General information

Students who enroll in more than one course will receive a discount of 10% on all courses of an equal or inferior length or cost. This discount is not retroactive and cannot be applied to fees already paid. This discount is only applicable within the same academic year.

Hispanic Studies is a University of Barcelona institution that has focused on teaching Spanish language and culture to international students for over sixty years. Throughout the academic year, it offers a wide range of language and culture courses.

Spanish language courses are adapted to the levels in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) and programmes are based on the Cervantes Institute Curricular Plan (PCIC).

In the classes, work on grammar points is closely associated with language practice, in a communicative, dynamic, flexible framework.

Group levels

Students will be put into groups at the five language levels, through a Spanish level test taken at the start of the course.

Levels

For more information about levels, please click on the following link.

Credits (ECTS)

Hispanic Studies courses provide European Union university accreditation, based on the European Credits Transfer System (ECTS)

Year-long course (220 h): 28 ECTS
Autumn course (110 h): 14 ECTS
Spring course: (110h): 14 ECTS

Assessment system

The year-long (220 h), autumn and spring (110 h) courses are assessed as follows:

Class participation grade: 20%
Final examination: 80%

Attendance

Students must attend at least 80% of classes. If they do meet the attendance requirement, they may lose up to 10% of their final grade (class participation + final exam).

The Spanish Culture programme offered by Hispanic Studies at the UB offers international students the chance to learn more not only about Spain but also about Europe as a whole and aspects of Latin America through courses in a range of subjects including history, art, geography, politics and film. Students may also choose to practice their Spanish language skills by taking core subjects such as “Conversation and Pronunciation in Spanish” and “Everyday Spoken Spanish”.

Courses in Spanish culture are adapted to the students’ level of language skills, with each group studying the content to the same level of detail, drawing on the expertise of our staff.

The Business, Communication and Society program is also available and is conducted in English.

Culture subjects conducted in Spanish have a duration of either 90 (year-long) or 45 (semester-long) hours.

Culture subjects in English are 45 hours long and are taught in both fall and spring.

Timetable

The general timetable for courses in Spanish culture is between 2 and 8 p.m., Monday to Thursday. Subjects are taught in two 1.5-hour sessions per week.

Credits

All of the courses offered by Hispanic Studies lead to the award of European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits: 12 credits for 90-hour courses, 6 credits for 45-hour courses.

Pathways

The table below shows a selection of subjects organized into suggested course pathways (the subjects may also be taken independently):

From A1
— Barcelona, creative and cultural city
— Contemporary Spain: Geography, Society and Institutions
— Spain and Europe: Origins and Evolution
— Spanish conversation and pronunciation

From B1
— Barcelona: A Meeting Place for Spanish and Latin-American Arts
— Catalonia: Language, Culture and Society
— Spanish Cinema · Art in Spain: From the Mezquita of Cordoba and the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela to Gaudí, Picasso and Dalí
— Spain and Europe: origins and evolution
— Understanding and Writing in Spanish

Courses by semester

Autumn and Spring (90 h)
— Barcelona, creative and cultural city
— Barcelona: A Meeting Place for Spanish and Latin-American Arts
— Catalonia: Language, Culture and Society
— Spanish Cinema
— Comprehension and Writing in Spanish
— Conversation and Pronunciation in Spanish
— Art in Spain: From the Mezquita of Cordoba and the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela to Gaudí, Picasso and Dalí
— Contemporary Spain: Geography, Society and Institutions
— Spain and Europe: Origins and Evolution
— Everyday Spoken Spanish

Autumn (45 h)
— Barcelona, creative and cultural city I
— Barcelona: A Meeting Place for Spanish and Latin-American Arts I
— Catalonia: Language, Culture and Society I
— Spanish Cinema I
— Comprehension and Writing and Spanish I
— Conversation and Pronunciation in Spanish I
— Art in Spain: From the Mezquita of Cordoba and the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela to Gaudí, Picasso and Dalí I
— Contemporary Spain: Geography, Society and Institutions I
— Spain and Europe: Origins and Evolution I
— Everyday Spoken Spanish I
— Barcelona, Mediterranean Metropolis (in English)
— Consumer Behaviour (in English)
— New Topics in the Spanish Media (in English)
— Spanish Politics (in English)

Autumn (45 h)
— Barcelona, creative and cultural city II
— Barcelona: A Meeting Place for Spanish and Latin-American Arts II
— Catalonia: Language, Culture and Society II
— Spanish Cinema II
— Comprehension and Writing and Spanish II
— Conversation and Pronunciation in Spanish II
— Art in Spain: From the Mezquita of Cordoba and the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela to Gaudí, Picasso and Dalí II
— Contemporary Spain: Geography, Society and Institutions II
— Spain and Europe: Origins and Evolution II
— Everyday Spoken Spanish II
— Barcelona, Mediterranean Metropolis (in English)
— Consumer Behaviour (in English)
— New Topics in the Spanish Media (in English)
— Spanish Politics (in English)

Subjects recommended for each level of language competence

BEGINNER
— Catalonia: Language, Culture and Society
— Spanish Cinema
— Spain and Europe: Origins and Evolution
— Everyday Spoken Spanish

From INTERMEDIATE
— Barcelona, creative and cultural city
— Barcelona: A Meeting Place for Spanish and Latin-American Arts
— Art in Spain: From the Mezquita of Córdoba and the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela to Gaudí, Picasso and Dalí
— Contemporary Spain: Geography, Society and Institutions

Various levels
— Comprehension and Writing in Spanish
— Conversation and Pronunciation in Spanish

In English
— Barcelona, Mediterranean Metropolis
— Consumer Behaviour
— New Topics in the Spanish Media
— Spanish Politics

Hispanic Studies reserves the right not to run the class should the number of the registered student be insufficient.

Hispanic Studies reserves the right to change the timetable of a subject should circumstances require.