University of Alicante

Unique Study Opportunities

• English-friendly coursework is available—see Courses and Credit below for more information.
• The catalog of courses taught in English is always expanding.

Language

Spanish Language Study: Optional

UA offers Spanish language courses from beginner to advanced levels. 

Even if you plan to only take courses in English, you will find Spanish language study to be helpful as you navigate living in a Spanish-speaking country. While many folks in Alicante speak some English, being able to communicate with even a little Spanish is incredibly useful and could open up more opportunities for getting to know locals.

If you plan to take a Spanish language course, you will complete a language placement exam prior to the start of the program to determine what Spanish course level you will attend.

Most courses offered in the UA facultades require a B2 (upper intermediate) level of Spanish proficiency in order to keep up with and understand classwork and discussions. If you don't have a B2 level or higher, you would have the option to take courses taught in Spanish in the Centro Superior de Idiomas. These are courses designed for international students and require an upper elementary or lower intermediate proficiency level. 

Courses and Credit

Requirements While Abroad

To successfully complete this program:

• Take a full-time course of study: a minimum of four courses and 18 quarter/12 semester UC units (approximately 23 ECTS credits at UA). Most courses are 5 quarter/3.3 semester UC units (equivalent to 6 ECTS credits at UA).
• You may select up to two course for pass/no pass credit, but the combined total units of those courses may not exceed 5 quarter/3.3 semester UC units (6 ECTS credits at UA).

Current Program Courses

Course information and schedules for the next academic year are typically updated on the UA website in May. However, you can use the current academic year course listings as a reference for what will likely be available in the future. 

UA courses are sorted by degree plan. As you plan your academic choices, remember to explore the courses that a variety of facultades—colleges and departments—offer. For example, an anthropology course may be in the Facultad de Historia if such a course is a requirement for the history degree since each facultad provides all the courses that locals students need to fulfill their requirements. Unlike Spanish students, you may take classes in any facultad. As you search the university course offerings, pay attention to listed prerequisites, the year of study (e.g., third-year courses will likely assume more background knowledge), and the semester the course is offered.

Centro Superior de Idiomas

UA Centro Superior de Idiomas offers a few courses designed specifically for international students. Topics include intercultural communication, gender studies, Spanish literature, Spanish tourism, and gastronomy. 

Courses in English

Some English-taught coursework is available in the following areas:

• Architecture
• Biology
• Business
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Engineering
• Economics
• Education
• English Studies
• International Relations
• Law
• Marketing
• Sociology
• Telecommunication Engineering
• Tourism

Outside of these subjects, English offerings are very sparse and you'll only be able to confirm their availability when the next academic year courses are posted in May. You'll need to get comfortable searching the UA website in order to find course options.

Courses at UA are English-friendly. This means that even if you take a class taught in Spanish, most professors will allow you to complete exams in English. If you complete coursework in Spanish, grammatical errors won't be counted against you. Professors understand that for second-language learners and heritage speakers, language production (speaking/writing) often takes longer to acquire than comprehension (listening/reading). The exception to this is for language degrees such as Spanish: Language and Literature, where mastery of the language is an essential component of the coursework.

Course Restrictions

The following degrees have impacted coursework in English:

• Architecture
• Computer Engineering
• Tourism

While you may certainly request to enroll in these classes, these are popular fields and the courses fill quickly. Spanish-taught courses in these fields are not impacted.

Common UC degrees not offered at UA:

• Anthropology
• Art
• Art History
• Communication
• Environmental Studies
• Women's & Gender Studies

This is not an exhaustive list so please review the UA course offerings carefully in order to confirm that coursework you're interested in taking in available.

Experiential Learning 

Research, independent study, and internships for academic credit are typically not available.

Course Registration 

UCEAP will ask you to submit a list of UA degrees where you're interested in taking courses. For fall semester, this will be in March. For spring semester, this will be in August. You'll complete a Learning Agreement through the UA online student portal where you'll add the courses you wish to enroll in. For fall, this will be April 15-June 30. For spring, this will be October 15- November 30. During the Learning Agreement period, you will be assigned a UA Coordinator who will help walk you through the course enrollment process to confirm your class list. They'll be available to answer your enrollment questions.

