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PROGRAM	PROGRAM CODE	PRICE	DATES
Spring IIA 2010	BSS2A	$11,995	February 10 - July 10
Fall IIA 2010	BSF2A	$11,995	Early Sept. - Late Dec.
Eligibility: This program is open only to students with an Advanced or Superior level of Spanish. A minimum of 5 semesters of college Spanish is usually equivalent to Advanced level. It is strongly recommended that students have taken several Advanced level Spanish courses at their home institution. Students must be at least 18 years of age and have completed at least 1 semester of study at a U.S. college, university or community college. Students must have a 2.5 GPA (firm). Total contact hours: 180-225 per semester (equivalent to 12-15 U.S. semester credits or 18-23 UAB credits). 15 contact hours = 1 semester credit. 10 contact hours = 1 quarter unit. Possible U.S. Credits: 12-15 semester credits per semester. Recommended: 12 Click here for Volunteer Opportunities in Barcelona

COURSE OFFERINGS - STUDIES WITH SPANIARDS AT THE UAB

The final transcript for this program is issued by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Students must have an Advanced or Superior level of Spanish in order to apply for this program. You must be very comfortable speaking Spanish, reading academic texts in Spanish, writing papers in Spanish, and comprehending spoken Spanish. Previous experience studying abroad in a Spanish-speaking country will assist you greatly in having a successful experience taking regular Spanish university classes. The UAB allows qualified foreign students to take regular university classes in various faculties such as Educational Sciences, Translation & Interpreting, Economics, Journalism, Psychology, Audiovisual Communication, Advertising & Public Relations, and Political Sciences & Sociology.

Courseload
The recommended courseload per semester is 180 contact hours / 18 UAB credits / 12 U.S. semester credits. Students may take a maximum of 230 contact hours / 23 UAB credits / 15 U.S. semester credits.

Location of Classes
Classes are held at the main campus of the UAB (Bellaterra), which is located 32 minutes from central Barcelona by train. Students live with host families in central Barcelona. Classes are taken primarily Spanish students; you may also find a few international students in your classes who also have an advanced level of Spanish. You may not combine the courses below (taught at the Bellaterra campus) with courses from the UAB program for all levels (language classes and electives taught at the Sant Pau and Sarrià campuses).

Fall Students, Please Note: Unlike the American Fall semester which ends in December, the regular Spanish Fall semester continues until mid-February. The above-listed dates for the Fall semester reflect the fact that 99.9% of the time, professors will allow American students to finish their exams before Winter break, so that they may return to the U.S. to start their Spring semester in January. However, neither the UAB nor ASA can guarantee that students will be allowed to take their exams early. This is because it is up to the individual professor to decide if he/she will allow it. If allowed, you may be asked to complete an additional paper and/or sit for your exam before leaving for Winter break, or even arrange with your home university to sit for your exam when you return home. Each professor has the right to decide something different, including to not allow students to finish early. While highly unlikely, if your professor does not allow you to finish early, you would have to return to Barcelona in January to finish your class at your expense, or not receive credits for your class.

If you would like to remain in Barcelona until mid-February and complete your exams on the Spanish schedule, then you are welcome to do so. However, an additional fee will be assessed for room and board and ASA services from the end of Winter break until the official end of the semester in February. Housing and ASA services are not included during Winter break but may be arranged for an additional fee, depending on your host family's availability. If you are interested, please contact ASA for detailed pricing.

HELPFUL INSTRUCTIONS FOR VIEWING COURSES ON THE UAB WEBSITE:
Below is a link directly to the UAB's course offerings for foreign students who want to take regular university courses.
In an effort to help you use their website, please read the following instructions before clicking on the link!

How to tell if the class is offered in the Fall or Spring
When you click the link below to view the course offerings, the chart for each subject area has a column indicating the Semester during which the course is offered. 1st Semester = Fall; 2nd Semester = Spring. If it says "Whole Year" under the Semester column, that means the course is year-long and in order to take that class, you would have to attend both Fall and Spring semesters.

How to determine the number of credits per class
When you click the link below to view the course offerings, the chart for each subject area has a column indicating the number of Credits per course. Please note that these are listed in UAB credits, NOT U.S. credits. Please use the following equation to determine the number of U.S. semester credits per UAB course: 3 UAB credits = 2 U.S. semester credits. Example: A course worth 6 UAB credits is equivalent to 4 U.S. semester credits. In other words, divide the number of UAB credits by 3, and then multiply by 2 to get the number of U.S. credits.

If your university prefers instead to use contact hours to determine credit equivalencies, 1 UAB credit = 10 contact hours, and 15 contact hours = 1 U.S. semester credit. (10 contact hours = 1 quarter unit.)

Language of Instruction
You will also see a chart indicating the Language of instruction. For most courses, just one language of instruction is listed. For other courses, the Language is listed as "Spanish or Catalan" or "Spanish and Catalan."

"Spanish or Catalan" means that on the first day of class, the professor will decide which language he/she will use throughout the course. While the majority of professors will use Spanish if even one student in the class does not speak Catalan, it cannot be guaranteed that a professor will make an exception for a non-Catalan speaker. Therefore, students interested in taking courses taught in "Spanish or Catalan" are encouraged to choose extra possible courses, in case the professor opts to teach the course in Catalan. We encourage you to attend your desired class to see which language the professor opts to use; perhaps by speaking with the professor you can express your preference for Spanish.

"Spanish and Catalan" means that there will be at least one section of the class given in each language.

Students are NOT advised to take classes taught in Catalan (except a Beginning Catalan language class, if offered.)

Pre-requisites
No pre-requisites are listed on the UAB website; however, some courses may have pre-requisites, especially the more advanced and specialized courses in each degree.

*CLICK HERE FOR COURSE OFFERINGS*

Course offerings are subject to change.

Volunteer Opportunities

Participation in volunteer opportunities in Barcelona is an excellent way to immerse yourself in your host country's way of life while helping those in need. In effect, this will add another dimension to the study abroad experience through daily exposure and interactions, resulting in a greater understanding of the language, culture, and community of the host country.

If you're interested in volunteering, simply ask your Barcelona ASA Site Director for details and she will help you find the right volunteer opportunity for you. Please note that these volunteer opportunities are not for credit.

The following are the volunteer opportunities in which students can participate. Please note that a minimum Intermediate level of Spanish is required in order to volunteer, as the people involved with these organizations normally do not speak English:

Cottolengo Hospital
Students volunteer at this hospital by assisting disabled patients during lunch or dinner time. This is a charity hospital run by nuns and they would love to have students help out.

Catalan Cerebral Palsy Organization
Students can have the opportunity to help disabled individuals on a weekly basis, helping them to train for different sports, such as Boccia, Slalom and swimming. Some of the athletes will attend the Special Olympic Games

International Red Cross
Students have the opportunity to assist senior citizens or disabled individuals on a weekly basis.