Summer Programs For High School StudentsThe Barcelona Experience

“The Barcelona Experience was an experience of a lifetime. Not only was it academically educational, it taught me responsibility and independence. The professors and RAs there were fantastic and willing to help whenever I needed it. With all the different things I was able to do in Barcelona, there was never a dull moment! To this day, I keep up the friends I made over there. If given an opportunity, I would go back in a heartbeat.”Dashmeet Maharaj, 2012

July 7-July 27, 2013

• Spend three weeks studying at the University of Barcelona.
• Experience college life while living in a foreign city.
• Broaden your worldview.
• Earn an official Columbia University Statement of Attendance.

This program is for students entering grade 11 or 12 or freshman year of college in fall 2013. Prior knowledge of Spanish is not required. The program is mounted in collaboration with the University of Barcelona, founded in 1450, the oldest university in Catalonia and the second largest in Spain.

The Barcelona Experience is a program in which students examine the history, art, urban development, and language of Barcelona, Spain, enriching their understanding of how European communities develop local, regional, national, and international identities. Students share a common three-course curriculum taught in English, supplemented by a Spanish-language workshop. University of Barcelona faculty members teach the courses.

Academic work breaks out of the classroom and into the city itself as classes visit sites of historical and cultural relevance throughout Barcelona. Additionally, two days are devoted to visiting important sites outside of the city. 

Students live in a state-of-the-art University of Barcelona residence hall and are supervised by a trained and experienced residence life staff. The site director and resident advisers, in addition to providing for the safety and well-being of the students, organize various cultural and recreational activities around Barcelona.