Study Abroad Programs in La Coruna, Spain

I have definitely had a great time studying with UDC and Linguistic Horizons. The arrangements and trips provided by Nicole are always very fun, safe, and great new experiences to have. My host family is very nice and caring, and I have greatly improved my Spanish speaking, learning, and understanding skills through communicating with them daily. Nicole is very easy to reach and helpful in answering all questions. Would highly recommend!

Linguistic Horizons responded to this reviewMay 05, 2026

Muchas gracias, Charles :)

I found the city of La Coruña to be a charming little city with wonderful people and beautiful scenery. Immersion is simply the best and fastest way to improve in any language. I arrived in Spain with little-to-no Spanish ability, which at times was overwhelming, however with the support of Nicole, her family and my classmates, I found my Spanish improved rapidly. My teacher was excellent, encouraging and approachable. The day trips were my favourite part of my time in La Coruña, having time to explore Spain and spend time with fellow course-mates was extremely fun.

Coruna is an incredible city, and my spanish class was the perfect mix of difficulty and fun. Nicole, the programs leader, is extremely prepared to help with anything you might need. Best month of my life! I wish it could've lasted longer!

This is a great program. My Spanish improved tremendously both from the full immersion and the university classes. The school and the city felt very familiar and it was refreshing to be in a non touristy area. I had traveled to Spain before, and the bigger cities were very hussle and bussle. Coruña had a more laid back atmosphere that made it feel like a second home. Linguistic horizons was very informative about what to expect from the city and how to get around. The ciudad vieja, or old city, part of town was my favorite place since it was close to the beautiful port and had an a type of renaissance charm. I felt very safe walking around town and taking the buses and did not have much trouble with bus schedules. Although I did learn to always be a few minutes early for the bus. Even though the food was different, it was pretty good. As a vegan, I thought it would be difficult to eat out and find options to fit my diet, but I was able to eat almost everywhere. The pimientos de padrón became my favorite dish! Overall this was a great experience and I highly recommend this program.

If you are considering to study abroad, I strongly recommend Linguistic Horizons. Nicole, the program director, is very well organized, always available and willing to help the students. The program is well structured with a syllabus suitable to the course. There are a lot of weekend excursions which make the time abroad extremely fun. La Coruña is a safe and beautiful coastal city to learn Spanish, practice with native speakers, enjoy the culture and food while enjoying life abroad. That was my first time in Spain and quite frankly I didn’t regret a second of it.

Cooking in Spain was by far one of the most amazing things I have ever done. I left Spain with a high level of confidence not only with my ability to both speak Spanish and cook but also with myself . I made a number of connections with people from different states and countries, and I still keep in touch with almost everyone I met. The friendships I made throughout this experience have made an incredible impact on my life, and I learned so much about myself through this experience. Not only was Hemingway a fun experience, but I also learned so much about Spanish culture through unique experiences like wine tasting courses, cooking classes, and music demonstrations. One of my favorite parts was living in shared apartment.

It was a life changing experience that I would gladly do again. I made friends, learned about a new culture, traveled and ate fantastic food. Working an internship while taking classes was especially crucial as I feel that it was the best way for me to improve my Spanish speaking abilities while simultaneously understanding a new culture. On top of this, it has prepped me for my future career wise as well! I highly recommend this program to anyone seeking the Spanish experience/ anyone looking to improve upon professional development internationally.

Linguistic Horizons responded to this reviewOctober 21, 2016

Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Matt! I'm glad you found value in your Spanish Immersion

This program introduced me to the amazing city that is La Coruña, with great teachers to help improve my Spanish, and lots of opportunities to discover the city, the region and its people. I would absolutely recommend this program to anyone looking to have a fun time while meeting new people from around the world and learning about different cultures. A+!

Linguistic Horizons responded to this reviewOctober 21, 2016

Thanks for sharing, Grant! We are so happy you had a positive experience :)

I had never really traveled much before. In fact, I had never been out of the country before. I knew that I would have to take Spanish at some point and when I found a flier for Linguistic Horizons I knew that it was what I wanted. I went to Spain alone to take Spanish classes and travel for 7 weeks. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Right away I was welcomed by Nicole the program director and she made my transition into living abroad as smooth as possible. I ended up having an absolutely amazing experience as I was fully immersed in the culture of Spain. I actually learned Spanish, which would have never happened if I were to take a two semester Spanish course at my university. I miss my trip dearly and I recommend it to all who are interested.

Linguistic Horizons responded to this reviewOctober 21, 2016

Thanks for sharing, Reid! Spain misses you!

