CIEE Communication, New Media, and Journalism in Seville

I think CIEE does a great job at getting students immersed in the culture of the country they are studying in. The staff is super helpful, the activities esencial in getting to know others, and it is just a great program overall!

I truly had an incredible experience in my semester abroad in Sevilla with CIEE. Beyond navigating a new place and having fun traveling, exploring, and other such things, I felt that this program gave me a unique opportunity to gain a level of autonomy, as well as a level of peace and self-confidence among some manageable challenge. My program in particular, as a Spanish minor, required that all my classes were in Spanish, and that I would do a homestay with a family that only spoke Spanish. I think that in my experience, the thing for which I'm most grateful to CIEE is the way that housing was handled. I know that my experience in a homestay is a bit of a particular one, but it was one of the best parts of my experience. My host family was kind and supportive, they offered me a healthy, exciting environment to improve my Spanish speaking, and they gave me the freedom to live as I saw fit. It was that freedom in particular that my host family offered me that allowed me to be independent in a way that I hadn't before, and through that I was able to grow exponentially on a personal level in the navigation of a new place. If it weren't for CIEE's deliberate care and thought in the housing process, I wouldn't have had what I believe to be one of the most crucial and beneficial parts of my experience, so I thank them for that. Additionally, I'd like to note that CIEE's faculty were always incredibly supportive and understanding of students' circumstances. At one point in the semester, I had a personal issue that made it difficult for me to keep up with classes for a bit, and when I explained my situation to my professors, I was met with nothing but the utmost show of concern and understanding, along with a willingness to help me navigate that time. It was clear that they genuinely cared about as students and people. Overall, CIEE is a great organization that works extremely hard to ensure that students have a great experience while abroad. While not perfect, as some aspects such as communication when it came to academics and course selection were a bit disorganized, they do an incredible job with the most important aspects of providing a study abroad experience, those being personal care for the students and thorough process in guiding a difficult transition, especially in housing and the adjustment to life abroad. Looking back, my four months abroad were some of the best of my life, and I, at least in part, have CIEE to thank for that.

Before all of the coronavirus implications, I had an amazing experience with CIEE! I loved my classes, professors, my host family and the program all around! I also specially chose this program because it was in Spanish. I was in CNMJ. It was a small program and I received lots of individual attention!