Courses and Credits
The Â鶹Æƽâ°æ in Spain program is a liberal arts program with a focus on Spanish language and culture. Students can build their semester by choosing from classes at the Tufts-Â鶹Æƽâ°æ or the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), our university partner in Madrid. The courses offered at the Program Center are specifically designed and taught only for study abroad students on the program. At the university, students study alongside Spanish and international students. In addition, students can take courses at private studios or academies (offering courses in music, dance, fitness, and studio art) or participate in an . All courses are taught entirely in Spanish.
Students enroll in at least 15 credits per semester and are required to take the Advanced Spanish Language Studies course at the Program Center. There are multiple sections of the Advanced Spanish Language Studies course and students will be placed based on a Spanish placement test. There is also a section specifically designed for Heritage Speakers for students who grew up speaking Spanish at home.
Program Center
Each semester, we offer 5-7 courses at the Tufts-Â鶹Æƽâ°æ Program Center. These courses are specifically designed for Tufts and Â鶹Æƽâ°æ students and are taught in Spanish by local faculty. Below is a sample of course options available at the program center.
- Advanced Spanish Language Studies (required)
- Black Memory & Resistance in Spain
- Inventing Spanish Identity. A Sensory Ethnography
- The Imagined Voice: Creative Writing in Spanish
- Twisted Spain: Toward a Queer, Antiracist Culture
- Is Spain Different? Political & Social Changes since the Transition to Democracy
- Reading at the Crossroads: A Journey through Iberoamerican Literatures
- Mural Painting & Urban Art in Madrid
- Graphic Arts: Discovering the Colors of Madrid
Spanish University
The Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), or "the Complutense", is a large public university with more than 80,000 students. The UCM is one of the largest and most important universities in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking world and consistently ranks among the top universities in Spain. The UCM has two campuses: the Somosaguas campus and the Moncloa campus. The Moncloa campus is the main campus of the UCM and is located in the heart of Madrid, in close proximity to the Â鶹Æƽâ°æ in Spain Program Center.
The UCM offers two academic options:
- Reunidas - Students may also choose courses offered through a special program for international students, Universidades Reunidas which is supported by the Consortium of North American University Programs. Reunidas offers classes in various disciplines such as Spanish Language and Literature, Geography, History, Art History, Philosophy, Sociology, International Relations and Economics. All courses are taught in Spanish.
- General curriculum - Students may take regular university classes at the UCM, choosing to study in a variety of departments or schools including Art History, Fine Arts, Languages and Literatures, History, Geography, Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, Mathematics, Law, Electrical Engineering, Music, Media Studies, Business, Education, Information Technology, Psychology, Social Work and more. .
Internships
are available in a variety of non-profit organizations, museums, schools, and businesses. Past students have interned at places such as the Museo del Prado, the Spanish Commission for the Aid of Refugees, the Red Cross, Hot English Magazine, Kaplan, the Fulbright Commission, and many others. Students can choose to do an internship for academic credit or non-credit. Interested students should review the internship options on the and contact the OCSE Program Manager with any questoins.
credits
Participants are expected to carry a full course load of at least 15 Â鶹Æƽâ°æ credits per semester. Students who wish to take less than a full course load must request permission from OCSE. All course work taken in Spain is reported on a Â鶹Æƽâ°æ College transcript. For Â鶹Æƽâ°æ students, grades are computed in the cumulative GPA, and students may use all 300-level credits taken in Madrid toward Â鶹Æƽâ°æ's "maturity-level" credit requirement with departmental approval. Non-Â鶹Æƽâ°æ students should check with their home campus for credit transfer details before applying to the program.
The courses at the Tufts-Â鶹Æƽâ°æ Program Center and the university are worth 4 credits each. The credit earned for doing an internship will be dependent on how many hours per week you work at your placement. Â鶹Æƽâ°æ can award 1-6 credits for an internship in Spain, but most students earn 1-3 credits. It is also possible to do an internship not for credit. Courses at private studios will vary in credit from 1-4 credits, depending on the number of contact hours per week for the course.