• Date: Saturday, Jan. 14
• Optional trip
• Price: 50 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 8:30 a.m.

The Monasterio de Piedra was founded in 1194 when Alonso II granted an Arab castle to the monks of Poblet to build a monastery in the hopes of consolidating Christianity in the area. Legend says that this monastery is where the first chocolate candy was made. The natural park of Monasterio de Piedra offers an unbelievable experience, with a two-and-a-half hour walk through a lush parkland with waterfalls and grottos hidden in one of the driest areas of the region of Aragón. 

• Date: Sunday, Jan. 15
• Optional trip
• Price: 50 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 9 a.m.

Toledo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located just outside of Madrid. It is known as the "city of the three cultures" because Christians, Arabs and Jews lived together in this city for centuries. Behind its walls, Toledo preserves an artistic and cultural legacy in the form of churches, palaces, fortresses, mosques and synagogues. 

• Date: Saturday, Jan. 21
• Optional trip
• Price: 50 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 8:30 a.m.

Salamanca has been declared a "City of Mankind's Heritage" by UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is best known for its university, which was founded in the beginning of the 13th century. Don't leave Spain without visiting one of the most breathtaking Renaissance cities in Europe and exploring its Romanesque and Baroque architecture. 

• Date: Sunday, Jan. 22
• Optional trip
• Price: 50 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 9 a.m.

Segovia is one of the must-do day trips while in Madrid. Join us in visiting this UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for the Roman aqueduct that stands in the center of the old quarter. In addition, you will see numerous Romanesque churches and the Cathedral and Fortress (Castle). 

• Date: Friday-Sunday, Feb. 3-5
• Optional trip
• Price: 150 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall at 8 a.m.

Open to all students of all faiths. Travel to the Basque countryside of northern Spain and visit the birthplace of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. This is an opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and the Spiritual Exercises in the place where Saint Ignatius was born and lived his life. 

• Date: Friday, Feb. 17
• Faculty leader: Barah Mikail, Ph.D., Marco da Costa, Ph.D.
• Course: POLS 3567 Political Development in Contemporary Spain
• Mandatory trip
• Approximate price: 20 euros

On this trip, students will reflect on the significance of this monument and its impact on the political and social worldview. They will explore its symbolic significance, as well as the contemporary debates relating to its past, present, and future.

• Date: Friday, Feb. 17
• Faculty leader: Mónica Pérez Bedmar, M.Sc.
• Course: EAS 1310 Water Our Precious Resource
• Mandatory trip
• Price: 33 euros 

Students will understand how aquatic habitats function. They review the process of how aquatic habitats form. They learn about water use in agriculture activities. They experience and learn about the mismanagement of water resources.

• Date: Thursday, March 9
• Faculty leader: Guillermo M. Muñoz Caro, Ph.D.
• Course: PHYS 1130 M01 Introduction to Astronomy
• Mandatory trip
• Approximate price: 20 euros
• Departure from front steps at Padre Rubio Hall

Students will participate in a guided visit to a large European institution devoted to astronomy and space science. The students will get to know an environment where professional astronomers, engineers, and other staff are active and to learn about their work.

• Date: Thursday, March 9
• Faculty leader: Sergio Rosell, Ph.D.
• Course: THEO 3850 M01
• Mandatory trip
• Approximate price: Students are responsible for their own transportation and will pay for headsets that are approximately 1 euro each at the museum.

On this trip, students will be presenting on some paintings related to the theme of "Jesus in the Arts."

• Date: Tuesday, March 14
• Faculty: Kevin Ingram, Ph.D.
• Course: HIST 2800 The Historian's Craft (Mandatory trip)
• Price: Free

In this academic trip, the students learn all of the aspects of the historian's craft. On this guided tour of the National Library, students are introduced to one of the most important libraries and archives in Madrid. The library has an immense collection of over 26 million items, which includes 15 million books, 30,000 manuscripts, as well as music scores, newspapers and more. It also has an assortment of permanent and temporary collections.

• Dates: Tuesday, March 14 and Wednesday, March 15
• Faculty: María Belén Molinuevo, Ph.D.
• Course: ANTH 2200 Cultural Anthropology
• Mandatory trip
• Price: Free

The National Museum of Anthropology offers comprehensive information on the peoples of the world. It identifies what they have in common and what sets them apart. It is a compendium of the world’s cultural diversity. The students will learn anthropology through the collection of examples of "material culture" that represent the most important topics studied in the discipline, like religion, gender roles or rites of passage.

