Study Quechua in Cusco

Viva El Peru Glorioso (Long Live Glorious Peru) is inscribed on a mountain side above Cusco. Photo by David Merchant

Click on the picture above to view a slideshow featuring images
from Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu.

Learn Quechua in a Different Hemisphere
at 10,860 Feet Above Sea Level

In addition to our academic year Quechua program in Ann Arbor, LACS offers an intensive summer Quechua program in Cusco, Perú. Cusco, perched two miles up in the Andes, was once the capital of the Inca Empire and is now a  thriving, modern metropolis of nearly 400,000.

For more than a dozen years LACS has cosponsored the summer Quechua study program, most recently in collaboration with Centro Tinku which is directed by Dr. Jean-Jacques Decoster. This program is open to any undergraduate or graduate student who wishes to learn Southern Quechua. The program combines high quality intensive language instruction from the experienced faculty at Centro Tinku with the experience of living and learning in Cusco.

The program at Centro Tinku offers the same three levels (beginning, intermediate, advanced) of Quechua language offered in Ann Arbor, but each course is compressed into just seven weeks. Classes meet daily for four hours per day, for a total of 140 language instruction contact hours per course--the equivalent of a full academic year on campus. To complement the language training, participants also experience a series of lectures on Quechua culture and history and are guided on an extensive program of excursions and cultural events. Enrollment will be limited to 10 at each level.

Previous knowledge of Spanish is not required, though of course some familiarity with Spanish is useful for getting around Perú.

Quechua in Cusco 2012

2012 information and forms are now available below.

Schedule
Registration Form
Payment Form
Predeparture Intensive Quechua

Please note that while students may opt to receive University of Michigan credit by enrolling in the corresponding course, this enrollment is not required. Students enrolling for credit at Michigan will be required to pay Michigan tuition in addition to other program fees. Bear in mind that, regardless of whether they enroll through Michigan or directly through Centro Tinku, the same academic criteria will apply to all students.