Semester in Alicante
New for Spring 2024!
Unique Experiences
Take a Quick Tram Ride
into the city center to explore
Meet Local Friends
for a typical Alicante tardeo full of tapas and wine while practicing your Spanish
Enjoy All Alicante Has To Offer
including its delicious eateries, amazing museums, and beautiful port
8
Renowned Museums
6.6 M
Tiles Paved Onto the Palm-Tree-Lined Explanada de Espana Promenade
70
Light Rail Tram Stations Around the City
Your Destination
With a historic cultural heritage dating back thousands of years, Alicante is one of Spain’s booming port cities best known for its miles-long beaches, award-winning museums, and beautiful year-round weather. The city’s most iconic landmark, the medieval Castle of Santa Barbara, keeps watch over all of Alicante from its central location atop Mount Benacantil.
Considered one of the safest cities in Europe, Alicante is an excellent place to take your studies. From its large student population to its reliable public transportation network, first-class educational opportunities, green parks, and café culture, this budget-friendly city is the perfect place to live and learn abroad.
The Culture
Excursions & Activities
- Tour Santa Bárbara Castle and the Archaeological Museum of Alicante
- Visit important cultural and historical landmarks in Granada, Madrid, Seville, or Valencia
- Explore sites like Guadalest Castle, the Canelobre Caves, the Algar Waterfalls, or Altea on the Mediterranean coast
- Go on walking tours of the different neighborhoods of Alicante and its surrounding villages and towns
- Play soccer and watch the local team (Hercules) win
- Try your hand at cooking tapas to partake in Alicante’s traditions with local peers
Projects
INTERNSHIP: A for-credit internship (in English or in Spanish) allows students the opportunity to gain practical work experience in a local company within a variety of industry sectors. In addition to the on-site business experience, students participating in an internship program have a weekly classroom component, which provides academic support to their practical experience.
Program Blogs
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Housing & Meals
Housing
CIEE Alicante offers diverse housing options to ensure you're comfortable in your home away from home. From homestays to shared apartments or dorms, your accommodation preferences will be met. Additionally, all housing options are located in neighborhoods with convenient access to public transportation, shops, cafés, and eateries.
Standard Housing: Includes a room at a homestay or a shared apartment. In homestays, students live with a Spanish-speaking family, with or without another CIEE student, and immerse themselves in the city’s language and culture. Homestays boast a kitchen, living room, and bathroom shared with a host family, but each student has an individual room and three meals a day are provided. Host families are located in the city center, under 30 minutes commute from CIEE Alicante and the University Campus. In shared apartments, students share a double room with other CIEE students with access to the kitchen, laundry, and shared common spaces. Apartments are located within 20 minutes of the city center and 30 minutes of CIEE Alicante and the University Campus. Meals are not included.
Select Housing: Includes a single room in a residence hall nearby CIEE Alicante and the University Campus, and about 30 minutes from the city center. Students living in dorms have kitchen access, and meals are not included. Dorms also boast common areas and laundry facilities. Select housing requires an additional fee.
Select Plus Housing: Includes a single room in a shared apartment with other CIEE students with access to a kitchen, laundry facilities, and shared common spaces. Shared apartments are located in the city center, roughly 30 minutes from CIEE Alicante and the University Campus. Meals are not included. Select Plus housing requires an additional fee.
A note: Housing is on a first-come, first-served basis. If we cannot accommodate your first housing choice, we’ll let you know before you arrive.
Meals
Homestays: Three meals per day are provided by your host
Apartments: Meals are not included
Residence Hall: Meals are not included
Academics
Students will have the opportunity to diversify their learning with a full range of course offerings from CIEE Alicante and CIEE’s renowned partner institution, the Universidad de Alicante (UA). At CIEE Alicante, courses will focus on business, language, and culture courses. Students can also dive into UA’s diverse course catalog, from business and economics to architecture and telecommunications.
CIEE courses are augmented with co-curricular experiential learning experiences. These may include a cooking and/or wine-tasting session to complement gastronomy-based courses, language exchange activities with local students to practice Spanish, a hike to Santa Bárbara Castle to learn about the role of this strategic 9th c. fortress, a visit to the Archaeological Museum (MARQ) to learn about the city and the region’s history, guided visits to Alicante’s best art museums (MACA and MUBAG), and more.
Course Information
Course offerings may vary from semester to semester. Courses are 4 U.S. credits unless otherwise noted.
UA Centro Superior de Idiomas (CSI) language courses:
- Beginner A1
- Intermediate A2
- Upper Intermediate B1
- Advanced B2
- Proficiency C1
UA Centro Superior de Idiomas (CSI) Spanish culture courses in English:
- Intercultural Communication in Professional contexts (in English)
- Spanish Cultures from an Intercultural Perspective (in English)
UA Centro Superior de Idiomas (CSI) Spanish culture courses in Spanish:
- Género, lengua y poder (in Spanish) (Gender, language, and power). Pre-requisite: Upper Intermediate.