• Date: Tuesday, March 14 or Wednesday, March 16 (weather dependent) 
• Faculty leader: Iván Sánchez, Ph.D. 
• Course: BIOL 1340 The Diversity of Life 
• Mandatory trip 

On this trip, students in small groups will visit Bioblitz. Students can recognize and identify plants, fungi, and animals with the use of guidebooks, magnifiers and binoculars. They can recognize invasive species and see the consequences of their presence. They are conducting botanical assessments and amplifying their knowledge of the natural environment. 

• Date: Tuesday, March 21
• Faculty leader: Javier Sánchez España, Ph.D.
• Course: EAS 1430 M01 Introduction to the Solid Earth
• Mandatory trip
• Approximate price: 21 euros

Students will embark on a well-designed geologic route through the North of Madrid (El Molar, El Espartal, Torrelaguna, Patones, El Berrueco, and Cabanillas) to see some of the most emblematic and relevant "geosites" that we have in our region. The students will be able to see and study in situ different types of rocks (sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic) with distinct ages (from very young, unconsolidated sediments from the Miocene to very ancient metamorphic rocks from the Ordovicean), aspect, mineralogy and composition.

 The trip will have a strong lithological focus where we will see concepts of sedimentology, metamorphism, and igneous activity which are being studied in the course. In addition, the trip will also include places that are ideal to revise concepts of structural geology and crustal deformation (e.g. like faulting and folding), as well as on geomorphology (erosion, transport, sedimentation) and landscape evolution.

• Dates: Friday-Saturday, March 24-25
• Faculty leader: Hamish Binns, M.A.
• Course: Core Reflection in Action Requirement
• Optional Trip
• Price: 100 euros

In this overnight trip, students will work with children who are at risk of social exclusion in Puertollano. The price of the trip includes all meals, accommodations, transport and activity materials. To sign up for the trip, please email Hamish Binns directly at hamish.binns@slu.edu.

• Date: Tuesday, April 11 or Thursday, April 13 (weather dependent) 
• Faculty leader: Iván Sánchez, Ph.D. 
• Course: BIOL 1340 The Diversity of Life 
• Optional trip 

This trip is open to anyone who wants to attend. On this trip, students will take the train on their own to arrive at Collado Mediano at 8:10 p.m. and they will return to Madrid either taking the 9:45 or 10:45 p.m. train. The students will learn about and identify amphibian species for conservation as well as develop field experience while learning about landscape ecology. They will search for amphibian and reptile species.

• Date: Friday, April 14
• Optional trip
• Price: 45 euros (everything is included: food, transportation, and the venue).
• Departure time and location: 9 a.m. at Padre Rubio Hall
• Arrival back to campus: 6 p.m.

Travel to the Sierra de Guadarrama for a day full of wellness-related activities. This retreat is planned to tend to the body, mind, and soul. Through activities such as yoga, meditation and exercises to help students look inward. Students will reflect on their purpose, their values, and what it is that moves them. If you have any dietary restrictions/food allergies, please contact directly Carla Aparicio Gallardo at carla.apariciogallardo@slu.edu.

• Date: Friday-Sunday, April 14-16
• Faculty leaders: Emilio Velasco, Ph.D., Gonzalo Moreno Warleta, Ph.D., Bethlem Boronat, Ph.D.
• Course: MKT 4900 Strategic Marketing
• Mandatory trip

This is a collaborative learning project between Saint Louis University — Madrid's Chaifetz School of Business and Fordham University's Gabelli School of Business. SLU-Madrid students will visit Fordham's campus, and vice versa, for a hackathon-like activity over two weekends that contributes to the achievement of the Learning Outcomes of the Courses involved.

