study abroad in Spain

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Can any of you think of any universities with good study abroad programs in Spain during the summer? Also, these programs have to allow students from other universities the chance to take part in the experience. I'm not concerned with studying abroad this summer but rather next summer (2008).</p>

<p>Michigan has great study abroad options during the school year, but I'd really like to be a part of experiences with friends that take place in Ann Arbor during that time. That's why I'd prefer to study abroad during the summer. Unfortunately, my options through my own university are limited during this time of the year so I'm looking for programs through other universities in which I can enroll.</p>

<p>Finally, I apologize if this post is slightly incomprehensible. I'm tired.</p>

2

<p>FWIW-- our niece did a semester in Valencia, and said there were a lot of UVA kids there -- might be something to look into. She liked Valencia very much.</p>

3

<p>Look at BCA. My daughter from Tufts is in Barcelona doing peace and justice studies for the year with Brethern Colleges Abroad. Also - tuition is half the Tufts program.</p>

4

<p>My S studied in Santander, Spain last summer through his school, the University of Miami. They have several summer Spain programs and do accept students from other universities.</p>

5

<p>One of my Ds is studying abroad this summer at the University of Granada, not through her own university, although they will accept the credits, but through ISA.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.studiesabroad.com/programs/byDuration/3%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studiesabroad.com/programs/byDuration/3&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Another D who is at NYU knows kids who have done the NYU program in Madrid.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nyu.edu/fas/summer/madrid/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nyu.edu/fas/summer/madrid/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>You might also want to check Sweetbriar's program in Spain. I know that they accept other school's students for their program in Seville during the school year, so perhaps they have a summer program, too.</p>

6

<p>Tulane University recently added the study abroad in Granada program to their offerings. It's only currently being offered for the Fall semester.</p>

<p>But I mention it because they also have endorsed the organization mentioned above, ISA, as their intermediary. So, there's another vote for the quality of that organization.</p>

<p>I have heard that Granada is a fantastic place for students. Much smaller than a Madrid with lots of charm. A very student-oriented community, it seems to be a good choice for those looking for a more intimate experience.</p>

7

<p>Check out any of the university of california campuses, they have summer travel programs open to non-students.....go to each website, for example <a href="http://www.uci.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.uci.edu&lt;/a> then search summer and you will find:
<a href="http://www.summer.uci.edu/travelstudy/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.summer.uci.edu/travelstudy/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Similar options should be available at all the campuses</p>

8

<p>I highly recommend the University of Salamanca--many US schools run programs in cooperation with USAL. It is the quintessential university town, about two hours from Madrid; there are usually Saturday or full weekend excursions available as well as cultural classes such as dance, music, film studies in addition to language. USAL is the oldest university in Spain, but their language-teaching methods are quite up to date, firmly grounded in Krashen's hypotheses and the communicative approach while still maintaining a strict immersion experience; with a number of other Spanish programs I've either checked on personally or had students report on their experiences, rote discrete grammar exercises and memorized dialogues were the main form of instruction.</p>

9

<p>My son studied in an immersion program in Spain fpr sevem weels during the summer after his freshman year of college. He had a grant from his college to use for summer study of his choice, and needed approval of an advisor for his plan, and also had to do a small project documenting his experience. The advisor for this experience was a Spanish language professor. She recommended against Salamanca (at least in the summer) because she felt that there were so many Americans and other foreign students there that he would not get an authentic Spanish experience. She recommended Valencia, which is not as popular with foreign students, and he spent half the time there and half the time in Sevilla. Sevilla is a very manageable size city with many historic sites, and he was able to take a weekend trip with other students to visit the Alhambra in Granada. He enjoyed his experiences in both of these cities.</p>

10

<p>Thanks for the responses, and I'm sorry for not responding a few months ago. (I don't remember receiving an e-mail stating that there were responses in this thread. Maybe I missed it.) Sevilla would have been my first choice, and my school has a program with Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania which sends students to the Universidad de Sevilla. However, it's during the school year, and I'd prefer to not miss what will happen at my own school. Unfortunately, I don't think Sevilla has a study abroad program during the summer.</p>

<p>Right now, I'm leaning towards Madrid or Granada. (Yes, I'm looking for language classes.)</p>