- Español de los negocios (in Spanish) (Spanish for business). Pre-requisite: Intermediate
- La sociedad española del siglo XX a través de la literatura (in Spanish) (The Spanish society of the 20th century through literature). Pre-requisite: Upper Intermediate.
- Turismo y cultura gastronómica española (in Spanish) (Spanish tourism and gastronomy). Pre-requisite: Intermediate.
- Enseñanza del español como L2/LE (in Spanish) (Teaching Spanish as a foreign language). Pre-requisite: Advanced.
UA regular courses in Spanish:
Language pre-requisite: it is recommended that students have a minimum of four (preferably five) previous semesters of college-level Spanish.
Academic Projects
History, Philosophy, Religion
Languages and Cultural Studies
Literature, Linguistics, and Writing
Social Sciences
Visual and Performing Arts
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 canceled due to insufficient enrollment.
"(GI)" denotes courses that originated at CIEE's Global Institutes and that are offered at multiple CIEE sites.
Scholarships & Grants
CIEE offers scholarships and grants annually to help students like you make your study abroad dream a reality.
Students who apply to this program are eligible for the following scholarships and grants:
- Ping Scholarships for Academic Excellence
- CIEE Gilman Go Global Grant
- MSI Grant
- Trailblazer Grant
To be considered, submit the CIEE Scholarships & Grants application within your CIEE program application.
Dates & Fees
You get more for every dollar when you study abroad with CIEE, because our high-quality programs include everything from excursions to insurance. There are no hidden charges, and no disappointing surprises when you arrive.
*Dates for this program are provided as tentative dates. Please consult with your study abroad advisor to confirm dates before purchasing your flights.
To help you budget, keep in mind that students are responsible for the cost of international airfare, local transportation, books and supplies, visas, and personal expenses. In addition, your college or university may charge additional fees for study abroad, or may require you to receive a transcript via CIEE's School of Record, which carries an additional fee of $500.
Program Fees
CIEE offers the most student support of any provider in its program fee, including an airport greeting, full-time leadership and support, orientation, cultural activities, local excursions, pre-departure advising, and CIEE iNext travel protection with benefits.
Participation Confirmation = $300*
Educational Costs = $13,956**
Housing = $4,500
Insurance = $194
Total Fees = $18,950Estimated Costs
Students are responsible and manage costs related to travel, meals, books, and personal expenses. Below are estimates for consideration.
Meals not included in program fee = $0†
International Airfare = $1,250††
Local Transportation = $150
Books & Supplies = $60
Visa Fees = $160
Potential travel to consulate for visa = $500
Personal expenses = $260†††
Total Costs = $2,380Optional Housing
CIEE accommodation options are detailed in the Housing section. Based on availability, Select or Select Plus Housing can be chosen during the application process for an additional fee:
Select Housing Fee = $750^
Select Plus Housing Fee = $1,500^^
Financial Aid
CIEE offers the most grants and scholarships of any study abroad organization, including $8 million/year in travel grants, merit-based scholarships, institutional and MSI grants, and Gilman Go Global Grants.
*non-refundable
**direct cost of education charged uniformly to all students
†For students in homestays, families provide all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner). For students in residence halls/apartments, you should budget approx. $260 per month for groceries if you plan on making your own meals, and more if you plan on eating out regularly.
††Round-trip based on U.S. East Coast departure
†††$100 emergency fund + cell phone expense + toiletries
^first-come, first serve, based on availability
^^first-come, first serve, based on availability
Program Fees
CIEE offers the most student support of any provider in its program fee, including an airport greeting, full-time leadership and support, orientation, cultural activities, local excursions, pre-departure advising, and CIEE iNext travel protection with benefits.
Participation Confirmation = $300*
Educational Costs = $13,956**
Housing = $4,500***
Insurance = $194
Total Fees = $18,950Estimated Costs
Students are responsible and manage costs related to travel, meals, books, and personal expenses. Below are estimates for consideration.
Meals not included in program fee = $0†
International Airfare = $1,250††
Local Transportation = $150
Books & Supplies = $60
Visa Fees = $160
Potential travel to consulate for visa = $500
Personal expenses = $260†††
Total Costs = $2,380Financial Aid
CIEE offers the most grants and scholarships of any study abroad organization, including $8 million/year in travel grants, merit-based scholarships, institutional and MSI grants, and Gilman Go Global Grants.
*non-refundable
**direct cost of education charged uniformly to all students
***includes two meals per day for homestay students; No meals included for students who select apartments or residence halls.
†For students in homestays, families provide all meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner). For students in residence halls/apartments, you should budget approx. $260 per month for groceries if you plan on making your own meals, and more if you plan on eating out regularly.
††Round-trip based on U.S. East Coast departure
†††$100 emergency fund + cell phone expense + toiletries
What's Included
Tuition
Housing
Pre-departure Advising
Advising before you depart to set goals and answer questions
Optional on-site airport meet-and-greet
Orientation
Introduction to your program plus practical information about living in your host city
On-site Staff
Full-time program leadership and support in your city
Cultural and/or Co-curricular Activities
Excursions and/or Study Tours
Travel Protection
CIEE iNext travel protection
24/7 emergency on-site support
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