Study Abroad 2014-2015: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid Espana
To complete MLO Cultural Praxis, I decided to go study abroad. I had various options to choose from but ultimately I decided and was accepted into the year long IP program at the Complutense University of Madrid in Madrid. Study abroad for me was something that ultimately changed my life and I gained so many new perspectives and experiences by living in the capital of such a diverse and culture filled country.
I arrived on August 24th and we took a 3 and a half week intensive Spanish course before any of our classes at the Complutense actually started.The course was designed to get us used to a Spaniard university system, some cultural practices to be aware of, and to get a head start before actual classes started in October.
In our IP program, there were 2 types of classes that we could take: Reunidas courses and Computense courses. Reunida courses are the courses that we take with other university students from the United States. They are designed to accommodate for the American students and to be more accepting of the different levels of Spanish. They also have integration of papers and presentations, which is not common to find in the Spanish curriculum courses although it is starting to change. Complutense courses are the courses that Spaniards take within the Complutense university system. They are framed differently than the the Reunidas courses. The students in these courses are mostly Spaniards and oftentimes there are only one or two Americans in the course.The professors lecture at the students and the students are expected to listen and take notes. The teacher is not responsible if a student does not come to class or does not do the assigned reading. The student is responsible for any and all work throughout the semester. The majority of the classes only have a final paper and a final exam at the end, which ist is prudent to study everything and make sure that you partner up with students to form study groups for an exam that is worth more than half of the overall grade.
The first semester I took 5 classes- 4 Reunidas courses and 1 Complutense course. In the beginning of the semester, it was hard to get accustomed to the style of the lectures and how they with teachers lectured. The classes that count towards the degree are: SPAN 395 IP Advanced Spanish Grammar and SPAN 395 IP Spanish American Lit from the 15th to the 18th century
In the spring semester I took 5 Reunidas courses. The classes that counted towards my degree are: SPAN 395 IP Cultures of Spain, SPAN 395 Spanish Phonetics and SPAN 395 IP Business Spanish (for more information on either semester abroad, please check the FALL 2014 and SPRING 2015 tabs under SEMESTERS).
These classes were some of the toughest courses that I have taken in my academic career. Not only was the structure different from the one that I was used to here at CSUMB, the teachers expected a higher level of work and proficiency from students. There were times where I struggled with the material however the teachers in the Reunidas program waster more than happy to meet one on one during their office hours and work out any problams that arose.
Being abroad took me out of my comfort zone in more ways than one. Aside from spending an academic year at a new school, I had to get acclimated to a big city where there is so much to do and so many people at any given time. I also did not have my usual support system that I had back in CSUMB . I could correlate the feeling of being in Spain as the first year at CSUMB. It's new and exciting, and there is so much that you need to learn.
Studying abroad in Madrid was the best ten months of my academic career. I learned so much in my classes and also grew as a person. I think that studying abroad give people having a better understanding of the world beyond their own bubble, gives perspective to other people's experiences and cultures, a different culture and a quality education ant one of the best universities in the nation.
I arrived on August 24th and we took a 3 and a half week intensive Spanish course before any of our classes at the Complutense actually started.The course was designed to get us used to a Spaniard university system, some cultural practices to be aware of, and to get a head start before actual classes started in October.
In our IP program, there were 2 types of classes that we could take: Reunidas courses and Computense courses. Reunida courses are the courses that we take with other university students from the United States. They are designed to accommodate for the American students and to be more accepting of the different levels of Spanish. They also have integration of papers and presentations, which is not common to find in the Spanish curriculum courses although it is starting to change. Complutense courses are the courses that Spaniards take within the Complutense university system. They are framed differently than the the Reunidas courses. The students in these courses are mostly Spaniards and oftentimes there are only one or two Americans in the course.The professors lecture at the students and the students are expected to listen and take notes. The teacher is not responsible if a student does not come to class or does not do the assigned reading. The student is responsible for any and all work throughout the semester. The majority of the classes only have a final paper and a final exam at the end, which ist is prudent to study everything and make sure that you partner up with students to form study groups for an exam that is worth more than half of the overall grade.
The first semester I took 5 classes- 4 Reunidas courses and 1 Complutense course. In the beginning of the semester, it was hard to get accustomed to the style of the lectures and how they with teachers lectured. The classes that count towards the degree are: SPAN 395 IP Advanced Spanish Grammar and SPAN 395 IP Spanish American Lit from the 15th to the 18th century
In the spring semester I took 5 Reunidas courses. The classes that counted towards my degree are: SPAN 395 IP Cultures of Spain, SPAN 395 Spanish Phonetics and SPAN 395 IP Business Spanish (for more information on either semester abroad, please check the FALL 2014 and SPRING 2015 tabs under SEMESTERS).
These classes were some of the toughest courses that I have taken in my academic career. Not only was the structure different from the one that I was used to here at CSUMB, the teachers expected a higher level of work and proficiency from students. There were times where I struggled with the material however the teachers in the Reunidas program waster more than happy to meet one on one during their office hours and work out any problams that arose.
Being abroad took me out of my comfort zone in more ways than one. Aside from spending an academic year at a new school, I had to get acclimated to a big city where there is so much to do and so many people at any given time. I also did not have my usual support system that I had back in CSUMB . I could correlate the feeling of being in Spain as the first year at CSUMB. It's new and exciting, and there is so much that you need to learn.
Studying abroad in Madrid was the best ten months of my academic career. I learned so much in my classes and also grew as a person. I think that studying abroad give people having a better understanding of the world beyond their own bubble, gives perspective to other people's experiences and cultures, a different culture and a quality education ant one of the best universities in the nation.