Spain
INTRODUCTION
For the subject Social Studies we were given the assignment to investigate a given country in Europe for the possibilities of an internship or a study. In this particular report we will discuss study and internship possibilities in Spain. To get a good representation of this, we will look at the prices of flights from the Netherlands to Spain, the availability living situations, the quality of the universities and the number of English studies available, college funds, spoken languages, public transport and the average cost of studying in Spain.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Spain is the fourth largest country in Europe( after Russia, Ukraine and France) covering a total surface of roundabout 500.000 squared kilometres. It has little over 47 million inhabitants, making it the 28th largest populated country in the world. The currency used in Spain is the euro and Spain is a member of the EU. The capital of Spain is Madrid, together with Barcelona it is the only city in Spain with more than a million inhabitants. Spain has been a constitional monarchy since 1978 when the Franco regime fell. Spain’s main language is Spanish, yet in most parts of Spain, the people have a dialect(Catalan, Basque, Galician, Aranese, Asturian, Aragonese, Leonese, Extremaduran and Fala)
INTRODUCTION
For the subject Social Studies we were given the assignment to investigate a given country in Europe for the possibilities of an internship or a study. In this particular report we will discuss study and internship possibilities in Spain. To get a good representation of this, we will look at the prices of flights from the Netherlands to Spain, the availability living situations, the quality of the universities and the number of English studies available, college funds, spoken languages, public transport and the average cost of studying in Spain.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Spain is the fourth largest country in Europe( after Russia, Ukraine and France) covering a total surface of roundabout 500.000 squared kilometres. It has little over 47 million inhabitants, making it the 28th largest populated country in the world. The currency used in Spain is the euro and Spain is a member of the EU. The capital of Spain is Madrid, together with Barcelona it is the only city in Spain with more than a million inhabitants. Spain has been a constitional monarchy since 1978 when the Franco regime fell. Spain’s main language is Spanish, yet in most parts of Spain, the people have a dialect(Catalan, Basque, Galician, Aranese, Asturian, Aragonese, Leonese, Extremaduran and Fala)
PRICES OF FLIGHT
The cheapest flight from Schiphol to Madrid currently available, costs €77,14 provided by Ryan Air [1].
While this flight is very cheap, the quality is of course not very high, but this should not be a very big problem since the flight lasts only 2 and a half hours( not including changing planes)
AVAILABILITY OF LIVING SITUATIONS
There are many accommodations available in Spain. In Spain’s major cities with universities you will be able to find many available living environments, sometimes even for less than €50 per week.
Not only are there very cheap places to live there are also more luxurious places to live. If you have the money you can rent places costing over €150 per week, yet assuming a student cannot afford this kind of luxury, there are many affordable, yet livable places to rent.[2]
[1] Cheaptickets.nl
[2]http://spain.accommodationforstudents.com/searchresults.asp?city=Madrid&lookingfor=any&searchtype=city&numberofbedrooms=&cost=
The cheapest flight from Schiphol to Madrid currently available, costs €77,14 provided by Ryan Air [1].
While this flight is very cheap, the quality is of course not very high, but this should not be a very big problem since the flight lasts only 2 and a half hours( not including changing planes)
AVAILABILITY OF LIVING SITUATIONS
There are many accommodations available in Spain. In Spain’s major cities with universities you will be able to find many available living environments, sometimes even for less than €50 per week.
Not only are there very cheap places to live there are also more luxurious places to live. If you have the money you can rent places costing over €150 per week, yet assuming a student cannot afford this kind of luxury, there are many affordable, yet livable places to rent.[2]
[1] Cheaptickets.nl
[2]http://spain.accommodationforstudents.com/searchresults.asp?city=Madrid&lookingfor=any&searchtype=city&numberofbedrooms=&cost=
QUALITY OF UNIVERSITIES AND AVAILABILITY OF ENGLISH STUDIES
The overall quality of Spanish universities is quite high. The universities of Madrid and Barcelona are both in the top 15 of best universities in the world, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona is even in the top 10. Besides Barcelona and Madrid, there are three more Spanish universities in the world wide top 50 of best universities in the world.[3]
Finding an English study in Spain is not very likely to cause you any trouble, as there are more than 1300 English studies available in Spain. English studies can be found at any university in Spain. There are also many different studies provided by the Spanish universities ( from ‘Accounting and Auditing’ to ‘Water Engineering’) so if you are a foreign student and you do want to study in Spain, you will be able to. [4]
COSTS OF STUDYING IN SPAIN AND COLLEGE FUNDS
The price of studying in Spain varies greatly, a bachelor at a public university will only cost you €500-€1.100 per year, which is way cheaper if you compare it to other countries with the same quality in universities. However, not all Spanish universities are this cheap, if you want to study at a private university, it might cost you €5.000- €12.000 per year. If you are a foreign student but you still want to receive college funds for your study in Spain, you will not walk into any problems either, what you need to do to receive your college funds is very simple. First of all you will have to fit the requirements for a college fund in your own country, this may vary per country. When you do fit these requirements you would have to fit for three more: you are at that point not already receiving college funds from another country, the study you are applying to is of good enough quality and you must have been legal citizen for three years in the country where you want to receive your college funds from. If you do fit all these requirements you should be able to receive your college fund.
