Lisbon Courses – 2026 Summer

If you have questions about the academics or courses available on this program, locate the Program Advisor to email them your questions directly.

Academics

USAC's partnership with Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) allows you to focus your summer studies on Portugal and the European Union. Students can choose to take either one or two courses during UCP's June session. All courses are taught at the undergraduate level and are offered within UCP's Faculty of Human Sciences. With the exception of Portuguese language classes, courses are taught in English. Each course is worth 6 ECTS, which equates to 3 U.S. semester credits.

Courses at Universidade Católica Portuguesa (subject to change):

Elementary Portuguese Language

This elementary-level course aims to help students develop basic communication skills in European Portuguese. The course is designed to enable fast progression in language learning and to provide an introduction to Portuguese culture and society. Class meetings are structured around the four communicative skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), which are integrated into authentic real-life scenarios.

Intermediate Portuguese Language

This intermediate-level course enables language learning through listening to oral interactions and speeches, reading written texts related to current and daily language, communicating in daily interactions and other scenarios where language is spoken, and writing both original and reproduced content. Language learning is applied to several real-life topics, including traveling, daily news, interpersonal relationships, small talk in personal and work situations, and more.

Intercultural Communication

This course introduces students to the interdisciplinary field of intercultural communication, which focuses on the importance culture plays in our lives and in our communication processes, both verbal and non-verbal. It explores complex cultural dynamics from different conceptual perspectives, and it is designed to increase sensibility to cultural heterogeneity and improve cultural self-awareness. By combining theory and practice, the course allows students to explore the ways in which intercultural communication impacts our personal, academic, and professional lives in an increasingly interconnected world.

International Marketing

This course equips students with the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary to analyze the global business and marketing landscape, create effective international marketing strategies, and respond more effectively to global opportunities and competitive circumstances. Students will gain a thorough understanding of international marketing environments, while also analyzing international market profiles, exploring strategic options for entry and expansion, learning about international marketing research methods, and discussing current issues in multinational marketing.

Travel Photography

This course introduces the basics of visual journalism, including composition, lighting, ethics, and theory, before providing students with the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the field. Students will use Lisbon as their classroom to capture content for their assignment(s). The final segment of the class will focus on how students can edit and process their work for print.

Global Asia: Business, Cultures, Politics

This course explores cultural, economic, and political realities while examining both the historical relationship between Portugal and Asia and the role of Asia in today's world. Teaching methodologies are interdisciplinary in nature, encourage teamwork, and promote an understanding of Asian cultural, economic, and political elements. A wide range of topics are explored, including nationalism and (re)unification, digital Confucianism, manga and anime, Korean pop culture, cosmopolitanism, and more.

All courses are subject to meeting minimum enrollments to run.

Course Descriptions

Please contact the USAC Advising department to obtain course syllabi.