Faculty Led Program

Our Faculty-Led programs are made for you, with you and by you. Faculty-Led programs require professors to play more than just the role of a teacher. Teachers have a lot more responsibility, having to manage a group of students 24/7, and when you’re abroad in a foreign country you want to make sure you are guided by professionals in the field. 


That’s where SAIIE comes in. 

- More  than 30 years of experience working with American colleges and students.
- Fully-qualified, welcoming and bilingual (Spanish/English) staff on call 24 hours a day.
- We provide you with classroom and shared office space, and administrative support
- Qualified professors to teach any course from our list of courses that we offer at the SAIIE study abroad program
- Help organizing and designing Community Service Learning projects
- Cultural activities and field trips. 
- Accommodation with or no meals
- And much more

 

FACULTY TESTIMONIALS  

"SAIIE engages wholeheartedly the transformative experience that study abroad offers to students—one that can impact them both personally and professionally.

The customized approach, of working directly with Sean, Sam and Stuart offers a unique value to the experience offered to students; one that builds off the local networks SAIIE has established along with offering a global mindset based on each of their intercultural backgrounds. 

As a faculty leader, I appreciate the personalized and continual sharing of ideas that goes into every study abroad program to constantly improve. The long-term relationship fostered with SAIIE has allowed authentic relationships and trust to flourish, and foster growth in myself and that of my students. Beyond the places visited, both business and cultural, one of the most impactful aspects of the program has been holding space for students to learn about themselves and how they engage with the world.  Fostering diverse perspectives, shared student experiences, all coordinated by SAIIE is invaluable in building future leaders and fostering continued curiosity of the world.

As a faculty member leading students abroad for other 15 years, working with SAIIE continues to renew my sense of purpose and direction in fostering student’s growth mindset of the world. It’s not just about going somewhere new--—it’s about student’s discovering their potential, and becoming a better global citizen."
Dr. Summer E. Swanziger Elsinger
Lecturer
School of Business
UW-Platteville
SAIIE has helped Dr. Summer lead programs to Spain in January 2024 & 2025

 

For nearly 15 years, we’ve been incredibly impressed with SAIIE!  Because of SAIIE’s creative, thoughtful vision for international education, their professional, organized, and accessible team, and their tireless work on our behalf, our Carleton College faculty led program always runs so smoothly and our students thrive in Sevilla.  Stuart, Sean, and Samantha bring a unique and welcome personal approach. They are right there with us every step of the way.  

From the very first day in the planning process, we rely on SAIIE’s expert cultural and educational advice. Their staff is caring, dedicated and always willing to go above and beyond to create life changing and lifelong learning experiences and memories for our group.   From home stays, to excursions, to service projects to the day-to-day details, what truly sets SAIIE apart is their personal attention to our students’ educational needs and their remarkable ability to connect our group with Sevillian life and culture!  

We are excited to continue depending on SAIIE to make our future programs in Spain so successful.
Robert Carlson 
Professor of Physical Education, Athletics, and Recreation & Head Men's Soccer Coach
Carleton College

SAIIE has helped Coach Carlson lead programs to Spain in Winter 2014 / 2016 / 2018 / 2020 / 2022 / 2024

 

"Their expertise and over 30 years of experience in the international education field shines through in everything they do. 

SAIIE provides a top-notch international education experience. They take all of the work out of planning and organizing all in country events for faculty. They certainly go above and beyond the call of duty. We had weather interview with on our optional activities and SAIIE was quick to re-organize for a later date. We had an ill student during our trip and a member of SAIIE brought her popsicles and medication at her home stay. Our students LOVED all of the SAIIE staff, they stated that they felt part of the SAIIE family within a couple of days of arriving in Sevilla. In addition, to all of the expected professional assistance, SAIIE are true hosts. They provide faculty and students alike with recommendations for places to eat, things to do, things to see outside of the planned itinerary so that we are left feeling like true Sevillanos when the course concludes. 10/10 recommend."
Dr. Maria Morgan-Bathke
Chair|Director, Dietetic Internship Program|Assistant Professor, Nutrition and Dietetics

Viterbo University
SAIIE has helped Dr. organ-Bathke lead programs to Spain in May 2018 & 2023

 

My experience taking 18 students to Spain for a two-week short-term faculty led program was outstanding.  First, the organization of trips, meals, tours, and other experiences by the staff at SAIIE were very well done.  They surpassed our academic expectations, and the timing and logistics were flawless.  Students were exposed to several examples of “Farm to Fork” operations and the hosts at each site took time to engage with the students.

Orchestrating the basics of food and shelter, the academic objectives, and the experience of a new culture for 18 students, many who were traveling outside the United States for the first time can be overwhelming.  However, the folks at SAIIE made it all seem easy.  They were superstars!

No one can say it better than the students themselves.  Following are a few comments from a post-trip reflection.

  • Instead of living in my own bubble in my country, I want to continue to educate myself on what is going on in the rest of the world.
  • After this experience I really do want to travel abroad again
  • I think it's important to respect people even more and understand the cultures of where they live.
  • This trip made me want to travel even more and taught me more about travel. I hope to be able to go to more places and learn even more about the world.
  • I feel that this pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me create relationships with people I know will last a lifetime.
  • Going forward I want to take my personal experiences from this trip to my internship or job and continue to grow as a person and keep an open mind to all things that go into the agriculture field.
  • My thinking regarding culture has also changed. I am a lot more curious to see what the culture is like in other areas of the world.

Dr. Kevin Bernhardt
Professor of Agribusiness

UW-Platteville
SAIIE has helped Dr. Bernhardt lead programs to Spain in January 2019 & 2025

 

SAIIE Video