• Date: Saturday, April 15
• Faculty: Paul Vita, Ph.D.
• Course: ENGL 2350 Faith, Doubt and Literature
• Optional trip
• Price: TBA

Among the thousands of pilgrims flocking to Ávila this year, SLU-Madrid students taking ENGL 2350 Faith, Doubt and Literature will visit Ávila. Saint Teresa's autobiography is one of the most widely read Spanish prose classics after Don Quixote. The proximity of Ávila to Madrid means that students can visit many of the sites that the great mystic and religious reformer wrote about, including the shrine that stands on the site of her birth, the Augustinian Convent where she went to school, the Monastery of the Incarnation where she lived for 30 years and San José, the reformed convent she founded.

• Date: TBA             
• Faculty: Mónica Pérez-Bedmar 
• Course: EAS 1050 Introduction to Oceanography
• Mandatory trip
• Price: 370 to 399 euros

The field trip will take students to Cabo de Palos, in the region of Murcia on Spain's southeastern coast. As one of the most ecologically diverse areas of the Mediterranean Sea, it proves an ideal site to study the main environmental issues the region is facing. The field trip includes visits to nearby oceanographic institutes, a desalination site, natural reserves and natural parks. The excursion includes a dive at one of the most important Mediterranean reserves, Islas Hormigas, off the coast of Murcia, which provides the opportunity — weather permitting — to snorkel in its crystal blue waters and identify the different organisms studied in the course. The trip also includes kayaking along the most developed Mediterranean coastlines, to identify coastal issues and successful restoration projects. Price includes transportation, lodging, excursions (as programmed in the final itinerary) and breakfast. 

• Dates: TBA
• Optional trip
• Price: 50 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 9 a.m.

Toledo is a World Heritage site located just outside of Madrid. It is known as the "city of the three cultures" because Christians, Arabs and Jews lived together in this city for centuries. Behind its walls, Toledo preserves an artistic and cultural legacy in the form of churches, palaces, fortresses, mosques and synagogues.

• Dates: TBA
• Optional trip
• Price: 50 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 8:30 a.m.

The Monasterio de Piedra was founded in 1194 when Alonso II granted an Arab castle to the monks of Poblet to build a monastery in the hopes of consolidating Christianity in the area. Legend says that this monastery is where the first chocolate candy was made. The natural park of Monasterio de Piedra offers an unbelievable experience, with a two-and-a-half hour walk through a lush parkland with waterfalls and grottos hidden in one of the driest areas of the region of Aragón. 

• Dates: TBA
• Faculty: Mónica Pérez-Bedmar
• Course: EAS 1050 Introduction to Oceanography
• Mandatory trip
• Price: 350 to 399 euros

The field trip will take students to Cabo de Palos, in the region of Murcia on Spain's southeastern coast. As one of the most ecologically diverse areas of the Mediterranean Sea, it proves an ideal site to study the main environmental issues the region is facing. The field trip includes visits to nearby oceanographic institutes, a desalination site, natural reserves and natural parks. The excursion includes a dive at one of the most important Mediterranean reserves, Islas Hormigas, off the coast of Murcia, which provides the opportunity — weather permitting — to snorkel in its crystal blue waters and identify the different organisms studied in the course. The trip also includes kayaking along the most developed Mediterranean coastlines, to identify coastal issues and successful restoration projects. The price includes transportation, lodging, excursions (as programmed in the final itinerary) and breakfast. 

• Date: TBA
• Faculty leader: David Howden, Ph.D.
• Course: MKT 4550 International Marketing 
• Mandatory trip
• Approximate price: TBA
• Departure from front steps at Padre Rubio Hall

Join the International Marketing class on its annual shopping safari. The class visits multiple retail spaces in Madrid to see how marketing differs between stores. Along the way, they also learn first-hand how the same companies differ in their marketing approaches depending on the country they operate in.

• Dates: Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 5-7
• Faculty: Iván Sánchez, Ph.D.
• Course: EAS 1080 Introduction to Environmental Science
• Mandatory trip
• Price: TBA

On this trip, students will travel throughout the Basque Country where they will evaluate the environmental and landscape impact of different human actions. This will include scientific vegetation sampling, learning how to reduce threats to biodiversity and the natural processes, discovering agroforestry systems in different environments, conducting bird censuses and scientific ringing, and assessing sustainability, conservation processes, and ecological underlying mechanisms in marine reserves. Price includes transportation, lodging, excursions (as programmed in the final itinerary) and breakfast.

• Dates: TBA
• Optional trip
• Price: 50 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 8:30 a.m.

