Study Abroad Programs in Madrid, Spain

An academically-sound choice for a year or semester abroad, Madrid has a plethora of the highest-regarded universities in Spain to choose from. Compared with other European cities, Madrid attracts some of the largest numbers of Erasmus students, making it a diverse, welcoming city for students from every country around the world. All things considered, Madrid is one of the best European destinations for study abroad.

If languages aren’t your strong suit, the bonus of study abroad in Madrid is that you don’t actually have to learn Spanish (although, of course, we strongly encourage you to!). Yup, you heard us: a whole host of courses are taught in English. With its status as a city of remarkable artistic heritage, students of art, art history, or fine arts can take advantage of the world-class museums on their new doorstep while studying in Madrid. Business or international business students will also reap the rewards of studying in Spain’s political and economic capital; an informative and advantageous insight into European business is a guaranteed result of studying abroad in Madrid.

Most international students do opt to mix courses for university credit with classes in the world’s second most spoken language, Spanish. Fast-track study abroad programs in Madrid can bring you rapidly up to speed, leaving no real excuse not to be able to ask for una cerveza por favor, or even have a crack at reading Don Quixote, if you’ve a few months to spare.

International students might be surprised by the informality of university study in Madrid; lecturers and students alike call each other tio (the Spanish equivalent of “mate”), while deadlines for submissions are often fairly lax. If this new take on university life sounds appealing, courses are available for a semester, a whole academic year, or even the summer term, with semesters running from October through to December and picking up again in January until June. Bear in mind that the sweltering heat of the Spanish summer turns Madrid from sultry to sweaty; weather is finest in the spring and fall, when temperatures hover between a balmy 68 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, making these the best seasons to study in Madrid.