The program was an incredible experience for me. I loved being emersed in the culture, I had one of the most effective Spanish professors, and the program director did an amazing job! I fell in love with country because of the beautiful architecture and culture. The small beach town of Coruña had some many different things to offer from social night life, to gorgeous views, and beaches, the old city, architecture... Everything made it a great experience, especially having Nicole Berry, the program director taking care of the details and going above and beyond!

Participating in this program was the best decision I've ever made! The knowledge I gained ( socially , culturally and educationally ) is priceless . Everyone involved was very helpful and made the process smooth. If I could , I would join every year and do it all over again !!!

I studied Business classes during my year abroad in La Coruna. All my classes were in Spanish which was challenging for me at first; but, as the semester went on it got easier to understand. When I arrived, I had taken a couple years of college level Spanish but I was by no means fluent. About halfway through my first semester, I was pretty fluent. The city has great nightlife, really delicious tapas bars and beautiful beaches. I loved that I was one of only a few students from the US in the whole city; because, it really gave me the opportunity to meet Spaniards and other international students from all over the world. I would highly recommend studying abroad in La Coruna!

I studied abroad with SAS in the summer of 2006, and it was 65 days traveling around South East Asia. It was an incredible experience and I would recommend it hands down to anybody. It's a cruise ship that was converted into a college campus; there's classrooms, libraries, top notch professors from all over the U.S., students from all over the U.S... it was an incredible experience. It's sponsored by the University of Virginia so your credits are as if you were at the University of Virginia as if you would have studied there for a summer or a semester.

I did SAS 18 year ago. As a 20 year old turning 21 in Capetown South Africa. Now I have worked and done business globally for the last 12 years in the hedge fund industry. I can't stress enough the necessity for anyone (student of otherwise) to get the global perspective and education provided by SAS. It still sits with me today as the most amazing voyage of all time....

First off, all of my negatives are really minor compared to the one big positive - visiting a dozen countries in one semester. What you might lose in terms of immersion in one culture is more than made up by the unique ability to compare all those countries in one go. The problem is semester at sea has a very vocal group of alumni who talk up the program like its made of solid gold, and my expectations were built up way higher than they should have been. You should know before you go: The food sucks. I came back 20 pounds lighter because I was unable to eat much of what's served on the boat after a month or so. You will be a second class passenger. The faculty, staff and life long learners (with a few exceptions) formed into their own unit, and proceeded to take advantage of their positions in ways that left the students with the short end of the stick. Semester at sea blatantly lies about its cabins - the economy cabins are quite a bit worse then described on their site, or to me in person when I did a ship tour before my voyage. I didn't have too much of a problem with living in a crew cabin (after all, the crew does it!) but I felt cheated that they didn't actually tell me what I signed up for. Several students couldn't stand it, and transferred into a more expensive cabin, at a cost of several thousand dollars. You will be groped every time you get back on the ship. In order to keep alcohol and drugs from making their way on board, you will get a TSA style pat-down when you board, and your backpack/bags will get searched and or emptied on a table. For this reason getting back on the ship can take up to 2 hours, if several tours get back at the same time. On the other hand, the stuff you actually do in country is amazing. I would do it all again in a heartbeat, and I'm even a donating alumni now, but that doesn't mean the program is flawless or shouldn't be improved. Academics: My global studies course (which was required) was a huge waste of time. The professor just spouted statistics and buzzwords, without actually teaching anything. The rest of my classes were much better, up to the level of my home institution Living Situation: The ships "economy" cabins are actually crew cabins they put students in. It you choose this class you'll: share a cabin smaller than the regular doubles with 2 or 3 other roommates, have less outlets then occupants, have a lifeboat station on the wrong side of the ship, possibly be in a bunk bed (watch out for high seas!) have less storage space, no seating or desk space, and gloomy decorations. Semester at sea specifically doesn't say these rooms are crew cabins because they know you wont pick them. All the other cabins are actually as described. Cultural Immersion: This is the reason to go on semester at sea. Program Administration: The faculty and staff on the ship (on my voyage) abused their positions. The academic dean refused to take criticism or responsibility over the poor quality of global studies. Everyone has to go through security to get on the ship, but the faculty and staff declared themselves allowed to cut the line (there were a few professors who would stand in line anyway). They were also allowed into each and every port first - the students had to wait up to an hour before we were allowed off the ship. They got first dibs at table selection for the fancy dinner, taking up all the window tables. These are all little things, but it adds up to where all the students were frustrated with being treated like 3rd class passengers on Semester at Sea.

I can't even begin to describe how incredible my experience was! I dream of being back on the ship with a new exciting port at my fingertips. I learned so much about the cultures I visited as well as about myself. LOVED it!.

Excellent trip. Not the most rigorous classes, but the cultural and social experience more than made up for it. Coming from Stanford you are used to much more rigoros standard of testing academics. Overall, I'd recommend it as an experience.