Although the United States’ decision to reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba has many symbolic and economic implications, academic opportunities for students in Cuba may not be influenced far beyond expanding due to increased attention and popularity. 

However, along with making transactions within the country simpler for students, the change will bring an unprecedented historical element to study abroad opportunities that could attract a greater number of students to Cuba, according to Nicholas Robins, a professor of history and the head of the Cuban study abroad program at NC State.  

“It’s not just about studying history, it’s about being part of history,” Robins said. “People are really going to be able to see a process of change, really be part of a process of change in relationship between these two nations that no one has been able to do in over 50 years.”

On Dec. 17, U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro announced the beginning a process to normalize relations between the two nations. The U.S. has not had formal diplomatic relations with Cuba and has upheld an embargo which made it illegal for businesses in the U.S. to do business with Cuba since the Cuban Revolution in 1959.  

Robins, who founded and directed the Cuban Studies program at Tulane University prior to his arrival at NC State, said there are still many complex logistical elements that would make drastically increasing the number of academic programs in Cuba difficult for universities to do quickly. 

“Cuba is a very complex environment to work in,” Robins said. “I don’t think that this change is going to lead to an explosion of academic programs in Cuba.”

Students were among a limited number of groups allowed to travel prior to Obama’s decision to lift the Cuban embargo, so it is possible that changes to the diplomatic relationship between the two countries will increase the popularity of already existing programs, Robins said. 

As far as the administration of the program goes, the change in regulations should make spending money simpler for students in Cuba. The major restrictions American students faced affected how they could spend money within Cuba.

“One of the things that is going to happen is people will be permitted to use credit cards and debit cards in Cuba as they would in any other country,” Robins said. 

As the U.S. and Cuba thaw out their relationship, parents are likely to feel more comfortable about sending their students to Cuba, as opposed to a less controversial nation, Robins said. 

As part of the change, the U.S. is removing Cuba from the State Department list of nations that sponsor terrorism, a statement that had little relevance to reality prior to Obama’s announcement, according to Robins. 

“The whole change will make parents a little more comfortable,” Robins said. “I think students are often more excited about going down there than their parents are.”

NC State sent its first group of students to Cuba to study abroad last summer. The group of 12 students was given the opportunity to study the environmental history of Cuba and Cuban language and culture at the University of Havana for three weeks. 

The program is set continue this summer and hopes to see an increased student interest going forward in light of the diplomatic progress, Robins said. 

Gabriel DeCaro, a senior studying nuclear engineering who attended the study abroad program, said easing up on the financial restrictions in Cuba would make living in Cuba simpler for students, as the country currently has two different currencies. 

The first currency, the moneda nacional, is the currency the Cuban people are given by the government under communism. The second currency, the Cuban Peso (CUP), is a tourist currency fixed to $1 U.S. to one CUP. 

“I had three different currencies going on everywhere,” DeCaro said. “It was a bit annoying at times, and converting got pretty difficult.”

Now that the U.S. and Cuba are beginning to repair their relationship, DeCaro said he hopes it will eventually get easier and more comfortable for students to get to Cuba, as last year’s group of students had to take a charter airline to get to the island which was “kind of sketchy.”

With transactions and program administration becoming simpler and the fermentation of everything that’s going on in Cuba, now is an excellent time for other students considering studying abroad to think about going to Cuba, Robins said.

“The timing really couldn’t be better,” Robins said.