William and Mary: Seville - William and Mary in Seville

The W&M Semester in Seville program offers students the opportunity to live and study in Seville, Spain’s most beautiful city in the heart of Andalucia. Seville is the home of flamenco’s musical traditions, Islamic history and architecture, and renowned local festivals, such as Semana Santa and the annual feria. Students will attend classes at Universidad Pablo de Olavide. UPO, established in 1997, is one of Spain’s smallest (7,000 students) and most modern universities. UPO houses an excellent library collection, computer access, sports facilities, gym, outdoor track and fields, and intramural sports. During the 18-week program (including the one-week orientation program prior to the start of classes; students may choose year-long option), William and Mary students may earn 12-15 W&M credits in a variety of disciplines, including Spanish language and culture, the sciences, business, social sciences, and the humanities. The intensive Spanish-language immersion program is designed for Hispanic Studies majors and also those pursuing studies in other fields but with a strong interest in political, historical, and cultural issues related to Spain and the European Union. Students take the majority of their courses through the UPO´s Centro de Estudios para Extranjeros, and may choose to take one of their courses in English. Advanced Spanish students also have the option of enrolling in up to two courses from UPO's general curriculum and studying alongside local Spanish students. A placement exam will determine each student’s language level. An innovative curricular feature is the Service-Learning Seminar and Internship. Qualified students with requisite language skills and commitment to service-learning may apply for enrollment in this competitive program available to W&M students. Through the seminar and its community-based practicum, students will explore contemporary issues related to Seville’s changing social landscape through readings and discussions with the professor; topics may include immigration, minority populations, women and society, health care, and human rights. Seminar students work as volunteers throughout the semester in a local agency. This course may be counted as a W&M Hispanic Studies core course and fulfills the Hispanic Studies Practicum requirement. When not in class, students will enjoy spending time and sharing meals with their Spanish host families in their homestays (all meals and laundry included). They may also participate in the monthly university-sponsored cultural events, as well as other student activities on campus. Students are encouraged to explore and make themselves at home in the beautiful city of Seville in order to get the full benefit of their experience in Spain. Seville offers several theaters, musical performances, and museum exhibitions, as well as convenient access to Madrid via the high-velocity railroad system (AVE).