Lydia Fernández Pereda KU Leuven

structure Further study in Spain: why would I? What different postgraduate programs do exist in Spain? Entrance requirements: timing, Spanish language requirements, practical tips & tricks Funding: scholarships, assistantships, mobility programs, EU What are the possibilities of student housing in Spanish towns, how to look for housing?

Why should a Flemish student (who has already an academic bachelor- or master degree from KU Leuven) do a (postgraduate) study in Spain? What are the benefits of studying in Spain?

Why studying in Spain Spain is much more than just paella, siesta, fiesta and sangría… …Spain is not only known for its “Tomatina”…

…there are almost 50 public universities in Spain (that’s almost 10 times more offer than in Belgium) + more than 30 private ones … big country, with a wide variety of differences between regions: multicultural, multilingual, open society …openness, kindness, sympathy, joy and charisma of its people Spanish is the 3rd language in the world (after Chinese and English), probably the 2nd in importance (after English)

What different type of postgraduate programs exist in Spain?

Types of postgraduates In Spain “posgrado” (postgraduate) are the university studies after “grado” (this is, a university career, 3 or 4 years). The best known ones are the masters. There are different types: 1. Official Master (Master Oficial): for some careers, they are compulsory to be able to work 1 year (60 ECTS) or 2 years (120 ECTS), usually full time 2 types: o a) Official Professional Master (Master oficial profesional) o b) Official Research Master (Master oficial de investigación)> both allow to conduct a doctorate, but the 2nd is specifically orientated in this direction

2. Master Erasmus Mundus: some official masters co- organized by 3 European universities 3. Master Propio: non-official postgraduate offered by universities or other high education centers.They usually require a previous university degree/ teaching hours 4. University Expert/Specialist Course (Curso de Experto o Especialista Universitario): postgraduate courses with less than 500 teaching hours, usually University Postgraduate Diploma (Diploma Universitario de Postgrado): highly specialized postgraduate studies, usually no more than 200 hours

Requirements

requirements: general Check out the website of your destination university for specific requirements, dates, etc. Academic year usually starts at the end of September – end of June August usually holidays month: most offices are closed! For more information, check out this website:

language requirements Where to learn Spanish before leaving: o KU Leuven: CLT/ILT o Instituto Cervantes (Brussels): Qualified official institution that will provide you with a DELE (Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera) Some degrees (especially postgraduate) are taught in English (but this is not so frequent!) In some bilingual regions (Galicia, Cataluña, País Vasco, Baleares, Valencia) you might receive lessons in the other official regional language (Galician, Catalan, Basque)

language requirements Once you are in Spain… o Thousands of private language schools where you can learn Spanish … + o University language schools + o Instituto Cervantes (in Madrid)

Funding

Scholarships at the EU (Lifelong Learning Programme) programme/doc78_en.htm) programme/doc78_en.htm o Leonardo (internships in companies) o Comenius, Grundtvig, eTwinning: mostly for teachers & mobility within the EU o Erasmus o Erasmus Placements: enables students at higher education institutions to spend a placement (traineeship/internship) period in an enterprise or organization in another participating country of the LLP program

Interesting website in Flanders: EPOS-Vlaanderen Some universities offer funding for highly qualified international students: contact with your destination university!

Housing

¿piso compartido, residencia, familia? No “kots”, but shared apartments (usually with other students, local or international) University residences & services Private search: facebook groups (former students who have been in Spain, Spanish students in Leuven contact them!), websites, “little papers” system in situ, etc…

More information provided in the website ‘Infomarkt’, here, today, until more information about where to study Spanish at the KU Leuven at the CLT (Centrum voor Levende Talen)/ ILT (Interfacultair Instituut voor Levende Talen) infostand