Intensive Month Program - Study Abroad in Málaga

The cost of each program depends on the type of housing you choose. All programs include pre-arrival and on-site orientations, the intensive Group Spanish Classes - 20 per week - at Expanish, university credit, free cultural activities, housing options, and 24/7 emergency services. 

The course book, flights, and optional weekend excursions are not included in the program cost. Meals are also not included unless you are staying at a homestay.  

Yes! At Expanish you only pay for the services that you need. If you would like to handle your own housing for example, or if you don’t need a university transcript, we can eliminate those costs from your program fees.

You can start the Intensive Month program the first Sunday of any month! The deadline to register is 2 months before your start date. 

Final payments must be received in full 14 days prior to the program start date. Payment instructions are provided with the invoice. The payer is responsible for all bank and transaction fees.

Expanish partially makes up group courses during weeks when the school is closed due to public holidays. For weeks with one public holiday, we make up 2 hours of missed lessons on our groups courses. For weeks with two holidays, we make up 6 hours of missed lessons on the group courses. 

Yes! You can always earn university credit with our Spanish classes and stay for any amount of time  from 1 week up to a year. For every 15 hours of Spanish lessons completed, you will earn 1 semester credit. Please make sure to always confirm with your university beforehand that the credits will be accepted. 

Intensive Month students can participate in any of the cultural activities offered at the school. There are 4 activities per week, which vary depending on the week. Click here to see the activities offered currently and in the past at our Málaga center. 

Intensive Month students can participate in optional weekend excursions for an extra cost. Students will be notified of the weekend excursion options before the start of the program and can sign up ahead of time. Some examples of weekend excursions are Caminito del Rey, Gibraltar or Córdoba.

Students can choose between Student Shared Apartments or Homestay options. 

Homestays are a great option for students who want to truly immerse themselves in Spanish culture and language, whereas the shared apartments offer the opportunity to make friends with other international students and live the full student life experience. Students staying in homestays are provided with 2 meals a day (breakfast and dinner), whereas students living in the shared apartments do not have meals included.

We do our best to match students with host families based on common living standards and other personal traits.

Students can choose between a shared bathroom or private bathroom in the homestay option.

Overnight guests in homestays and shared apartments with hosts are not allowed.  This is part of the agreement that Expanish has with its hosts and has to do with safety at homes. 

Students receive their housing placements 2 weeks before the start of the program. 

Students must inform the school of any dietary restrictions or allergies upon booking a homestay. Special dietary requirements may be accommodated -subject to availability  - for a fee of €40 per week. This applies to vegan, gluten-free, halal, and kosher diets only.

Homestays are located in Centro, Soho, Malagueta, La Victoria, Conde Ureña, Perchel Sur, Plaza de Toros Vieja, Parque Ayala, Cruz de Humilladero, La Aurora, Limonar, and Pedregalejo, with a maximum commute of 35 minutes to the School.

Student shared apartments are located in the city center and nearby area. It is a safe neighborhood and all apartments are 7 minutes walking distance from the school. Bus & taxi stops, supermarkets and other shops are located within walking distance.

Homestay- Students will live with a local Spanish family, which could be a couple or a single host, with or without children. In homestays, students will have someone at home to help them adjust to Spain, share meals, and to practice Spanish. Some families host more than one student at a time, which means students could live with one or more other students as well.

Student shared apartment -Each apartment has 2 to 8 international students, so there may be other Expanish students or living in the same place, although this is not guaranteed.

Students participate in our Group Course 20 schedule which includes 4 daily lessons either in the morning or in the afternoon.

For our Intensive Month course, you will complete 80 academic credit hours, which transfers to 5 semester credits. 

Since many universities have different course requirements, it is important for you to confirm with your home university that they will accept your credits. This can usually be done by showing them the course syllabus prior to enrolling in the program, though each university may have different requirements. You can find a copy of the syllabus on our website or by contacting hola@expanish.com.

Normally, 3 semester credits are equal to 1.5 quarter credits, and are obtained with45 academic hours at Expanish. If your home university uses the quarter system, make sure to confirm with your university beforehand what their process is and how many units you will receive.   

This should be defined and confirmed by the student’s university. Generally, however, Expanish courses are considered undergraduate level language courses.

1. A1 = SPN225 

2. A2 = SPN226

3. B1= SPN325

4. B2 = SPN326

The fee for the official transcript is $450. This will be included in your program quote that you pay before your program starts.

The final grade consists of:

Attendance & Class participation 20%

Continuous Assessment (Quizzes) 20%

Homework 15%

Midterm exercices 15%

Final exam 30%

Students’ progress will be taken into consideration and may also give a boost to their overall grade.

Students must attend 80% of their classes in order to pass the course. If you are unable to come to class, please email escuela.barcelona@expanish.com

If you arrive later than 15 minutes after class starts, you will not be allowed to enter class and will be considered absent.

Expanish is proud to offer 5 US$ 1,000 scholarships to be used to help students cover costs for Expanish programs in any of our locations.

• Applicants must be at least 18 years of age at the start of the program.

• Applicants must have a minimum of a 2.5 GPA at the time of the application.

