Housing & Student Support
Accommodations:
Spanish language acquisition is a primary focus of the program, therefore living with a Spanish family is required for the first semester of the program. You are placed in carefully selected Spanish homes in order to strengthen your Spanish language abilities. Daily interaction with members of the homestay household enhances the cultural experience by adding opportunities for the students to learn more about Spanish culture and local customs through an insider's perspective. In addition to a room in a Spanish home, you share three daily meals with your homestay family. Prior to studying in Spain, orientation training is provided to discuss intercultural issues related to life in a home stay. Students usually comment that the home stay component is the most meaningful and rewarding aspect of the Study Center program.
Students studying for a full academic year in Madrid may elect to organize their own living arrangements for the second semester of the program. The student must first live with a home stay family for the full duration of the fall semester. Accommodations must be approved by the Resident Director.
Student Support
Upon arrival to Madrid, you are greeted at the airport by the dedicated staff of the Centro Superior de Cultura España (CSCE). CSCE is a unique organization that specializes in educating public and private groups about Spanish language and culture and has served the Madrid metropolitan community for over 10 years.
GW Madrid students attend a two-day orientation held in a hotel in Madrid and organized by CSCE. You reside in a hotel with the other students before meeting your homestay family at the conclusion of the orientation. During your first weekend stay in Madrid, you learn about the intriguing and vibrant culture of Madrid through a guided tour of the historical city. You also receive ongoing cultural information about Spain and traditional customs throughout the orientation, the Intensive Spanish course, and during your entire study abroad term.
Soon after arrival, students are grouped into language cohorts based on their current Spanish language abilities. You remain in the same language cohort throughout the intensive Spanish course. For the entire first month of the program, CSCE oversees the three credit intensive Spanish course, as well as a planned program of cultural activities and excursions. After the completion of the intensive Spanish course, you begin your registered courses with the GW Madrid program.
GW maintains a Resident Director for the GW Madrid program. The Resident Director organizes the orientation program, facilitates home stay placements for participants, procures internship opportunities and organizes attendance to culturally enriching events, such as theater, flamenco dancing, or soccer. The Resident Director also coordinates cultural excursions each semester and supervises other necessary support services.
Cultural activities and excursions are vital components of GW Madrid. Professional guides who are experts in history, art and architecture accompany the group on all of the program tours. The semester begins with an historical tour of Madrid and later incorporates day excursions to such important historical cities as Toledo, Segovia, Avila and Salamanca. Longer trips to other parts of Spain may include visits to the distant and surrounding regions of Andalusia, Extremadura, Galicia, the Basque County and Catalonia, including the city of Barcelona.
GW Madrid’s Resident Director also organizes visits to the theater, to dance recitals and musical programs. The dates of planned activities and excursions are announced to students on a program calendar distributed at the beginning of each semester. Excursions change every semester to accommodate students studying for 2 semesters