ERASMUS+ STUDIES UU Report

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1 ERASMUS+ STUDIES UU Report address faculty/college optional; only if you don t mind students preparing for study abroad contacting you directly d.t.heupink@students.uu.nl Betasciences Biology level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme Biology destination city & country name university abroad start date end date Madrid, Spain Universidad Complutense de Madrid 03 / 09 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) 05 / 02 / 2016 (dd/mm/yyyy) exchange application process PREPARATION The exchange application process is not hard. You have to fill out some paperwork but it is not that much. Because Madrid has suficient places for biology, getting in the exhange to Madrid programe is almost guaranted. counselling & support at Utrecht University The counselling and support at the Utrecht University is good. An with questions is quickly replied. academic preparation I didn't had to prepare myself academically on the exchange because I took biology courses and I already had experience in biology. language preparation Because the biology classes in Madrid are in Spanish I had to learn a little Spanish. This is not requiered for your aceptation at the UCM but is only for yourself. Before I went to Madrid I only learned a litle Spanish on the Internet and only when I was in Spain I took courses. I would recommend to prepare yourself better than I did, because not only for you academic prestations but also for your social life it is very important to speak Spanish when you are in Madrid finances Although only the erasmus grant isn't suficient to provide your finances in Madrid, the rent, food and drinks aren't very expensive in Spains. The rent of my room was exactly the same price is I pay in Utrecht (250 ) en also the supermarkets are on the same price level. Going out for dinner is less expensive than in the Netherlands, going out to a club a lot more expensive. I think finding a job in Madrid will be hard, because of the language struggles and because there aren't that many jobs for so there will be a lot of concurence. Your best change for a job is as English speaking au-pair. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD I chose five courses, each for 6 ECTS, for half a year. All the courses were ecology courses. UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 3

2 At the UCM there are three directions in biology: ecolgy, health and biotechnology. If you are in the fourth grade, the best is to choose your subject in one of these directions, because here in the hours of classes don t coincide. I would recommend the courses in the ecology path, because these offer a lot of fieldwork and practical knowledge about nature what is not offered a the Utrecht University. As you can expect from an Spanish University, I had a lot of organisational issues. This was mostly in the beginnign and at the end of my stay abroad period. In the beginnging I had difficulties with the planning of my courses, on one hand because it all was done by hand and I had to wait for two hours before it was my turn to schedule my courses and on the other hand because I spoke hardly any Spanish and the communication was very dificult. Suprisingly even the people of the Erasmus office of biology don't speak English An other organisational isue was the fact that my stay abroad period was till the 31th of January, but the exams for my courses were scheduled in February. This was not clear when I went to Spain and I had to find out myself by speaking to my clasmates that I had a problem. With help from the Erasmus office and my study advisor in Utrecht were sorted this out, but from the responsible person in Madrid I couldn't expect that much help. Fortunately the teachers in Madrid are very nice and helpful and at the end I got the change to do my exams in the Netherlands, and they would correct them by . academic quality of education activities Although the level of the courses is a little lower than the level in Utrecht, I think the quality of the courses was very good because of the fieldwork and practical experience with computer programmes as GIS and SPSS. counselling & support at receiving university abroad Responsble persons as the dean and the people at the Erasmus office won't help you that much, but the teachers are very nice and helpful. transfer of credits I still have to make the most of my exams, but I think the transfer of credits won't be a problem. I do not think I will pass all courses, mostly because of the language dificulties, but grades I have received untill now (of presentations and articles) are positive. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE I have not done a lot with the Madrid Erasmus programe, merely because this is a English speaking communitie and I wanted to learn Spanish. With this, I chose the hard way because in the beginning the communication with my Spanish class- and roommates was very hard. But at the end, I am glad I did this because now I speak suficient Spanish and the last months I had a lot of fun with my clas- and roommates. accommodation My accomodation was a room that rented my girlfriend and I for 500 via airbnb. It was very near the university and the center of Madrid. We lived there with the two people who owned the house, their two dogs and the other people who rented one of the three rooms. It was a very noice place to stay, mostly because we could practice a lot with the Spanish language, but also had nice housemate to drink or do something with. leisure & culture There are a lot of things to do in a big city in Madrid, as there are a lot of markets, musea, bars etcetera. The only thing is that going out to a club is very expensive suggestions/tips Mercado de motores, a market in a old train station, and trips to Segovia, Ávila and Toledo (rent a car and visit also the nature surounding Madrid) UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 3

