Note: This course listing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a contract between CIEE and any applicant, student, institution, or other party. The courses, as described, may be subject to change as a result of ongoing curricular revisions, assignment of lecturers and teaching staff, and program development. Courses may be cancelled due to insufficient enrollment.
CIEE Study Center Syllabi
To view the most recent syllabi for courses taught by CIEE at our Study Centers, visit our syllabi site.
Required CIEE Intensive Language Courses
Students are placed in one of the following courses, taught in Spanish.
SPAN 3001 BALA
Advanced Spanish Grammar, Composition, and Conversation
Designed for advanced students with a strong background in Spanish language, this course places special emphasis on complex aspects of grammar, such as the subjunctive and conditional moods. Students also learn how to handle different registers or styles of Spanish (for example, formal and informal) necessary to communicate effectively in all types of cultural situations. The course covers all four modalities: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It is specifically designed to prepare students for university courses.
SPAN 3008 BALA
Advanced Spanish for Academic Discourse
The objective of this course is to improve the students’ communicative and writing skills in order to facilitate their relationship with the academic environment and university classes. The course focuses on developing vocabulary and discourse styles for academic verbal communication. Through a number of class presentations, students are expected to put into practice a variety of discourse styles. Students also read newspaper articles from a variety of Spanish-speaking countries.
SPAN 4002 BALA
Advanced Spanish for Latin American and Heritage Speakers
Designed to meet the needs of heritage students, including native speakers who learned Spanish at home, but who have had little or no formal education in the language. The course helps students develop a formal understanding of grammar, enrich their vocabulary, facilitate their ability to speak about a wider range of topics, and use different registers (formal and informal) in both written and spoken Spanish.
Required CIEE Semester Language Courses
Students take one of the following during the semester.
LING 4002 BALA/SPAN 4006 BALA
Language and Society in the Spanish-Speaking World
The subject of this course—the relationship between language and society—was traditionally known as “sociolinguistics.” An enormous field, sociolinguistics deals with issues such as language maintenance and change; language variation; linguistic nationalism and language as a marker of social identity; and language policy. Language is both a principle means of transmitting culture and one of its most important systems. Some researchers have even gone so far as to assert that language can shape culture. This course explores all of these questions in the context of Spanish as it is developed and currently spoken in Spain and the Spanish-speaking world.
LING 4003 BALA/SPAN 4005 BALA
Spanish Linguistics
Linguistics, the science of language, explores answers to common questions about the way that human languages are constructed. How do we learn our first language? Is there a common structure underlying all languages? Why is it difficult to learn a second language? Using Spanish as our base, this course explores various components of linguistics: phonology (sounds), morphology (words), syntax (grammar and rules), and semantics (meaning). Students discover aspects that are common to the world’s languages, how languages are “put together,” and explore interesting features unique to Spanish.
SPAN 3006 BALA
Advanced Spanish Grammar, Composition, and Conversation II
For students who desire further work on Spanish grammar and structure after the intensive course, this course continues to develop complex aspects of Spanish grammar and syntax through analysis of texts (oral and written), presentations, and short compositions. Specific attention is placed on expository writing required in direct enrollment courses at UPF and in giving short oral presentations in class.
SPAN 4003 BALA
Advanced Spanish Writing and Stylistics
For students who want to develop their writing skills in Spanish, this course focuses on all types of texts and presents the tools of description, narration, explanation, and hypothesis. Students learn to use rhetorical devices effectively and develop cohesive and logical arguments. The course helps students expand their vocabulary. Particular emphasis is placed on expository writing necessary for success in academic settings.
CIEE Internship
INSH 3003 BALA
Internship
Qualified students have the opportunity to pursue an internship in an organization within a variety of industry sectors. Placements are carefully selected and students develop projects in NGOs, magazines and publishing companies, marketing and business companies, among others. In addition to the on-site work experience, students have a weekly classroom component that provides academic support for their internship experience. Students must have five semesters of college-level Spanish to participate. Total hours: 135. Recommended credit: 3 semester/4.5 quarter hours.
Hispanic and European Studies Program (HESP) Courses
Not all classes are offered each semester. The final list of courses will be available upon arrival in Barcelona.
Art and Artists/Arte y Artistas
This course introduces students to the most important aspects of the art of the avant-garde during the 20th century. It focuses on the study of the works of four artists deeply related to Catalunya: Picasso, Miró, Dalí, and Tàpies.
Barcelona: History and City/Barcelona: Historia y Ciudad
Students examine the past and present of this cosmopolitan European city, from its pre-Roman roots to its modern architecture. Special emphasis is placed on the typical Catalan and Mediterranean features in the development of contemporary Barcelona. City visits and tours complement in-class lectures.
Barcelona-Madrid: Literature and Cinema Facing Contemporary Urban Reality/Barcelona/
Madrid: la Literatura y el Cine Frente a la Ciudad Contemporánea
This course analyzes two issues. First, it explores how to think about the contemporary city as it is represented in art (literature, cinema, painting, comic, or television). Second, it analyzes how to place this reflection on current context of debate on nationality, globalization, and local or collective identity.