Catalogs and Resources

• Trying to decide what Spain program is right for you? Refer to the Spain Comparison Chart and Spain Programs by Degree for additional guidance.
• UA degree course offerings: The easiest way to look for courses is by looking through the UA degree pages. Click on the degree, scroll down and click on Curriculum and click on the dropdown menus under Curriculum by Subject Type. Click on the course titles to access course information. Use the menu bar at the top to navigate between course description, course content, assessment, and schedules.
• UA degree courses taught in English: Click on the course titles to access course information. Use the menu bar at the top to navigate between course description, course content, assessment, and schedules.
• Spanish language courses: Offered through the UA Centro Superior de Idiomas for international students to learn the language.
• Courses for International Students: The UA Centro Superior de Idiomas offers a few courses on various topics specifically designed for international students.
• UCEAP Course Catalog: See a list of courses students have taken on this program. This isn't a current representation of course offerings on this program. Reference the above links to review recent course offerings.
• Campus Credit Abroad: Learn the types of credit (major, minor, general education, elective) students from your campus received at this location. There are currently no listings for this program in the database.

Academic Culture

Campus

UA has one main campus: San Vicente del Raspeig. If you are taking coursework in different facultades, it takes approximately 10-15 minutes to get from one end of campus to the other.

Degree System

Spanish universities traditionally follow a career system, which means that Spanish students begin their studies with their major already selected and take courses that are pre-assigned within one facultad for their entire university career. Spanish students are, therefore, highly specialized in their fields. Unlike Spanish students, you can take courses in more than one facultad so you have more flexibility to choose courses.

In many respects, Spanish undergraduate degrees are similar to the American bachelor's degree: Students progressively advance through a degree plan over four years, starting with foundational courses, required courses, electives, and a final project.

While not always exact, be aware that many courses designated as basic, particularly those offered for first-year (primer curso) students, are considered lower division. Unless you're specifically trying to meet lower-division GE requirements, try to avoid enrolling in first-year courses whenever possible.

Class Format and Expectations

While some professors tend to be more open to interaction, many courses in Spain are lectures with little or no class discussion. Lectures are complemented by smaller group practical sessions where discussions and group work may take place. Given this lecture format, note-taking skills are important. You’ll also need to do preparatory work on your own outside of class, which may extend beyond what a professor assigns.

Most professors supply a syllabus at the beginning of the course. In some cases these are available online in the guide for each facultad. The syllabus may include a bibliography and reading list that may be extremely long. You probably don’t need to read every book on the list, but you do need to find out which ones are essential and how they relate to each other. You may be expected to know the arguments of important books in the field, since a principle objective of many courses is to master what has already been written on any given topic.

Attendance

All courses in the Centro Superior de Idiomas have specific attendance requirements. If you miss a certain number of classes (even excused absences), it will impact your final grade.

For other courses, Spanish professors usually take formal attendance and they'll notice repeated unexcused absences from class. In many cases, exams concentrate heavily on material presented in class. Failure to regularly attend class can result in a lower or failing grade.

Assessment and Exams

In Spain the GPA isn't as important as it is in the US, and the Spanish grading system differs greatly from the American grading system. Grades for Spanish students are rarely curved, so the performance of a fellow student doesn't affect another student’s grade. Grades are assigned according to how much of the course material you have mastered, not how much effort you feel you may have put into the class.

Exams are usually essays that may include subjects that were minimally covered in lectures. This is where independent research is critical. Exams may be open notebook or open book, in which case you’ll be expected to read several books and quote from them.

Spanish students know how and at what point in the year or semester the professor will be expecting them to apply themselves and be productive. Don't wait until the end of the year to study for a final exam—it constitutes your entire grade.

If you study at UA during fall semester, you may finish your exams in December, but UA professors may not share final grades until the completion of the exam period in early February. Your professors will determine the December final exam dates and you can't request earlier exam dates.

If you study at UA during spring semester, final exams will extend into mid-June. Again, your professors will determine the final exam dates and you can't request different exam dates.

Although the Spanish system often allows for multiple final exam sittings, you must take your final exam during the first exam period. UC policies also specifically prohibit re-taking final exams.

Grades

You'll earn direct UC credit and grades for all coursework. While UA may offer a suggested grade conversion scale, UCEAP uses its own conversion scales approved by UC faculty who are familiar with the Spanish and US academic systems. 

Fall grades are typically available in early April. Spring grades are typically available in early September.

If you are planning to graduate the same term you're abroad, grades may not arrive in time for fall or spring degree verification deadlines. Please talk with your major academic advisor about your graduation plans.