3 CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Yes, but be prepared. A certain level of Spanish is recommend. Prepare yourself for organisational issues and for the longer duration of the first semester at the UCM (till the half of February) do you have any additional advice or comments? Buy a cheap bicycle on segundamano.es, better and cheaper option than the metro UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 3 of 3

4 ERASMUS+ STUDIES UU Report address faculty/college optional; only if you don t mind students preparing for study abroad contacting you directly a.r.delange@students.uu.nl Economics level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme Economics and Business Economics destination city & country name university abroad start date end date Madrid, Spain Complutense University of Madrid 07 / 09 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) 22 / 01 / 2016 (dd/mm/yyyy) exchange application process PREPARATION I did some thinking about which countries would suit me, and figured out on the website of UU which universities in Spain I could go to. For the application I wrote an motivation letter and did research about my financial situation and which courses I could take on the univeristies of my choice. counselling & support at Utrecht University We had a preparation meeting in May for all students that went to Madrid or Bologna in which a lot of information was told and provided on paper. I wrote some s to the international office for more information or insecurities about preparation, which were answered rather fast. academic preparation I made sure I would pass all my courses I would not delay my graduation and was able to go to Madrid. language preparation I did some preparation in speaking Spanish in Holland with the app Duolingo, and the first 2 weeks in madrid I had a language course. finances Spent less during summer break than usual. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD The organisational skills at the university in Madrid are very poor, but I got used to it and it is also nice to not feel stressed yourself about deadlines etc. The content of the study programme was different than in Utrecht: no books, only slides, rather basic information and many contact hours. academic quality of education activities No opinion UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 2

5 counselling & support at receiving university abroad The people at the international desk were very nice but not everyone gave me the same information. transfer of credits They send the transcript of records rather quickly after I returned to Utrecht. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE The welcome programme was poorly organized and very confusing. Information was given in Spanish and many things were very dependend on the faculty, what made it sometimes quite uninteresting. The welcome program of the faculty was at the same day and made everyone more confused by telling them they might not be able to take the courses they choose on their learning agreement. accommodation My landlord was very bossy while not living in the same apartment, she showed up often and had a lot of rules. But the apartment was very nice and good location, while the price was around the same as in Utrecht. For many students it was difficult to find a room when they had to search for a room one week before the classes start, that is why I got a room from Uniplaces. leisure & culture There are a lot of free possibilities to exercise and see museums. Also from Madrid you can travel through Spain quite cheap. With different international student associations you can do activities or travels while making new friends. suggestions/tips Go to 100 Montaditos to eat cheap and good! Go to Madrid at least one week in advance if you have to find a room. Learn Spanish, because almost no one will speak English. Don t stress out about university there, they are really nice and there are not very strict. CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Spain is a beautiful country with nice people. Also the food and weather is very good. However, because I didn t spoke Spanish very well, I think my experience would be better if I would, because I couldn t really adjust because I couldn't have conversations with for example my flatmates or the supermarket employees. The University is very large, and they don t offer on-campus accomodation, what makes it sometimes difficult to find a room and the travel time is often more than half an hour. Also the organizational skills of the university are very bad and the level of education is below the university of Utrecht. However, it is nice to experience a different way of education and once you are used to it, it is okay. do you have any additional advice or comments? UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 2