<p>Could anyone tell me a little about travel in Europe (mainly expenses)? (I've been there once before now. However, I was 11 so I wouldn't have known about any of this.) If I study there, I know that we'll be bound to take weekend excursions on the weekends.</p>

<p>Gracias otra vez por la ayuda.</p>

11

<p>OP, have you checked with Michigan's study abroad office and your Spanish department? They should be able to refer you to cooperating programs--it's good to work through your own U as much as possible to ensure the transfer of credits, and it might even be possible that some financial aid can be used (if you have it).</p>

<p>As for travel in Europe, the euro is killing us and the pound is worse, but it is still possible to travel economically. If you end up in Granada, Ryanair serves the Granada-Jaen airport with outbound flights to Barcelona, Milan, London Standsted, East Midlands, Liverpool and Frankfurt Hahn. Hahn is actually quite a ways from Frankfurt, but there is a bus to Frankfurt and from there you can get anywhere in Europe on the train. Ryanair offers some very cheap fares (although generally at least one way on a weekend will cost more). Last Thanksgiving I bought three roundtrip tickets from Hahn to Granada for 76 euro total--about $100. There are several other lowcost carriers to look at as well.</p>

<p>Most countries have weekend rail specials of some kind. For example, in Germany, Die Bahn has the "Happy Weekend" fare, which is good for a group of up to 5, anywhere in Germany on local and regional trains in second class, for 28 euro per day (you can stop wherever you like throughout the day). </p>

<p>Depending on your tastes, it is possible to eat very economically, making a breakfast of fresh fruit from a stand and bread, sandwiches, or pastries from a bakery. Street food is cheap--panini in Italy, bratwurst and brotchen in Germany, etc.--and it is delicious. </p>

<p>Don't give up on Sevilla if you really want it. About 10 years ago I was flying from DC to Madrid for a summer in Salamanca, and my seatmate was on her way to Sevilla....unfortunately, I don't remember her home university. And I just remembered, the daughter of a frequent poster, Curmudgeon, went to Salamanca this summer, so you might try PMing him for more current info.</p>

<p>Suerte!</p>

12

<p>Duke has a summer (and fall / spring) program in Madrid and kids from other schools can apply, though it is much more difficult, especially in the fall since that's one of Duke's most popular programs.</p>

<p>UNC has one in Seville.</p>

<p>There's CEA in Barcelona which is supposed to be a complete blast.</p>

<p>NYU has programs in Madrid.</p>

<p>Just depends on the semester, the type of program, the region of Spain. I'm inclined to recommend anything in Barcelona</p>

13

<p>The main thing that scares me away from Barcelona is that the main language that they speak is catalan (not Spanish) and not castellano. (Castellano is the official language of Spain. It's a form of Spanish. There are many different forms of Spanish that are spoken, but I think the main difference has to do wth the accents.) I'd like to go to Madrid, Seville, or Granada next summer. Michigan has a program in Salamanca during that term, but I'm just not interested in studying there (no real reason). My Spanish department doesn't have advising appointments during the summer as most of the faculty are on temporary leave, and I'd like to talk with them before I talk to the Office of International Relations because I'm a concentrator.</p>

<p>Bluestar7 - Does Duke or UNC have a program during the summer?</p>

14

<p>(You're right to be concerned about Barcelona if what you want is a pure Spanish immersion experience. Catalan is not Spanish or a dialect of Spanish, and it is the main language there, especially among educated people. Everyone except little children can speak Spanish, of course, but they often choose not to.)</p>

<p>(There are not many different forms of Spanish. While there are some -- comparatively minor -- regional differences in vocabulary and idioms, particularly slang, and accent, people from all parts of the Spanish-speaking world have no trouble understanding each other -- much less so than Brits and Americans. There are a couple dialects -- gallego, which is probably more correctly understood as a dialect of Portugese than of Spanish, and ladino, a sort of Spanish-Arabic Yiddish which is barely a living language anymore. But there is remarkable uniformity in Spanish, given the number of people and distances involved. Less uniformity than with French, but still remarkable uniformity.)</p>

15

<p>reeses - Duke has a summer program in Madrid (<a href="http://studyabroad.duke.edu/summer/spain.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://studyabroad.duke.edu/summer/spain.php&lt;/a&gt;) My biggest recommendation is if you're interested, to apply as early as possible since it fills up with Duke students. I'm not sure if UNC does, but it's worth a look.</p>