Catalan Language and Culture/Lengua y Cultura Catalana
This class introduces students to the grammatical structures of the Catalan language. Students work on vocabulary building through exercises, readings, videos, and commentary on Catalan culture.
Communication and Society in Spain/Comunicación y Sociedad en España
This course intends to show the functioning and structure of the media in Spain. For that purpose, sessions alternate theory and practice in order to reflect the general communication system and its peculiarities.
Contemporary Spanish Society and Politics/Sociedad y Política en España
This class examines the sociological and political aspects of post-Franco Spain, emphasizing elements of change and continuity, such as the constitution, political parties, monarchy, populace, and immigration.
Contemporary Spanish Literature (20th Century)/Literatura Española Contemporánea
This class provides students a critical approach to the different genres, literary trends, and most representative authors of Spanish literature during the contemporary period of the 20th century. The texts are placed into context by dealing with the different literary issues that arise from them, as well as their relation with the arts, history, and thinking of their time.
El Quijote and 20th Century Spanish Philosophical Thought/El Quijote y el Pensamiento Filosófico Español del Siglo XX
This course offers a brief overview of the most representative Spanish philosophers of the past century. Starting with the philosophers who have analyzed Cervantes’ El Quijote, the course also outlines the most important tendencies of contemporary Spanish philosophical thinking.
Hispanic Poetry/Poesía Hispánica
Through reading and commentary of selected texts, the goal of this course is to study Hispanic poetry from its origins in the Middle Ages to present day.
Images of Spain in Contemporary Cinema/Imágenes de España en el Cine Contemporáneo
This course offers a vision of Spanish cinema, from the beginning of democracy in the 70s until present day. Special attention is placed on directors who are well known for their artistic values as well as for their capacity to reflect the Spanish society and the recent social changes in Spain, such as Almodóvar, Amenábar, Médem, and Guerín.
Literary Myths and Philosophy in Hispano-European Tradition/ Mitos Literarios y Filosofía en la Tradición Hispano-Europea
This course analyzes specific dimensions of Spanish tradition through one of the founding myths of Western culture: the figure of Don Juan. The character of Don Juan is persistent in myths of European tradition dating back to medieval legends and has subsequently given rise to different versions and commentaries by scholars, writers, and philosophers, both through the arts (Molière, Mozart, Byron, Mérimée, Dumas, Strauss, Trakl, Puskin) and philosophy (Kierkegaard, Ortega, Gasset, Unamuno) .
Nationalisms in Europe. An Approach from the Catalan Case/Nacionalismos en la Europa Actual: Una Aproximacióna partir del Caso Catalán
In this course, students learn about the different types and approaches to nationalism. They use them to analyze the Catalan and other Spanish and European cases (programs, social base, politics, strategies), and discuss their present and foreseeable future in an integrated Europe.
Oral Expression Techniques/Técnicas de Expresión Oral
This seminar is for students who wish to improve their spoken Spanish in academic or formal contexts. The seminar follows a methodology that combines communication practice with reflection and observation of the resources and linguistic phenomena.
Social Movements and Contemporary World. U.S., Europe, and Spain (1950–2009)/Movimientos
Sociales y Mundo Contemporáneo. Estados Unidos, Europa, y España (1950–2009)
This course looks into modern social movements (civil rights, peace, feminist college) and examines some of the major activists and the social sectors that form them. It studies their foundations and analyzes their impact. The course has two goals—monographic and comparative. A comparative analysis enriches the vision of individual cases, and allows one to relate the historical development of these proposals and highlight existing influences.
Medieval Spanish Literature and the Golden Century/Literatura Española de la Edad Media y el Siglo de Oro
This course examines the main authors and literary works of the Spanish Medieval Golden century as a fundamental period of the Spanish literature history. The course analyzes texts of different literary genders (poetry, prose, theatre) following a chronological order, starting in the early Medieval centuries and continuing through 17th century. This course does not focus on the literary theory but rather on literature history.
Regular University Classes at UPF
The following list is a general selection of regular UPF courses available to international students and is subject to change. CIEE students enroll in Trimester I courses in the fall and Trimester II courses in the spring.
Humanities
Fall: Comparative Literature, Contemporary Art, Contemporary Thought I, European Literary Tradition I, Geography, Greek Art, History of Ideas II, Introduction to the Classic World, Medieval History, Modern Reason I, Philosophy of Religion, and Primitive Art
Spring: Comparative Literature, Contemporary History I, Contemporary Literature I, Contemporary Thought I, Esthetics and Cultural Philosophy, Ethics and Political Philosophy, European Literary Tradition II, Introduction to the History of Religion, Medieval History, Modern Art, Modern History, Pre- and Ancient History, The Novel of the Postwar Period and Democracy, and Theory of Art
Politics and Public Administration
Fall: Advanced Social Theory, International Public Law I, Political Actors: Parties and Interest Groups, and Public Policy II
Spring: Finance and Tax Law, Intergovernmental Relations, International Public Law II, Political Science II, Research Methods, and Spanish Politics I and II
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