Hello All! It’s Andrew Bartels here.
I spent last year in Málaga, Spain and today I am writing about my
university experience there.
The
university where I studied was la Universidad de Málaga (UMA), which serves
about 35,000 students in Málaga and the surrounding area. There were few students from elsewhere; most
large cities in Spain have their own universities so Spaniards typically see
little reason to leave the vicinity of their hometowns for studies. Almost all international students, myself
included, were only there temporarily.
In regards to the UMA campus itself, there was a similarity
between it and the U of A campus in that both had lovely flora. It is clear that a lot of care goes into
taking care of plants at both campuses.
However, the plants at my Spanish university were different from those
we have here: I was pleasantly surprised to see palm trees in the middle of the
campus, and in front of the law school there was a cherry blossom whose spring
bloom made the top half of the tree look like a ball of pink.
 |
| A
palm tree in the middle of campus.
Looking out the window during class made it even easier to daydream of
the beach. |
 |
|
The blooming cherry blossom in front of the law school. The UMA was proud to even have the tree and
promoted its blooming on social media.
Can’t say I blame them.
|
At my
university, the course structure was strict and, with the exception of a few
electives in the final year of a degree program, the university chose the
classes students took. Also, there were
no general education requirements; everyone started taking classes for their
major on day one. During my first days I
recall asking several friends in an art history class “What’s your major?” only
for them to meet me with a funny look and say “art history” with a tone showing
confusion over why I even asked.
My
classes were in the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, or “The College of Liberal
Arts”, where I took courses on literature, history, and art. In keeping with the strict degree planning, I
had the same group of roughly fifty classmates in all my classes in a given
subject. That is to say all my
literature classes were with the same fifty or so people, my history classes
were with a different fifty people, and so on.
 |
| La Facultdad de Filosofía y Letras. The palm tree in the background is not the same one pictured above. The campus could easily be mistaken for a garden. |
The course structure was also different: class meetings were
lecture-based and there was little in-class discussion. Also, there was virtually no homework and
there were only a handful of grades over the course of a semester, usually a
presentation, one or two commentaries written on outside readings, and a final
exam worth at least half the grade. The
high-stakes exams forced me to learn new study habits because doing well on
them was integral to passing the class.
My time at the UMA was illuminating because I learned not only about a new
education system but also how to succeed in it.
It was quite an experience.
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Don't miss out on your own study abroad experience!
Find out more about Andrew's ISA Malaga Spain - Spanish Language & Courses with Locals program at http://studiesabroad.com/programs/country/spain/city/malaga
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