The Monasterio de Piedra was founded in 1194 when Alonso II granted an Arab castle to the monks of Poblet to build a monastery in the hopes of consolidating Christianity in the area. Legend says that this monastery is where the first chocolate candy was made. The natural park of Monasterio de Piedra offers an unbelievable experience, with a two-and-a-half hour walk through a lush parkland with waterfalls and grottos hidden in one of the driest areas of the region of Aragón. 

• Dates: TBA
• Optional trip
• Price: 50 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 9 a.m.

Toledo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located just outside of Madrid. It is known as the "city of the three cultures" because Christians, Arabs and Jews lived together in this city for centuries. Behind its walls, Toledo preserves an artistic and cultural legacy in the form of churches, palaces, fortresses, mosques and synagogues. 

• Date: TBA
• Optional trip
• Price: 50 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 8:30 a.m.

Salamanca has been declared a "City of Mankind’s Heritage" by UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is best known for its university, which was founded in the beginning of the 13th century. Don't leave Spain without visiting one of the most breathtaking Renaissance cities in Europe and exploring its Romanesque and Baroque architecture. 

• Date: TBA
• Optional trip
• Price: 50 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall front steps at 9 a.m.

Segovia is one of the must-do day trips while in Madrid. Join us in visiting this UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for the Roman aqueduct that stands in the center of the old quarter. In addition, you will see numerous Romanesque churches and the Cathedral and Fortress (Castle). 

• Date: TBA
• Faculty leader: Timothy Ryan Day, Ph.D.
• Course: ENGL 3470 Introduction to Shakespeare 
• Mandatory trip
• Approximate price: TBD

ENGL 3470 Introduction to Shakespeare includes a mandatory trip to the town of Shakespeare's birth and death, Stratford-upon-Avon. During the two-day trip, students will see a production of the Royal Shakespeare Theater, visit Shakespeare's birthplace, and tour other important historical sites such as the church where he was buried and the cottage where his wife Anne Hathaway spent her childhood. It's a unique opportunity to see the sites that inspired some of the English language's most important poetry and theater.

• Date: TBA
• Optional trip
• Price: 150 euros
• Departure from Padre Rubio Hall at 8 a.m.

Open to all students of all faiths. Travel to the Basque countryside of northern Spain and visit the birthplace of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. This is an opportunity for students to deepen their understanding of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and the Spiritual Exercises in the place where Saint Ignatius was born and lived his life. 

• Date: TBA              
• Faculty: Mónica Pérez-Bedmar 
• Course: EAS 1050 Introduction to Oceanography
• Mandatory trip
• Price: 370 to 399 euros

The field trip will take students to Cabo de Palos, in the region of Murcia on Spain's southeastern coast. As one of the most ecologically diverse areas of the Mediterranean Sea, it proves an ideal site to study the main environmental issues the region is facing. The field trip includes visits to nearby oceanographic institutes, a desalination site, natural reserves and natural parks. The excursion includes a dive at one of the most important Mediterranean reserves, Islas Hormigas, off the coast of Murcia, which provides the opportunity — weather permitting — to snorkel in its crystal blue waters and identify the different organisms studied in the course. The trip also includes kayaking along the most developed Mediterranean coastlines, to identify coastal issues and successful restoration projects. Price includes transportation, lodging, excursions (as programmed in the final itinerary) and breakfast. 

• Date: TBA
• Faculty: Paul Vita, Ph.D.
• Course: ENGL 2350 Faith, Doubt and Literature
• Optional trip
• Price: TBA

Among the thousands of pilgrims flocking to Ávila this year, SLU-Madrid students taking ENGL 2350 Faith, Doubt and Literature will visit Ávila. Saint Teresa's autobiography is one of the most widely read Spanish prose classics after Don Quixote. The proximity of Ávila to Madrid means that students can visit many of the sites that the great mystic and religious reformer wrote about, including the shrine that stands on the site of her birth, the Augustinian Convent where she went to school, the Monastery of the Incarnation where she lived for 30 years and San José, the reformed convent she founded.

• Date: TBA
• Faculty leader: Belén López Marti
• Course: PHYS 1130 M01 Introduction to Astronomy
• Mandatory trip
• Approximate price: 22 euros
• Departure from front steps at Padre Rubio Hall