Custom Faculty Led Programs in Barcelona

Each program is tailored to the needs and academic goals of the group, and students only pay for the services that they need. Examples of program services are Spanish lessons, accommodation, classroom space, in-country transportation, pre-arrival and on-site orientations, 24/7 emergency services support, a local program coordinator to accompany and advise students, cultural activities, guest lectures, weekend trips, etc. 

Expanish can tailor the program to fit your field of study. Common fields of study are business, art and architecture, Spanish language and culture, engineering, history, public health, communications and journalism, political science, etc.

The goal of the pre-arrival orientation is to ensure that students are well prepared for their program and transition to a new country. During the session we cover health and safety, transportation, housing rules, and general tips to help students make the most of their time abroad.

The minimum number of students we require is 10. However, we are willing to consider special circumstances. Please contact us if you have concerns about the number of students in your group. 

No, Spanish courses are not a requirement.

We can provide housing in homestays, hotels, student residences, student shared apartments, studios, separate apartments for faculty, etc. We are happy to do our best to accommodate your specific housing requests.

Expanish has an emergency phone line that students and faculty can call in case of an emergency after office hours: Phone & Whatsapp: +34 682 93 67 57 (24hr emergency line)

During business hours, please call:  +34 93 215 55 66 

Additional Emergency Numbers: 

All general emergencies: 112

Police: 088

Ambulance: 061

Fire Dept: 080

Barcelona is generally a safe city. However, pick-pocketing is common. It’s a good idea for students and faculty to write down the important information of your credit card(s) and important phone numbers on a piece of paper and keep it in a safe place. It’s also advisable to always keep a copy of your passport on you, but do not take the original out unless you need it.

For Lost/Stolen Items: Remember you must file a police report. If there wasn’t any violence involved, you could also fill out the police report online: https://denuncias.policia.es/OVD/

Credit/Debit Card 

• Use the list of your important phone numbers to immediately call your bank in your home country to block the card. 

• Have the bank immediately reissue a new card and send it to the Expanish school.

• Send it to: 

Student Name 

c/o Expanish 

Carrer de Pau Claris 186, 2nd Floor,

08037 Barcelona, Spain

• As you will be without a credit/debit card for a week or so, Expanish can provide an emergency loan to cover daily costs until your new card arrives. Please come to reception so we can provide you with our bank details.  

Passport 

• Visit your local consulate right away and make a claim. 

If you have flu symptoms or a minor injury, go to a pharmacy. You can ask the pharmacist to recommend a medicine  after describing your symptoms or find it on your own. 

If you need urgent medical attention, you can contact 112 and the public emergency service can assist you. If you have private insurance, you can go to Clínica Delfos, which has a 24-hour emergency service and  a translator. If you need to make an appointment with a specialist, you can contact: delfos@hminternationalbcn.com. You will need to bring a copy of the insurance policy along with your ID/passport and a bank card.

HM International Patient Bcn - Hospital HM Delfos Avda. Vallcarca 151 08023, Barcelona Call center: +34649758995

Click the following link for a list of  all the public hospitals, their addresses and their contact information in the metropolitan area of ​​Barcelona and the rest of Catalonia: http://serveisclinics.com/es/webs-hospitales-es

If you are taking a treatment, it is important to bring a dose for the entire stay and accompany it with the original prescription. All medication should be in its original container and prescriptions should have your name on it. If it runs out, even in the case of a chronic illness, the foreign prescription will not be accepted. You will have to go to a local doctor, to prescribe the medicine again.

While studying abroad can be a life changing experience, it often takes time for students to adjust to a new culture and social setting. It’s completely normal to feel emotionally out of sorts while experiencing these changes. 

Before starting your program we recommend talking to your current medical provider(s) to discuss how your wellbeing may be affected by traveling abroad and how to best prepare. 

During the onsite orientation, Expanish will provide a list of local mental health resources, including English speaking psychologists and 24 hour mental health services, that students can utilize throughout their time. In addition, the Expanish team is always available to assist you onsite and are well-trained in student support.  

