Skidmore-in-Madrid (run jointly with the Tufts Program) is limited to 20 students in Madrid and 20 students in Alcalá. It  is designed to fully integrate students into Spanish life through such featurs as direct enrollment at the Autonomous University of Madrid or the University of Alcalá, the individualized family stay, an emphasis on involvement in cultural activities, internships, and pre-program contact with Spanish pen-pals. It is basically a one-year program of academic study, but will accept students for Fall semester in Alcalá and Spring in both places).

The program facility is situated in downtown Madrid and houses the administrative offices, classrooms and study rooms for student use. The two courses in Spanish Language and Civilization are held at the program center, as is the lecture series scheduled each semester to acquaint students with leading figures of Spain's cultural and political life. The center is equipped with computers, a video-library for student viewing, plus a library to supplement University libraries.

Students choose two to three courses to complete their semester load at the Autonomous University of Madrid or the University of Alcalá and tutorials (individual and group) are covered by the Program. The Program also covers the cost of the monthly transportation pass. Both Universties offer a large selection of courses including Spanish Language, Literature, Linguistics, History, Geography, Economics, Business, Law, Political Science, Anthropology, Sociology, Art History, Psychology (UAM only)  as well as science courses for advanced science majors.

The Civilization course taken by all students involves students in Spain´s active cultural life, designating each month a series of plays, films, exhibits, concerts and lectures to be attended. Students are reimbursed by the program for these activities as well as for other extracurricular activities they may choose to do. One or two excursions led by University professors are planned each semester to expose students to some of Spain's historic and artistic treasures. For Madrid students a two-week Orientation session is run at the beginning of the program in Segovia and Madrid and a 3-4 day session is scheduled in Toledo at the end of January for second semester students. Alcalá students have orientation session at the beginning of September and beginning of January in Alcalá de Henares and join Madrid students for the excursions to Segovia and Toledo.

Housing is arranged for the students by placing them individually, according to their preferences, in families carefully selected by the program. If requested, student boarding houses and dormitories can be arranged. Placements are made only on a one-per-family basis because of the importance of this experience as a source of one-to-one contact with the culture and the language. Students have breakfast and dinner with their families and receive a weekly allowance for lunch.

The fall and spring options at Alcalá are structured within the same framework and are based at the University of Alcalá, with a program office at the" Instituto Universitario de Estudios Norteamericanos", offering students both the small town atmosphere of historical Alcalá and easy to the big city of Madrid.

The comprehensive fee for the program is approximately the same as the cost of tuition, room and board at Skidmore College.