[4] http://www.studyineurope.eu/study-in-spain/in-english#spain--study-in-english/?view_167_page=1
[3] http://www.topuniversities.com/top-50-under-50/2013#sorting=rank+region=140+country=199+faculty=+stars=false+search=
The overall quality of Spanish universities is quite high. The universities of Madrid and Barcelona are both in the top 15 of best universities in the world, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona is even in the top 10. Besides Barcelona and Madrid, there are three more Spanish universities in the world wide top 50 of best universities in the world.[3]
Finding an English study in Spain is not very likely to cause you any trouble, as there are more than 1300 English studies available in Spain. English studies can be found at any university in Spain. There are also many different studies provided by the Spanish universities ( from ‘Accounting and Auditing’ to ‘Water Engineering’) so if you are a foreign student and you do want to study in Spain, you will be able to. [4]
COSTS OF STUDYING IN SPAIN AND COLLEGE FUNDS
The price of studying in Spain varies greatly, a bachelor at a public university will only cost you €500-€1.100 per year, which is way cheaper if you compare it to other countries with the same quality in universities. However, not all Spanish universities are this cheap, if you want to study at a private university, it might cost you €5.000- €12.000 per year. If you are a foreign student but you still want to receive college funds for your study in Spain, you will not walk into any problems either, what you need to do to receive your college funds is very simple. First of all you will have to fit the requirements for a college fund in your own country, this may vary per country. When you do fit these requirements you would have to fit for three more: you are at that point not already receiving college funds from another country, the study you are applying to is of good enough quality and you must have been legal citizen for three years in the country where you want to receive your college funds from. If you do fit all these requirements you should be able to receive your college fund.
[4] http://www.studyineurope.eu/study-in-spain/in-english#spain--study-in-english/?view_167_page=1
[3] http://www.topuniversities.com/top-50-under-50/2013#sorting=rank+region=140+country=199+faculty=+stars=false+search=
SPOKEN LANGUAGES
The main language in Spain is of course Spanish, yet there are many dialects. In the largest part of Spain, the population speaks a no-dialect Spanish. But around the borders of the country there are many different dialects, some of the biggest are: Catalan, Basque, Galician, Aranese, Asturian, Aragonese, Leonese, Extremaduran and Fala.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Since Spain is country with well over 40 million inhabitants(of which a large part is student), it is supposed to have a good public transport being able to transport millions of citizens. Travelling by bus in Spain can be considered reasonably expensive, as a 10 times ticket will cost you €7,40, however you be able travel ‘unlimited’ distances. For the metro counts the same price as for the bus and the metro is only available in the big cities. The prices of travelling by the high speed railway are enormous, a one way ticket from Madrid to Barcelona will cost you €110. The prices for the regular train differs greatly for which distance you have to travel.
MEDIA
There are more than 30 English language newspapers in Spain, most of these are situated on the Mediterranean coast, since many tourists come here. But there are also lots of English newspapers to be found in the major cities of Spain.
The main language in Spain is of course Spanish, yet there are many dialects. In the largest part of Spain, the population speaks a no-dialect Spanish. But around the borders of the country there are many different dialects, some of the biggest are: Catalan, Basque, Galician, Aranese, Asturian, Aragonese, Leonese, Extremaduran and Fala.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Since Spain is country with well over 40 million inhabitants(of which a large part is student), it is supposed to have a good public transport being able to transport millions of citizens. Travelling by bus in Spain can be considered reasonably expensive, as a 10 times ticket will cost you €7,40, however you be able travel ‘unlimited’ distances. For the metro counts the same price as for the bus and the metro is only available in the big cities. The prices of travelling by the high speed railway are enormous, a one way ticket from Madrid to Barcelona will cost you €110. The prices for the regular train differs greatly for which distance you have to travel.
MEDIA
There are more than 30 English language newspapers in Spain, most of these are situated on the Mediterranean coast, since many tourists come here. But there are also lots of English newspapers to be found in the major cities of Spain.
Written by: Tim Drese