What makes BYU’s study abroad program in Mérida, México, unique? Students are provided with a fully immersive experience—eating, sleeping, and breathing Spanish.
At BYU, students are highly encouraged to participate in experiential learning opportunities: clubs, student organizations, internships, or even study abroad programs. BYU’s Spanish & Portuguese Department offers several study abroad programs, each with their own unique elements. One of these programs sends students to Mérida, México, where they spend eight weeks fully immersing themselves in the vibrant culture of the Yucatan peninsula.
Summer on the Yucatan Peninsula
In many study abroad programs, students complete coursework assigned by the BYU professor leading the trip. But for the duration of their stay in Mérida, students take classes from local professors at Universidad Modelo, which has partnered with this BYU program for almost 20 years. Professor Scott Alvord (Spanish Linguistics and Phonology), who ran the 2025 program, explains that at Universidad Modelo, students can take classes that “they can’t really take here on BYU campus.” Students can study unique topics like Yucatecan literature, the history of the Yucatan Peninsula, and the still-prevalent Mayan culture.
Spencer Smart (Cybersecurity ’28), who participated in the summer 2025 program, enjoyed learning about Yucatecan culture at Universidad Modelo. Not only did the students take classes at the university, but they also got to participate in weekly workshops. Smart says he learned about “traditional Yucatecan dance, Yucatecan food, even the Mayan language.”
Students keep busy with their classes and workshops during the week. Then, on the weekends, they go on excursions to “get to know the history and the culture of the Yucatan people,” explains Alvord. They visit famous Mayan archeological sites such as Chichén Itzá and Uxmal to learn about the history of the Mayans, who “never disappeared. They’re still there,” emphasizes Alvord.
A Cultural Experience
Students’ cultural immersion is deepened by the fact that they are placed with host families. “The host families are great,” Alvord says. “They take in the students and treat them like family,” inviting them to parties and various activities. Smart and Alvord both noticed that the Yucatecan people place great value on spending time together as families. Alvord says, “Prioritizing your family relationships over professional work is something that I think we can all learn from.”
Smart enjoyed eating meals with his host family each night, noticing a difference between traditional Mexican food and the dishes he enjoyed in the Yucatan Peninsula. “Dishes that are very typical in other parts of Mexico, like carne asada, aren’t super common,” he says. “There are a lot of dishes that are unique to Yucatan that aren’t really eaten in other parts of Mexico.”
Another difference that Smart noticed is the laid-back aspect of the Yucatecan culture. It came into play when he attended a baseball game for one of his cultural excursions. “In Yucatan, baseball is bigger than soccer,” Smart says. Before going, he was told the crowd would be intense. But at the game, it seemed to him that, despite the fans’ enthusiasm for their team, the atmosphere remained relatively calm, at least compared to what he was used to in the US. In Smart’s opinion, the Yucatecan culture is “just generally more—they would say tranquilo—more chill.”
Smart appreciates the chance he had to participate in this study abroad experience and learn from the Yucatecan people and culture. “It’s good to get perspective,” he reflects. It was definitely worth it for him, he says, “to really get that immersion and experience.”
Learn more about this and other Spanish and Portuguese study abroad opportunities here.