Expanish Study Abroad implements an incident reporting system where program staff must inform of any incident involving a student. This system is used to communicate efficiently with the student’s home university in a precise and detailed manner the nature of the incident, if medical attention was needed or if a police report was filed, and the steps taken to resolve it. We currently have this system implemented for all of our university programs to comply with Clery and Title IX regulations. 

Expanish Study Abroad requires all of its staff members to report any incidents related to sexual assault or harassment, discrimination, any time a student or faculty is the victim of a crime and any serious illness or hospitalization. 

Expanish Study Abroad has a rigorous approval process for any local provider that is contracted to assist with our programs (i.e. homestay family, hotel, private transportation company).  

• All housing options have been personally visited by Expanish Study Abroad staff and buildings have passed a risk management approval process related to fire safety and compliance with local laws and regulations.

• All adults residing in host family homes are required to pass local background checks.

• All providers are required to show proof of insurance and legal incorporation documents.

• All active providers are subject to an annual quality control review.  

Students are required to have adequate travel/medical insurance. Expanish offers an optional insurance policy that can be purchased - read more about this here. 

Students can receive university credit through our US partner institution if they take Spanish classes at one of our centers. Students can earn 1 semester credit for every 15 Spanish lessons they take with Expanish. However students must confirm with their home university that they will accept the credits. Click here for more information about our university credit system.

Students are encouraged to check with their university to see if they qualify for any additional scholarships or financial aid. We accept all types of financial aid, grants, scholarships, or loans that they may receive to help pay for any of our academic programs. 

No, only individual students studying abroad with Expanish during the Intensive Month program, Summer Session 1 or 2, or the Summer Internship can apply for the scholarship. 

Yes. US citizens must have a valid US passport to travel to Spain and we recommend that your passport be valid for at least 6 months after your program’s end date.  

Expanish does not process visas however we can provide verification letters to support your application when necessary. Please note that visas are not necessary for American citizens unless they plan to stay for longer than 90 days. However, starting in 2024, US citizens will need to purchase an ETIAS, a travel authorization document, in order to travel to Spain. You can read more about how to obtain the document here. 

Public transportation in Barcelona is easy to use and very affordable! Students can take the bus, train, or metro to all parts of the city. Currently there is a special deal for people under the age of 30, where you pay 40€ for three months and have unlimited trips on all in-city public transportation. We recommend using google maps to find the quickest route to get around.

Getting a sim card is probably the easiest way to have access to all the capabilities of a smartphone and to be able to make calls. To put a local sim card into your phone your phone needs to be unlocked by your home carrier. Putting a sim card into your smartphone will give you access to a Spanish number and data, so you will be able to use apps around the city and make phone calls to local numbers. 

Local Carriers: 

At the airport

Vodafone/crystal:

Central Location: TERMINAL 1

https://goo.gl/maps/MwcRGDz1mLk7LGtx7

Orange:

Central Location: TERMINAL 2 HALL B Tienda del viajero

https://goo.gl/maps/HNFNYANre2cGwHz89

In the city 

Movistar:

Central Location:  Plaça Catalunya, 16, CC El Triangle  08002, Barcelona

https://goo.gl/maps/CyZi6QTHKJbVGcdj6

Vodafone:

Central Location: Plaça de Catalunya, 14, CC El Corte Inglés  08002, Barcelona

https://goo.gl/maps/77U12JsnPTpqDr6u6

Orange:

Central location: Plaça de Catalunya, 14, 08002 Barcelona

https://goo.gl/maps/77U12JsnPTpqDr6u6

Yoigo:

Central Location: Via Laietana, 44, 08003 Barcelona

https://goo.gl/maps/2M8Va9Pq2pVV1UeYA

International Plans: Many carriers will allow you to put international plans on your phones, which will give you data internationally and allow you to make foreign calls. This option can be quite expensive, but make sure you look into the different offers of your home phone carrier. 

Wifi: You will have wifi all around the city, but you should not rely on wifi as your only source of communication, as it can be unreliable and you may not be able to access it in the case of an emergency.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: If your iphone is lost or stolen while in Madrid and you try to mail a new phone from your home country (outside the EU) to Madrid it WILL get stuck in Spanish Customs, and you may never receive it. For this reason, we do NOT encourage you to have smartphones shipped to Madrid, we recommend you to buy them locally.