscrapers, making the city seem even larger. The bus and local train services are inexpensive and reliable, and many cultural and social sites are located in the compact city center or the nearby and easily accessible barrios.
Buenos Aires is a large city with a population of approximately 10 million people. Students from smaller communities often experience an adjustment period by moving into such a large city. Once comfortable with the layout of the city, students will find the smaller neighborhoods that make the city seem more accessible.
Getting to Your Program
Optional group flight is offered to students. Independent travelers are not met at airport.
Visa
A student visa is required for semester and yearlong students. IFSA-Butler provides you with visa information.
Orientation
IAP expects you to be an active participant in preparing yourself for your study abroad experience. As a participant on an IAP program, you will receive a pre-departure orientation, either in-person or online. The type and format of this orientation will vary by program and will be provided to you upon acceptance to the program.
Upon arrival in mid-July or mid-February (for semester or year long students), you will attend a mandatory 10-day orientation in which intensive Spanish, safety, and general information about Argentina are covered. Summer students receive an on-site orientation.
Housing
Housing and some meals are included in the program fee. You will live with carefully selected host families in different neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. Living with a host family is one of the best ways to be immersed into the culture and language of Argentina. Families provide two meals per day during the week and one meal on Saturdays.
Excursions and Activities
Upon arrival in Argentina, there is an on-site orientation for all program participants as well as several excursions and cultural events planned for each program.
Several volunteer opportunities are available for the semester or yearlong programs. Some past student placements have included work with organizations: working to rescue stray animals; improving the quality of life for children in marginalized neighborhoods; providing general and medical assistance to isolated rural communities; promoting social integration of the LGBT community.
Insurance
IFSA-Butler offers mandatory international health insurance for education abroad opportunities provided through Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI). Students on IFSA-Butler sponsored programs are covered by this policy. The cost of this insurance is included in the program fee. IFSA-Butler will send you instructions on how to access your policy and insurance card.
On-Site Support
IFSA-Butler Resident Director and staff
Returned Student Network
Click
here to see testimonials from students abroad or to contact a returned student.
Student Profiles
Check out student profiles to learn more about their experience abroad.
Emily TempleJulie-Anne Spetz
Student Testimonials
"What I liked most about the Buenos Aires program was the amount of flexibility it has to offer. The ability to take classes at any or all of four distinct universities, from small private schools to a huge public university, gives students a lot of academic opportunities and allows them to see a diverse cross-section of porteno society."
Blogs
Read about current & past students' adventures.
Brooke-Spring 2012Jessica-Academic Year 2012-13
The AUP offers you a variety of rewarding academic options. If you are on the semester or yearlong program, you can directly enroll in courses from just one or as many as four of the following Buenos Aires universities: Universidad Catolica Argentina (UCA), Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Universidad del Salvador (USAL), or Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (UTDT). These are a combination of private and public universities, allowing students to experience both types of institutions. All university classes are taken with degree-seeking Argentine students and other international students.
No matter which universities you enroll in, coursework will be supplemented with a mandatory Spanish Language & Argentine Culture course designed especially for IFSA-Butler program participants. Three other program courses are also available: Argentine State and Society, Contemporary Argentine and Latin American Literature, and Argentine Foreign Policy. All courses on the IFSA-Butler program are taught in Spanish by Argentine professors.
In addition to the AUP options of studying at the four Argentine universities, you have the option to study in one of five specialized tracks designed especially for IFSA-Butler students: cinema studies; diversity, minority and gender studies; human rights studies; literature studies and theatre studies. This provides students a great opportunity to completely integrate into the cultural life of Buenos Aires by working and researching at prestigious civil society institutions alongside distinguished faculty and experts. Each concentration requires that the student also completes an experiential component, whether it be an internship or practical workshop. This allows students to integrate outside of the academic setting into different NGO's or community organizations.
IFSA-Butler also offers an independent research option for semester or yearlong participants that combines academic training and practical experience in social problem analysis. If you choose this option, you will take part in a supervised research project designed individually for you on the basis of past academic work, research skills, and areas of personal research interest.
The AUP program matches each student with a tutor who is trained to help with language and academic questions. Students and tutors are paired by academic discipline and meet at least once a month.
The AUP program requires a high level of academic concentration while on the program. The Argentine academic system often bases the entire semester grade for any given course on one final exam, which can be an oral exam, or one final paper. As this system is different then the US structure, and because students are taking classes in a foreign language, students who participate on this program should prepare themselves for an intense academic experience.
Summer
The summer academic focus is on Argentine Language and Culture. You are required to take a Spanish language course in addition to choosing one of the following two courses: Contemporary Argentine and Latin American Literature or Argentine Social History. Courses are taught by Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) faculty.
Program Web Page(s)
www.ifsa-butler.org/argentine-universities-program.html
Course Equivalents
Use the links below to see a list of courses that students have taken on this program before and the UW equivalents. Note: this list only includes pre-approved courses for your program and may not be an exhaustive list of courses or departments. You will get instructions on the course equivalent process after acceptance.
Sort by Foreign Course Titles
Sort by UW-Madison Course Titles
Group by host institution and Sort by Foreign Course Titles
Group by host institution and Sort by UW-Madison Course Titles
