Spanish Universities and Academic Culture

Posted on February 26, 2014 Updated on April 24, 2014

I’m nearing the end of my third week of classes at the University of Seville, so I thought I’d write a little bit about the university itself, as well as academic life in Spain in general.

I’m taking four classes this semester! I’m enrolled in Arte Español (Spanish Art), Antropología de la Organización Social I (Anthropology of Social Organization I), and Geografía de Europa (European Geography). Additionally, at CIEE, I’m taking Psicología del Aprendizaje de una Segunda Lengua (Psychology of Learning a Second Language.) I really like them all so far! Aside from the psychology course, they’re all a bit random and unrelated to my major, but I mostly chose them based on scheduling, and after attending the first day and determining whether or not I could understand the professor and how the class was organized, haha. My schedule is great for traveling on the weekends, as well, as my last class of the week is finished at 11AM on Thursday!! In the US, I was never able to schedule my week like that, so I was glad to have more flexibility here. Choosing classes was a bit stressful, as it was hard working with an online system I hadn’t seen before. (It really made my appreciate my university’s online class enrollment much more!)

So, to start off: The University of Seville was founded in 1505! It was originally the Colegio de Santa María de Jesús and had four facultades: theology, cannons and laws, medicine, and art. In the 18th century, by combining with some other smaller universities in Seville, the University of Seville was formed. By the mid 20th century, the campus’ main building had become the former Real Fábrica de Tabacos, built during the 1700s and supposedly the same building where Carmen, the title character from Bizet’s opera, worked.

The University of Seville is more of a commuter campus than most American universities. It is not uncommon to have a 30-40 minute commute to class that involves either public transportation or walking. There are some student residencias, but “dorm life” is not as common here as in the US. It’s also rare for students to go away for school. While in the US, universities have many “out-of-state” students, in Spain, it’s very common to just go to the closest major university (the main exception being if they don’t have a program you’re looking for.)

Most students in Spain want to go into state universities, not private ones. The largest and most prestigious Spanish universities (such as the University of Barcelona, the University of Navarra, the University of Salamanca, etc.) are state schools. There are 76 universities in Spain, and 24 are private.

The University of Seville has over 70,000 students spread out over several different campuses and buildings. Programs include Philology, Geography and History, Fine Arts, Biology, Law, Medicine, Psychology, and more.

The University of Seville has a large number of foreign European students because of the ERASMUS program. The ERASMUS program began in 1987 and allows European students to easily study abroad in other European countries. ERASMUS stands for “European Regional Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students”, and also refers to a philosopher of the same name who studied in several different places. Spain is the most popular destination for ERASMUS students, especially students from Germany, Italy, and France.

Students have very little choice in what classes they take. Depending on their program and what year they’re in, they basically get their class schedule handed to them. Unlike the more generalized education usually found in the US, where students are able to take classes unrelated to their major, here, if you’re studying math, you only take math classes, and so on. Because students take classes with the same people for four years, everyone knows each other very well. Interestingly, sometimes students will have several classes in a row scheduled in the same room, so the teachers just come and go while the students stay put! Everyone, even students who are only in the second semester of their primer curso (freshman year), seems to be best friends with the other students in their program and group. I’ve even noticed a higher number of mature students (as in, not 20-something-aged students), and they fit in along with everyone else!

The cost of higher education in Spain is way lower than in the United States. Tuition per cuatrimestre (semester) generally ranges between 700€ and 1500€ ($961 to $2057)!! I was out with my intercambio and some of her friends, and one of the girls was asking me about American universities. When we got to the subject of costs, when I told her approximately how much tuition costs, once you add in all of the extra student fees (not to mention the cost of living on-campus, as many universities require for at least one of the four years you’re there), she was completely flabbergasted.

Grading is tougher than in the United States. Grades are given on a scale from 0 to 10. Receiving a 5 is Aprobado, passing. Anything below a 5 is Suspenso, failing, which means the student has to try taking their exams again in a few months. I believe if they fail the exam when they retake it, they have to retake the course. It’s most common for students to get a 7, which is considered Notable. If a student receives between a 9.6 and a 10, that’s the Matricula de Honor, and I’ve been told that only a handful of students receive this. However, if they do, that means they get to take a class the following semester for free! At the same time, grades are less competitive than what I’m used to. Students are generally satisfied with receiving a passing grade, unlike in the US where people tend to want “all A’s.” Additionally, there is no form of “curving” or grade inflation like in the US.

There is a current agreement between many European countries called the Bologna Process, which began in 1999 and aims to standardize European countries’ higher education systems slowly over time. This means that many grado (undergrad) programs in Spain that used to take five years, now take four. The amount of time required for graduate work is also changing. Some people like these changes, because they feel it might make it easier to get jobs in foreign countries if degrees are standardized, but other people don’t like the interference and feel it lessens the quality of the education.

Spanish universities tend to place less emphasis on classroom discussion and instead there is an expectation from professors that students will study more outside of class and complete more independent reading. Referencing works you read outside of class is the best way to try and get a better grade.

Relationships between students and teachers seem to be more formal, as is the classroom environment. In most of my classes, the second the professor walks into the room, everyone quiets down and goes to their seat. One of my professors stopped in the middle of a lecture to tell a guy to take off his hat! (However, Spanish students aren’t perfect; I still see people getting on Twitter and Facebook in the middle of class, haha. Some things never change.)

Students sometimes use laptops to take notes during class, and sometimes not. MacBooks and other Apple products are extremely uncommon (which is definitely a change from the University of Missouri, which supports Apple to the point that the company made a webpage about our School of Journalism! Link here.) Something interesting I noticed is that  when students write or type up notes during lectures, they don’t seem to use bullet points or outlines like I usually see in the US. Instead, they write long paragraphs! People also write in pen, and I’ve been told that you never turn something in to a professor that’s written in pencil. (I also think that blue pens are more common here? But maybe that’s just what I’ve noticed.)

Sometimes professors will ask students to turn in fichas, which are small note cards you can purchase from the papelería/copistería inside the University building. The note cards have spaces for personal and contact information about each student, as well as a place for a picture of the student. I think these are used as a form of identification when taking final exams.

Textbooks are also less common than in the US. There are librerías (bookstores) near the university buildings where you can buy novels you might need for literature classes, but I’ve heard it’s much more common for students to get copies of book chapters made, rather than buying entire books. However, there are also lists of recommended reading in the course syllabi, and sometimes professors will mention books in class that students are expected to try and read.

Classes seem to be going well so far! I’m still trying to get into the rhythm of things, and it’s kind of difficult trying to figure out how each professor keeps their class organized. Some of my professors seem more strict, while others are much more relaxed. Hopefully I’ll figure it out soon! The nice thing is that they’re aware of the presence of foreign students, so they’re usually willing to help you out if you ask. Wish me luck!