Welcome!
SLU-Madrid's Student Life team and campus ambassadors are ready to help you adjust to your new life as a Billikeño.
Our orientation activities help you make friends and learn about our campus and Madrid.
Our Office of Student Life team organizes orientation, but everyone on campus ensures it's a valuable experience. This includes our campus ambassadors: upperclassmen who guide you through orientation and are always available to answer questions you might have from them — a fellow student — versus our staff. You can't miss the campus ambassadors — they wear bright orange!
Fall 2025
The Office of Student Life, Campus Ambassadors and the entire SLU-Madrid community are excited to welcome you to campus this fall with orientation events! While orientation is not required, it is strongly encouraged. You never know where you might make a lifelong friend.
- Saturday, Aug. 29 and Sunday, Aug. 30: Student Life will host walking tours, a tapas tour and more. Keep an eye out for more information via email and Raftr later this summer on how to sign up.
- Monday, Sept. 1: Orientation day! Save this day for us. We will host all first-year and transfer students on campus for welcome sessions where you can learn more about life at SLU-Madrid, what services are available to you, and you will learn more about your academic life from a professor. We hope to have a social event for you in the evening, too!
- Tuesday, Sept. 2: We will keep the fun going with more walking tours hosted by our Campus Ambassadors.
- Wednesday, Sept. 3: First day of classes! No orientation activities this day as you will be in class. We might do a little something fun though, like first day of school pictures. Stay tuned.
- Saturday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 7: Every semester, we do day trips on the first weekend. Locations have included Monasterio de Piedra, Segovia, Toledo and El Escorial. These trips are usually 50 euros per student, per trip. We will share more information later this summer with details on the trips and how you can sign up.
- Saturday, Sept. 13 and Sunday, Sept. 14: More day trips!
- To be determined: The U.S. Embassy visits SLU-Madrid during the first few weeks of the semester to do a safety briefing that is required for all students who are U.S. citizens. Watch for more information about that visit. Additionally, Student Life will also host at least one residency card (TIE) workshop where students can learn about the process of getting their first card.
Host family move-in: Starting Monday, Sept. 1, students living with host families can move in. Contact housing-madrid@slu.edu if you have any concerns about timing. If you arrive after Sept. 1, do not stress. Just be sure to communicate with the housing coordinator and your host family so they know when to expect you.
Raftr: The Admissions team and Student Life will inform you through email and Raftr about things you need to know before starting the semester. Join the Raftr community if you haven't already. Contact admissions-madrid@slu.edu for your code.
We are so excited to welcome you for your study abroad experience at SLU-Madrid! To make your time abroad a little easier, we host a series of welcome events that we would love to see you at.
- Saturday, Aug. 29 and Sunday, Aug. 30: Student Life will host walking tours, a tapas tour and more. Keep an eye out for more information via email and Raftr later this summer on how to sign up.
- Monday, Sept. 1: Host family move in. Students who are living with host families can move in! Please contact housing-madrid@slu.edu if you have any concerns about timing. If you arrive after Sept. 1, do not stress. Just be sure you communicate with the housing coordinator and your host family so they know when to expect you.
- Tuesday, Sept. 2: Orientation day! Save this day for us. We will send more information later this summer, but we'll host welcome sessions where you can learn more about life at SLU-Madrid, what services are here for you, and you will learn more about academic expectations from a professor.
- Wednesday, Sept. 3: First day of classes! No orientation activities, as you will be in class.
- Saturday, Sept. 6 and Sunday, Sept. 7: We do day trips the first weekend of every semester. We've done trips like Monasterio de Piedra, Segovia, Toledo and El Escorial. These trips are usually 50 euros per student, per trip. We will share more information this summer with details on the trips and how you can sign up.
- Saturday, Sept. 13 and Sunday, Sept. 14: More day trips!
- To be determined: The U.S. Embassy comes to campus during the first few weeks of the semester to do a safety briefing that is required for all students who are U.S. citizens. Watch for more information.
Partner programs: Students studying abroad from partner programs like the University of Delaware World Scholars and Northeastern University's N.U.in program will have different orientation schedules and should contact their program coordinators with questions.
We love hosting families who are eager to learn more about their student's life at SLU-Madrid.
Please encourage your student to share orientation emails with you so you are updated on scheduling as we get closer to the date. We plan to host a special orientation for parents and families on Monday, Sept. 1, but more to come!
Raftr: The Admissions team and Student Life will inform your students about things they need to know before starting the semester through email and Raftr. There is a separate parent and family community on Raftr where families can connect and ask questions. Join Raftr using code "SLUFamilies2025."
If you have any questions about orientation, email us at studentlife-madrid@slu.edu.