Academic Overview

Summer Students
Summer students choose a program track in either Spanish Language & Culture or Spanish for the Professions

• All tracks are 6 credits
• The business, education and healthcare tracks are for intermediate to advanced Spanish speakers and include ~90 hours of observation, internship or volunteering in a relevant organization.  
• The Spanish language and culture track is for beginning Spanish speakers

For specific pre-requisites and UWEC credits, click here: Mexico Summer Courses
and UWEC Equivalents

Semester Students
As semester exchange students, you have the option of taking Spanish as a Foreign Language courses, regular university courses, or a combination, depending on the results of your placement exam.

• 15 U.S. credits (=30 UPAEP credits) is considered a normal course load.
• If your language level is high enough for regular university courses, you may take any courses for which you have the appropriate pre-requisites. 

Service-Learning
Summer: Depending on your specific placement, the internship/practicum in the professional program tracks may fulfill part or all of your UW-Eau Claire service-learning requirement. 

Semester: Service-learning opportunities are available through the Liberal Arts Service-Learning program, a credit-bearing program open to both Mexican and international students. 

Semester Students:  How to Find Courses at UPAEP

You can find additional UPAEP academic information, as well as brief course descriptions, on this page.  Scroll down to "Regular English Courses" for courses taught in English, then further down to "Programs" for courses taught in Spanish.  (The course descriptions are also in Spanish!)

Some of the most popular courses for international students include:

• Psicología del mexicano
• Literatura latinoamericana
• México Mágico
• Diálogos entre ciencia y religión
• Filosofía Mexicana
• Cultura Mexicana
• Literatura Mexicana
• Historia del Cine Mexicano
• Historia de la Cultura Mexicana

Because this is a newer program, we are still evaluating UW-Eau Claire course equivalencies. If you have questions about course equivalencies, please contact Cheryl Lochner-Wright, the Mexico study abroad coordinator, at lochnecb@uwec.edu  

Semester Students: How Courses Come Back to UWEC

Established course equivalencies:
To find courses that have been evaluated, go to the Transfer Credit Wizard site by clicking here. 

• Choose Mexico, then click "Search"
• Click on Univ Auto del Estado de Puebla
• Click "Search" again. All courses that have been evaluated for UWEC credit will appear. 

If the course does not appear on the TCW, it has not yet been evaluated for UWEC credit. You can request an evaluation by sending the course title, number and description to your UWEC study abroad coordinator. It can take several weeks for an equivalency to be established.

The TCW is a historical record.  There is NO guarantee that the same courses will be offered in the future or that they will be offered during your term abroad. Begin with the UPAEP course listing, then move to the TCW.

UPAEP Grading Scale to UWEC Grading Scale

Grades for all terms are assigned by UPAEP professors according to the Mexican system. All grades you earn at UPAEP will count in your UWEC GPA; you cannot take courses pass/fail. The grades will appear on your UWEC transcript using the conversion scale below, approved by the UWEC Registrar's Office. This scale is non-negotiable.

UPAEP Grade         UWEC Equivalent
9.5-10                                                 A
9.2-9.4                                                A-
8.9-9.1                                                B+
8.6-8.8                                                B
8.3-8.5                                                B-
8.0-8.2                                                C+
7.7-7.9                                                C
7.4-7.6                                                C-
7.0-7.3                                                D
Below 7.0                                            F

Liberal Education Requirements

If you are in catalog year 2016-2017 or later, you can fulfill an Integrative Learning (I1) requirement through study abroad. You will opt in after being accepted to your program and must complete a series of assignments before, during and after your time abroad. Talk with your academic advisor about whether you need to complete an I1 requirement through study abroad. You must complete the first assignments prior to going abroad; retroactive enrollment is not allowed.

Spanish Language Immersion Requirement

All Spanish and Latin American Studies majors and minors must complete at least six weeks of language immersion in residence in a country where Spanish is spoken. This program meets the language immersion requirement.