Study Abroad


	UGA=s TERRY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, FRANKLIN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES JOIN TO FORM STUDENT SUMMER PROGRAMS IN SPAIN The beauty, culture, history, and business of Spain will be the focus of two new international programs for University of Georgia students who want to study abroad beginning next summer. The new programs, jointly sponsored by the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the Terry College of Business, will be centered in two towns on the coast of Spain: Valencia and Cádiz. Currently there are no other UGA study abroad programs sponsored in Spain. These are the first from UGA to focus on Spanish language, literature, culture and international business. AThese programs are being offered with the full endorsement of both colleges,@ said Dr. Robert Gatewood, associate dean for academic programs in the Terry College of Business and co-director of the programs. The opportunity to take both business and Spanish-language courses in a UGA study abroad program is great for our students. We=re also pleased to be able to open these programs to all University of Georgia studentsBnot just those majoring or minoring in SpanishBwho meet the requirements.@ Dr. José B. Alvarez, an assistant professor of Romance languages in the Franklin College, is director of the programs, and he expects strong student interest. AThis could not have worked if the business school had not been involved,@ said Alvarez. ATogether, we think these programs will fill a great void in students= knowledge of Spain.@ The programs are different in many ways, though they will both begin next summer. AWe are delighted to join the Terry College of Business to sponsor what we believe will be an outstanding study abroad program and to offer our students the opportunity to study Spanish language in Spain,@ said Dr. Clifton Pannell, associate dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. AThis will advance our international programs significantly.@ The Valencia program is for upper-division students only and will be conducted entirely in Spanish, so a strong speaking and writing knowledge of that language is essential. All students will take at least an upper-level Spanish language course and may choose one of two international business courses that will be offered. Openings are available for 44 students. AThe students will be staying in the center of town at a dorm on the University of Valencia campus, and it=s by far one of the best facilities in the country,@ said the Terry College=s Sally Vandiver, program coordinator for these new international initiatives in Spain. Vandiver is also the Terry College=s advisor for international business majors. AThe rooms are air conditioned and have private bathrooms and Ethernet connectionsBit=s a very nice place.@ (The Adorm@ is, in fact, a recently renovated 17^th century palace.) In addition, students in the Valencia program will go on organized cultural visits to Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Barcelona, Granada and SevilleBall conducted in Spanish. Students enrolled in business courses will go on visits to Spanish firms as well. Valencia is an area with a booming economy, and many of Spain=s largest firms operate in or near the town. Students in the Valencia program will receive six semester hours= credit. They will leave as a group from Atlanta on May 27 and spend seven weeks in Spain. The cost of the program is $5,200 per student, which include round-trip air fare, 21 meals a week, all program-sponsored trips, hotel accommodations, student insurance and an international ID card. Students should plan to take about $100 a week for spending money or travel they might choose to undertake on their own. AYou rarely find Americans or even English-speaking tourists in Valencia, so it=s ideal for a program conducted entirely in Spanish,@ said Vandiver. Besides Alvarez, one other faculty member from the department of Romance languages will accompany the students as a teacher, as well as one from the Terry College of Business. Professors from the University of Valencia will be involved in the program as well. Two teaching assistants from UGA will also be part of the program. Valencia is on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. The Cádiz program, on the other hand, is for lower-division students (freshmen and sophomores) and will be conducted principally in English, so a thorough knowledge of the language is not required. Students will earn six semester hours of credit and all students will take Spanish language courses, though other courses may be offered as well. (Though no business courses will be available in the summer of 2001, there are plans to add one or two business courses for the summer of 2002.) Cádiz students will also go on organized cultural visits to the same cities as the Valencia students, with the exception of Barcelona. They will stay with Spanish families in Cádiz rather than in a college dorm. Cost for the Cádiz program will be $5,000 per student and will include the same fees as those attending the Valencia program. Students going to Cádiz will leave from Atlanta on May 20 and return on July 6. Eventually there will be openings for 30 students in the Cádiz program, though fewer students will be allowed next summerBperhaps 20 or so. One UGA Romance language professor will teach in the program and one graduate TA will also be on hand as a mentor-tutor, as in the Valencia program. One professor from the University of Cádiz will also teach. Cádiz is on the Atlantic coast of Spain between Gibraltar and the southern coast of Portugal. If there are more student applicants than slots for the programs, students will be screened on the basis of grade point average. AThis teaming of the Terry College and the Franklin College makes such good sense,@ said Alvarez. AUGA=s Office of International Education, which has helped us enormously, shows that of the total number of students who participated in studies abroad program from UGA in 1998-1999, some 38 percent were from these two colleges. That=s impressive.@ In all, some 22 percent of UGA students now going abroad for study programs go to Spanish-speaking countries. AClearly, there is a market for UGA-based programs in Spain,@ said Vandiver. This article originally appeared in The Franklin Chronicle, Spring 2001 edition.