• Applicants must be enrolled in a University or College at the time of their program, either at an undergraduate or graduate level.

• Applicants must plan to use their scholarship for an Intensive Month or longer study abroad program.

• Successful applicants will be required to write 1 to 4 guest blog posts detailing their experience, depending on program length, and as such must demonstrate a high level of proficiency with the English language.

Applications are due February 20, 2023 and decisions will be made March 15, 2024.

No, successful applicants will have until March 15, 2025 to make use of their scholarship.

Students must complete the application form and upload the following documents:

• 1 letter of recommendation

• University transcript

• CV

• 2 essays detailing their reasons for applying

  • Essay 1: Why do you want to study Spanish in Spain or Argentina?

  • Essay 2: How will studying Spanish abroad benefit your future and personal growth?

Students can get in touch with us by completing a contact form or emailing us at hola@expanish.com if they have any questions or concerns.

All scholarship applicants will also be considered for partial financial aid. We recognize that putting together an application takes time and effort, so we are willing to reward that as well on a case by case basis. Although it will not be the full scholarship amount, we can provide aid that can help cover up to 50% of the total of the program.

Students are also 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. 

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. Students from the US do not need a student visa to travel to Spain for less than 90 days.

Yes, all US citizens need a valid passport to travel to Spain and should not expire within the six months following your arrival date.

For cancellations received 14 days or more in advance of the program start date, Expanish will refund fees received in full, excluding non-refundable charges (registration fee). For cancellations received less than 14 days in advance of the program start date, the student will be charged a cancellation fee equivalent to one week of tuition and any non-refundable charges (registration fee).

For any cancellation received on or after the course start date, there is no refund for the course.

Expanish reserves the right to charge an administration fee of 50€ for the course and 100€ for the accommodation each time a program is modified or postponed after Expanish has confirmed the initial enrollment. Any changes should be made in writing two weeks before the requested change or postponement. This also includes requests for changes when the student is already at the school. Any postponement within two weeks of the start date will be considered a cancellation of the original program. 

In cases where the student wishes to change housing placements, Expanish reserves the right to charge an administration fee of 100€ and perform the change according to availability. The price difference between two options cannot be returned.

Changes between different services (courses, accommodation, and other services), such as substituting one service for another, are not permitted and will be considered a cancellation.

Expanish has an Emergency Phone you can call in case of an emergency during out of office hours:

Phone & Whatsapp: +34 676 064 567 (24hr emergency line)

During business hours, please call: : +34 952 216 466

ADDITIONAL EMERGENCY NUMBERS

All general emergencies: 112

Police: 091

Ambulance: 061

Fire Dept: 080

Málaga is generally a very safe city, however pick-pocketing is common. It’s a good idea 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 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/Principal.dgp

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 

Calle Granada 32, First Floor,

29015 Málaga, 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.

When you are sick with flu symptoms or have a minor injury:

Go to a pharmacy. You can ask the pharmacist to recommend a brand after describing your symptoms or find it on your own. 

If you need urgent medical supervision, you can contact 112 and the public emergency service can assist you. You can also go to the nearest hospital or CAP (Primary Care Center). If you have a European health Card this will be the best option for you.

Recommended Public Hospital: 

Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga - Carlos Haya

Avenida Carlos Haya 84

29010, Málaga

+34 951 290 000

Other public hospitals in the city: 

Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Victoria 

Campus de Teatinos, s/n

29010, Málaga

+34 951 03 20 00

Hospital Civil

Pl. del Hospital Civil, s/n

29009 Málaga

+34 951 290 000

In the following link you will be able to consult all the public hospitals, their address and their contact information all around Málaga:  https://enfermera.io/guia-de-servicios-sanitarios-de-malaga/

If you have private insurance, you can also go to Hospital Gálvez, which has a 24-hour emergency service and they also have a translator. You will need to bring a copy of the insurance receipt along with your ID/passport and a bank card.

Recommended Private Hospital: 

Hospital HM Gálvez

Calle San Agustin, 1

29015, Málaga

+34 952 141 133

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. 

Málaga is a small city and locals love to get to where they need to go by walking. However, public transportation in Málaga is easy to use and very affordable! We recommend using google maps to find the quickest route to get around. You will get wherever you need to go by bus, metro or train.

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 / Orange: You can buy a SIM card at TravelWifi, which is located next to the dutyfree. The store also has mobile accessories in case you need something else.

In the city 

Movistar:

Central Location:  Calle Don Cristian Plaza 2

https://goo.gl/maps/oLoNZSoKsCTN4QVj9

Orange:

Central location: Calle Nueva, 32

https://goo.gl/maps/jKnBXrvx6pe3xQqP8

Vodafone, Yoigo:

Central location: Calle Nueva, 23

https://goo.gl/maps/YYV3MGGtxcbZYuyq8

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 Málaga and you try to mail a new phone from your home country (outside the EU) to Málaga 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 Málaga, we recommend you to buy them locally.

You will begin your stay with a student orientation, where you will have the opportunity to meet other program participants. You will also be able to meet other students in your classes, during workshops and weekly activities, in your homestay or shared apartment, and through the local Expanish staff. You will have plenty of opportunities to socialize with other students if you wish.