Study Abroad in Valencia, Spain!

• June 3 – July 14, 2025
• 2026 TBD

General Program Itinerary

• Arrival: Plan to arrive in Adolfo Suárez Barajas Airport (Madrid, Spain) on Tuesday, June 3rd no later than 3 p.m. This means you need to depart the U.S. no later than Monday, June 2nd as you lose a day in route.
• Departure: Program ends on Friday, July 14th in Madrid. All students must check out of the hotel in Madrid by 11 a.m. on Monday, July 14th. The program will provide bus transportation to the Madrid airport at least three different times that morning. Students may also remain in Madrid/Europe after the program ends at their own expense to travel or sightsee.

• The program fee is expected to be $3975. This covers the following:
• 2 courses, transfer credit. (Students can take 9 credits, 3 courses, at a higher fee of $375 – see below for information)
• Housing with another ISU student and a Spanish family including full board (three meals per day and laundry, cleaning, etc.)
• Airport pickup and bus transportation from Madrid’s Barajas Airport to Madrid city center, then to Valencia at the start of the program. Return transportation from Valencia to Madrid and airport drop-off at Madrid’s Barajas airport on the final day of the program
• 2-day guided tour of El Escorial, Segovia and Toledo at the beginning of the program with accommodations in a three or four-star hotel in Madrid (including breakfast and dinner). All guides, entrance fees and transportation included.
• 2-day guided tour of Madrid with accommodations in a three or four-star hotel (including breakfast and dinner) at the end of the program. All guides, entrance fees and transportation included.
• Emergency Health insurance during the duration of the program.
• Full on-site coordination by ISU faculty and contracted personnel from the University of Valencia
• Orientation at the University of Valencia
• Optional activities organized by program affiliates: cooking, dance, windsurfing, sailing, snorkeling, beach volleyball, city tours, regional tours
• University of Valencia, management, instruction & class space
• Some books, course packs, photocopied materials
• Pre-departure orientation & materials during the spring prior to departure

Other expenses

• No ISU tuition or fees will be charged for Biology, Spanish or Psychology courses. Instead, credits earned in Valencia in biology or Spanish return to ISU as transfer credits in residence. As an example, if a student takes SPAN 3010 and 3030, he/she will receive credit for those courses, and they will apply toward the requirements for the major and the minor as well as for graduation at ISU. On the student’s ISU transcript, however, those courses will appear as transfer credit but do not count in the overall number of transfer credits accumulated. For specific questions about transfer credit, please speak with Mercedes Serracin at the LAS Study Abroad Office.
• Students who have been approved for an internship in Spanish will be assessed a one-time fee of $375. This fee is paid for internship placement, oversight, supervision, coordination, and liability insurance. This fee will not be charged more than once.
• Students taking either the lab option or the field work option for BIO 3940 will be assessed a fee of $500. This fee covers lab fees and excursion costs. This fee will not be charged more than once.
• Airfare to Madrid, incidentals, individual travel. Students should obtain airfare on their own in conjunction with program arrival and departure dates and expect to arrive by 3 p.m. in Madrid’s Barajas Airport on the program start date.
• Individual spending money
• Bus, Metro, Bike and Tram pass (approximately $75)
• Costs vary from person to person based not only on their major and the number of credits they expect to take abroad but also based upon airfare costs and spending money. ISUAbroad provides a break-down of the general program costs.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Most financial aid and scholarships can be applied towards study abroad. For information related to how to finance your study, visit the Study Abroad Center’s website for more in-depth information and resources.

Scholarships are available through the Department of World Languages & Cultures, the ISU Study Abroad Center, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the College of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Design, and the College of Human Sciences. If you are a major in another College, please check with your department and/or College about scholarship possibilities. Scholarship awards are generally granted after the student has been accepted into a study abroad program, or after he or she has already begun participation in the program. Many scholarships have early deadlines. Students are encouraged to apply to the program before the deadline to meet these requirements. The program directors approve applications on a rolling basis.

For the Valencia program, ISU students live with Spanish host families. Families are carefully selected and evaluated to ensure the complete immersion of each student within the Spanish language, culture, and traditional social environment.

Students take daily meals (three per day) in their homes. Home stays include full board: laundry, cleaning, all utilities and other amenities. In most cases, students will be housed with another ISU student and are encouraged to choose his or her roommate if possible.

The program fee includes tuition and fees paid to the University of Valencia for 6 credits (2 courses) or 9 credits (3 courses) for a higher fee. Students should consult with their academic advisor before choosing courses. All courses are returned to ISU as transfer credit.

All students are required to take one Spanish course and may choose any course for their second. For students who are either at the 1000-2000 level in Spanish, those who have taken very little Spanish or have not taken Spanish at all, the Program Directors will help place them in the correct Spanish course.

All courses will be offered based on sufficient enrollment numbers. Based on past enrollments, however, students can expect most of the following courses to be available:

Courses taught in Spanish

• SPAN 1950: Study Abroad (Beginning Intensive Spanish)
• SPAN 2950: Study Abroad (Intermediate Intensive Spanish)
• SPAN 3030: Spanish conversation
• SPAN 3040: Spanish for Business and the Professions
• SPAN 3210: Civilization & Culture of Spain
• SPAN 3230: Spain Today
• SPAN 3270: Valencia Through the Centuries
• SPAN 3510: Spanish Translation
• SPAN 3520: Spanish Phonology
• SPAN 4990: Internship, Director Permission Required
• NOTE: SPAN 4990 requires director approval

Courses taught in English

• BIOL 3940: International Field Trips in Biology (Field Work or Lab Experience)
• MATH 2670: Elementary Differential Equations and Laplace Transforms
• PSYCH 4600: General Psychology