Eligibility

MINIMUM GPA

Students must have a minimum grade point average of 2.50.

MINIMUM ADMISSIONS PREREQUISITES

There is no language prerequisite for this program.

To participate in this program, you must be 18 years of age or older.

VERITAS COURSE

All Veritas semester students will take their traditional courses at the host institution in addition to one 3-credit Veritas course. Students will choose one of the two courses below. The Comparative Religions course will be online and include students from across Veritas sites, and the Global Ministry Practicum will be online/on-site. 

Comparative Religions (HUM 353)

This course is an introduction to the major religious traditions of the world—particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and indigenous, new, and secular religions. The historical development, key figures, as well as major doctrines and practices are explored.

Global Ministry Practicum (HUM 490)

This course provides upper division credit for international ministry opportunities and an extended ministry experience designed to acquaint students with the implementation of missions principles in an international context through Veritas Christian Study Abroad programs.

Credits

Contact Hours: 240 - 300

Recommended U.S. Semester Credits: 15 - 20

Recommended U.S. Quarter Units: 24 - 30

Academic Information

Description of Term

This program is the Universidad Veritas' January Intensive Month session + the standard spring semester. In January you will take an intensive 60-hour Spanish language course, followed by your regular semester of coursework.

Students will be able to enroll in four courses at the Universidad Veritas. All 60-hour Spanish courses will be held in the mornings, whereas the 60 and 48 hour electives will be held in the afternoons. You can have one of the following schedules:

• Three 60-hour modular courses and one elective

• Two 60-hour modular courses and two electives

• One 60-hour modular course and three electives

• Four electives during this program. 

If you have not completed a college semester or quarter of Spanish or the equivalent, ISA strongly recommends you to choose a Spanish module as one of your courses. 

Please note that ISA cannot guarantee course placement and availability. For this reason, we ask all students to consider alternate courses in the event that their preferred courses are not available. 

• 60-hour Spanish Language courses
  60-hour Spanish courses are 4-week long, intensive modular courses and are completed sequentially. Students can enroll in up to three 60-hour courses.

• 60-hour courses
  60-hour electives offered by the university may include a field study component at no extra cost to the student. Because of the schedule of these field trips, students are typically only able to enroll in one or two such courses per program. These 60-hour electives run throughout the duration of the trimester. Please contact the Program Manager with any questions.

• 48-hour courses
  48-hour electives run throughout the duration of the semester. There are electives available in English and in Spanish. 

Language Level Placement

All students enrolling in a language course above the Beginner level must take a Spanish language placement exam prior to departure. The exam will indicate each student's language proficiency level and determine the courses in which the student is eligible to enroll.

Course Level Recommendations

ISA offers course level recommendations for the courses listed below. Please note that the course level recommendations are solely based on the host university's input, but are not necessarily representative of course levels at your home university. These ISA recommendations are intended to facilitate the determination of course equivalencies by advisers and credential evaluators at participants' U.S. home institutions. At Veritas University, course codes are composed of two parts: an alpha code indicating the discipline or field of study and a numeric code that indicates the type of course and level. The first number indicates the level or degree of complexity of ongoing research. 

• Courses that start with a 1 are introductory courses or beginner level language acquisition courses.

• Courses that start with a 2 are courses that require more hours of independent study and are intermediate level language acquisition courses.

• Courses that start with a 3 are courses that require research and presentations, have field trips or visits requiring reports, and are advanced level language acquisition courses.

• Courses that start with a 4 have a very similar level to level 3 courses, but usually are "specialty areas" within a discipline. 

Requests for sample syllabi can be made to your San José Program Manager. 

Transcript Information

The transcript from Universidad Veritas will reflect contact hours for each course listed below. Please be in touch with your home university regarding credit transfer for this program.