Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria - Architecture

City: Valparaiso
Language of instruction: Spanish

At the Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, all the classes are taught in Spanish, aside from the language courses taught by the Humanities Department. For those wishing to improve their Spanish, the OAI and Humanities Department offer Intensive Spanish courses for beginner and intermediate speakers.

As a University with a strong emphasis on comprehensive education, there are always many activities outside the classroom for international students to get involved in. On the southwestern edge of South America, Chile is a long and narrow country, whose northern border is with Peru, to the east its neighbors are Bolivia and Argentina, and to the west and south, the Pacific Ocean and Southern Cone.

Valparaíso, Chile's second largest city, is nestled between the sea and the coastal mountain range. The city center is lined with cobbled streets and unique architecture.

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Partner university’s areas of study

  • Architecture and Landscape Architecture

Students should have a minimum of 3 semesters of college-level Spanish before beginning regular classes at the USM.

A two-week intensive Spanish course is offered before the beginning of each semester. An additional fee applies as this course is not part of the regular academic offering.
Multiple levels of Spanish for foreign students are also offered during each semester.
Courses in other world languages are also offered; see academic offering for details.


Eligibility and Timing

Terms Offered

  • Term 1
  • Term 2
  • Full year Term 1 + 2 (UBC Term 1 start)
  • Split year Term 2 +1 (UBC Term 2 start)

Who can go?

Only ARCH are eligible to apply to this partner university.

Term Dates

USM semester 1: Late February to end of July

USM semester 2: End of July to mid December

When submitting your application to Go Global, please select the UBC term that you wish to be abroad.

Timing

NOTE: for your Go Global application, please select the term that corresponds with UBC dates. For the case of UC, you would select UBC Term 1 if you wanted to study from August to December in Chile. You would select UBC Term 2 if you wanted to study at UC from March to June.

Credits

Course equivalency formula

Units same as UBC credits

Credit transfer process

The transfer credit process takes approximately 16 weeks following each submission deadline. You should allow sufficient time to meet important deadlines that may affect you (e.g. application for graduation, registration in courses that require prerequisites that you took on exchange, entry to a major/honours program, etc.)

For more information about Go Global transfer credit


Course Information

* Students who have special requirements or require academic accommodation should contact a Go Global advisor regarding their needs at least six weeks prior to the application deadline.

Type of Go Global Experiences

  • Exchange (pay UBC tuition)

Course information and restrictions

As long as students have the prerequisites, they may take classes from any department.

Full course load information

Exchange students must take a minimum of 10 USM credits per semester.

Partner Course Information


Transfer Credits And Equivalent Courses At This University

Check out the courses that previous students have transferred back to UBC in the last 5 years using our Course Search Tool. If you don't see a particular course you listed, it simply means you need to submit it as a new course request through the Transfer Credit Portal while on your Go Global experience. For more information, please visit the Go Global Transfer Credit webpage.

*Areas of study at partner universities are subject to change. The tool is for reference only - research the partners' websites for additional course information.

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Exchange Tuition

15 credits or equivalent full-time program fee per term, paid to UBC. Summer students attend through our exchange agreement and pay tution to UBC. Your tuition will be based on the number of credits earned at the partner institution.


Scholarships and awards

The Go Global Award $1000

All students accepted to Go Global for Exchange, Research Abroad, or Study Abroad travel programs are automatically considered for this award. If you meet the eligibility criteria, you'll be notified of your award after you're accepted to Go Global and after you get nominated to apply to the partner university.

Additional awards

Students who are eligible for awards may receive one UBC or UBC-affiliated international learning award. If you're eligible, you are always offered the highest-value award. Unless stated otherwise, you need to meet eligibility criteria set out by the University Senate regarding awards.

Check out international learning awards and eligibility.


Information for US students: 

If you are a student from the United States, please check the US Department of Education Lookup Tool to ensure that any partner institution you wish to attend on Exchange is Title IV ‘eligible’ for Federal Student Aid for the year in which you intend to study there. For institutions outside of the US, select “Foreign Country” from the “State” dropdown menu.

If you attend an eligible institution, then you may receive Title IV federal student loans while on Exchange.

If you attend an ineligible institution:

  • You will not be eligible for US federal student loans,
  • You may invalidate any US student aid you have previously received for your studies at UBC,
  • You may be required to immediately begin repaying your US student loans, and
  • You may not be eligible for any future US student aid for the remainder of your studies at UBC.

Additional Fees

Some partner fees may apply.

Types of accommodation available

  • Homestay
  • Off-campus

Housing notes

The USM does not provide student housing. There are also accommodations with local families (Homestay). For further information, contact us at info.oai@usm.cl.