A new program is giving Notre Dame students the chance to spend a semester in Cuba and two other Caribbean locations to learn first hand about life in the region.
Notre Dame's Hispanic Caribbean Study Program, the first of its kind in higher education and the only Cuban study program independent of the state-run University of Havana, allows 14 undergraduate students to study in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The program was first offered in the fall 1997 semester.
Students are responsible for getting to and from Miami, where flights to the islands will originate and return. Otherwise, it won't cost any more to participate in the program than to spend the semester on campus at Notre Dame.
Because travel to Cuba is restricted, the University had to obtain a special license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Students spend the longest portion of the semester -- 11 weeks -- in the Dominican Republic, where they live with host families.
The program's 15-credit package of courses focuses on the region's history, literature, culture, politics, economics and religious expression.
In addition to the new program, Notre Dame offers international study opportunities in Austria, Australia, Chile, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, Israel, Italy, Mexico and Spain. Notre Dame's percentage of students studying abroad is among the highest in American higher education.
