Spanish Schools in Medellín: University Programs, 2026 Prices and How to Check a School

Three universities in Medellín publish Spanish courses for foreigners: Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (UPB), Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA) and Universidad EAFIT. The Instituto Caro y Cuervo, the Colombian government institute that runs the official "Spanish in Colombia" portal, lists UdeA and EAFIT for Medellín.¹

Sources: UPB ESPEX; Instituto Caro y Cuervo, Universidad de Antioquia (published Sept 3, 2026); EAFIT Spanish program.

UPB counts an academic hour as 55 minutes of class, so a 2-hour block is 1 hour 50 minutes. You need 80% attendance to get a certificate.²

At the three universities, a 40-hour group course costs between COP 2.1 million and COP 3.7 million, and EAFIT's private classes cost COP 167,000 an hour.

Per hour of class, that works out to about COP 53,500 for a UPB group course, COP 91,600 for a UdeA level and COP 167,000 for EAFIT private classes (our arithmetic from the prices above). UPB's hours are 55 minutes long.

Our Medellín cost of living guide covers rent and other monthly costs.

The three university programs are classroom courses, not full immersion packages: none of the pages we read offers housing, and UdeA says it offers none. UdeA's course is built around the Spanish spoken in Medellín and Antioquia, and in-person students get guided visits on campus and around the city.⁴ If you want to live in Spanish outside class, our long-term rental guide and neighborhoods overview cover where to stay.

Search for the school in the Ministry of Education's SIET database, choosing "Secretaría de Educación Municipal de Medellín" as the secretariat. Language programs of 160 hours or more offered as "educación para el trabajo y el desarrollo humano" (job-and-skills training) need a registration issued by the city's education secretariat, which enters it in SIET.⁶⁷

A registered school must print the number of its registration act and the type of certificate in its ads and brochures, and say that the program doesn't lead to a professional degree.⁷

Courses under 160 hours count as "educación informal". They need no registration, can only give you a certificate of attendance (constancia de asistencia), and their ads must say they lead to no degree or certificate.⁸ So a school missing from SIET isn't necessarily breaking a rule, but it can't give you a registered certificate.

University language programs also need this registration unless the university holds high-quality accreditation, in which case it only notifies the secretariat.⁷

To be listed on the Caro y Cuervo portal, a language school needs at least two years of experience teaching Spanish to foreigners, a study plan, a program coordinator and at least one teacher specialized in teaching Spanish as a foreign language.⁹ As of Nov 1, 2026, the portal lists no private language school in Medellín.

Not if your passport is visa-exempt and you stay 180 calendar days or less: students with those passports don't need the student visa (Visa V Estudiante).¹⁰ Visa-exempt visitors get up to 90 days on entry and can extend, but not past 180 days in the same calendar year.¹¹

If you extend your stay to keep studying, Migración Colombia's rules list "Educativo" as an activity for the extension, backed by a document from a recognized school, for a non-formal program that fits within your allowed stay.¹¹ Our guide to extending your stay explains the process.

For a longer course, or if your passport needs a visa, read our Colombia student visa guide. Language students on that visa can't work.¹⁰

UPB says it can, if you pay in advance for at least three courses in a row (120 hours), take at least 10 hours of class a week, and pay up front for every course that falls within your visa. It warns that it will report your absence to the authorities if you miss more than 20% of a course without notice.²

UPB also says that its letter doesn't guarantee a visa; Cancillería decides.² UdeA's and EAFIT's pages that we read don't say whether they issue visa letters. Ask before you pay.

EAFIT's Testing Center lists the DELE among the exams it handles and says DELE results take about 4 months.¹² The Instituto Caro y Cuervo doesn't certify Spanish itself and points to the Instituto Cervantes list of DELE centers, which includes Medellín.¹³

UdeA offers its own reading and communication exams at levels B1 to C1, for academic use within the university.⁴

• Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, ESPEX Spanish Program for Foreign Students (2026 start dates; 2-hour blocks; 55-minute academic hour; 80% attendance; 2026 fees: group COP 2,141,400, private COP 4,281,900, exchange COP 1,600,200; 10% off for 3 or more courses; study-visa conditions): https://www.upb.edu.co/en/centro-lenguas/espex-spanish-program-foreign-students
• Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Resolución Rectoral General No. 089 of Nov 20, 2025, Centro de Lenguas tariffs for 2026 (ESPEX group, private and exchange fees): https://portal.upb.edu.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/tarifas-centro-de-lenguas.pdf
• Instituto Caro y Cuervo, Spanish in Colombia, "Universidad de Antioquia" (published Sept 3, 2026; 12 courses of 40 hours, Pre-A1 to C2; schedules; COP 3,663,000 per level; 10% discount; free placement interview; no housing; Calle 67 # 53-108, Aranjuez): https://spanishincolombia2.caroycuervo.gov.co/universidad-de-antioquia/
• Instituto Caro y Cuervo, Spanish in Colombia, "Medellín" (UdeA and EAFIT listed): https://spanishincolombia2.caroycuervo.gov.co/medellin/
• Instituto Caro y Cuervo, Spanish in Colombia, conditions for listing universities and language schools: https://spanishincolombia2.caroycuervo.gov.co/estudia-espanol-en-colombia/condiciones-de-participacion-y-permanencia-en-spanish-in-colombia/
• Instituto Caro y Cuervo, Spanish in Colombia, "Escuelas de idiomas" (updated Jul 22, 2026; two schools listed, neither in Medellín): https://spanishincolombia2.caroycuervo.gov.co/estudia-espanol-en-colombia/escuelas-de-idiomas/
• Instituto Caro y Cuervo, Spanish in Colombia, FAQ (published Jul 30, 2025; ICC doesn't certify Spanish; DELE centers via Instituto Cervantes): https://spanishincolombia2.caroycuervo.gov.co/quienes-somos/preguntas-frecuentes/
• Universidad EAFIT, Spanish program (COP 167,000 per hour; no additional fees; Carrera 49 N° 7 Sur-50): https://www.eafit.edu.co/idiomas/spanish-program
• Universidad EAFIT, Testing Center (DELE listed; results about 4 months): https://www.eafit.edu.co/idiomas/testing-center
• Decreto 1075 de 2015 (Decreto Único Reglamentario del Sector Educación), arts. 2.6.4.6 (registration of programs, SIET; university language programs) and 2.6.6.1 (advertising), Cancillería normograma copy (last updated Jul 31, 2019): https://cancilleria.gov.co/sites/default/files/Normograma/docs/decreto_1075_2015_pr046.htm
• Decreto 1075 de 2015, art. 2.6.6.8 (educación informal: under 160 hours, no registration, certificate of attendance only), Cancillería normograma copy: https://cancilleria.gov.co/sites/default/files/Normograma/docs/decreto_1075_2015_pr047.htm
• Ministerio de Educación Nacional, SIET program search (Secretaría de Educación Municipal de Medellín listed as a secretariat): https://siet.mineducacion.gov.co/consultasiet/programa/index.jsp
• Cancillería, Resolución 5477 of Jul 22, 2022, consolidated text (art. 36 V Estudiante: exemption up to 180 days for visa-exempt passports; work only for postgraduates): https://cancilleria.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/resolucion_minrelaciones_5477_2022.htm
• Migración Colombia, Resolución 2061 de 2020, on the Cancillería normograma (art. 16: 180 days per calendar year; art. 17: extendable permits, "Educativo" 90 days; art. 19: "Educativo" activity, non-formal program, document from a recognized school): https://cancilleria.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/resolucion_uaemc_2061_2020.htm