IES Abroad: Barcelona - IES Abroad Barcelona Center Photo

Barcelona

A Study Abroad Program Review For

IES Abroad: Barcelona - IES Abroad Barcelona Center

Program Information

Study abroad in Barcelona—capital of the autonomous province of Catalonia. The IES Abroad Barcelona program provides students with opportunities to learn or perfect Spanish while studying business and liberal arts.

Provider: IES Abroad
Location(s): Barcelona, Spain
Year Founded:
Website Take me there!

Review By:

Jenna H. (Environmental Science, The University of Texas at Austin) on January 30, 2012

Overall Rating

Personal Information

* Start Date: 2011-09-01
* End Date: 2011-12-20
If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

small workload; easy grading system; "high school teaching method" - group projects, discussion

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

strengths: easy accessibility, good program size weaknesses: no access to facilities on weekends or after 7pm

* Housing:

-independent stay: happiest out of everyone who did IES housing, great location, same price

* Food:

bought all own groceries, ate out

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Everything

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

overall unsafe, watch belongings

* Home Institution Advising:

How well did The University of Texas at Austin prepare and support you for your time abroad?

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? no

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
Language acquisition improvement?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • Other
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Compatible with home school
* What could be improved?
  • Facilities
* If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same program? Yes
* What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile? Yes