6 ERASMUS+ STUDIES UU Report address faculty/college optional; only if you don t mind students preparing for study abroad contacting you directly e.morra@students.uu.nl Beta Sciences level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme Biology destination city & country name university abroad start date end date Madrid, Spain Universidad Complutense de Madrid 04 / 09 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) 05 / 02 / 2016 (dd/mm/yyyy) exchange application process PREPARATION In my opinion the deadline for the application was too early. I think a lot of people that want to study abroad in the end don't do it because of this. If I would have known about it before I would have preferred to go in the second year, but then you have to know about the deadline directly when you start at the university. Now it's a lot of hassle with finishing my bachelor. counselling & support at Utrecht University The welcoming session was helpful. Apart from that there wasn't that much support. It was quite hard to get in touch with the people from the Erasmus office. academic preparation I couldn't really prepare anything, because it wasn't clear what courses I would be following before I got to Madrid. language preparation I studied Spanish at home with Duolingo. finances? study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD I really liked the courses in Madrid, they were way more practical than the courses offered at Utrecht University. The classes were small and the teachers were very helpful. The organisation was not that good. When I arrived I didn't speak Spanish very well and there was no one (not even at the Erasmus office) that spoke any English. The person with which I had to arrange everything signed for dates that were not right. The exams were after the end date, I had to discover this myself and I had to arrange that I could make the exams in the Netherlands. This was really hard because our contact person in Spain wasn't helpful at all and often didn't UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 2

7 respond to s. In the end I made agreements with the teachers to arrange everything.. academic quality of education activities The quality of the education was good. The way of learning things is different, as I said before it's more practical. I think this is really good for a study as biology. We had a lot of fieldwork and I really enjoyed this. counselling & support at receiving university abroad The teachers were really helpful, the rest of the staff and the erasmus coordinator didn't help at all. transfer of credits I haven't received all of my notes yet. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE I only went to a welcome session. Everything was in Spanish, on one hand it is good to directly start practising, but on the other hand it would be more helpful and welcoming when it would have been in English. I didn't take part in any other welcoming activities. accommodation I found a room through Airbnb. Together with my boyfriend I lived in the appartment of a Spanish couple. This was really nice, because we got to know the Spanish culture very well. leisure & culture I took a Spanish course and practised yoga. In the weekend I visited many markets and made trips to other cities. suggestions/tips Search for a room on airbnb.com CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain I would definitely recommend the university, especially for biology students. The courses are very practical and the environmental pathway offered courses that are really distinctive from courses at Utrecht University. Madrid is a really nice city. The fact that nobody speaks English makes that you learn Spanish really fast. do you have any additional advice or comments? Take a Spanish course before you go, this makes contact with other students way easier (nobody speaks English). UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 2

8 ERASMUS+ STUDIES UU Report address faculty/college optional; only if you don t mind students preparing for study abroad contacting you directly sirkkavanstraalen@gmail.com Humanities level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme Spanish language and culture destination city & country name university abroad Madrid, Spain Universidad Complutense de Madrid start date 01/09/2015 end date 31/01/2016 exchange application process PREPARATION Given the fact that I study Spanish language and culture for me it was always clear that I would go to Spain for half a year during the third year of my bachelor and I have always loved Madrid so the choice for the destination wasn't that difficult. I went to an information meeting organized by the University of Utrecht and also my study organized a meeting with old students from my study so we could ask them questions. After that it was just following the steps that were indicated by the University of Utrecht. I can recommend to start in time with collecting all the signatures because it can take some time and that can be stressful. Also in Spain there is no one in the Erasmus office during the summer, they take their holidays very serious, so it's easy if you have it all together in time. counselling & support at Utrecht University Because an exchange with Spain is a very normal part of my study I got a lot of help and support from my teachers, who of course help their students every year with planning their stay abroad. Also the people at the international office are always willing to help you with questions, although it is important to contact them in an early stage because sometimes they're very busy and it can take a while before they answer, and they have limited opening hours so it's important to plan your visits to their office in time. Also they organize a meeting for the people who go to Madrid to give some more practical information and then hand out a list of other students that are also going so you can keep in touch which is very useful. academic preparation Choosing the courses I wanted to follow, or at least the attempt to choose those courses was one of the most difficult things to do I think. It is hard to find a very clear course catalogue from Complutense and the information isn't always complete. But if you're in Madrid they give you one week to try out the courses to see if you actually like them and understand the teachers so it is not a problem if you want to change your courses while you're already in Spain. UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 4

9 language preparation I already studied Spanish for two years so my knowledge of the language was sufficient and my goal was to improve it even more in Spain. finances Before I went I saved 2000 euros so I would have a back-up and could enjoy trips and activities while I was there and didn't have to worry about paying my rent and stuff. Per month I received 200 euros from my parents, around 280 euros from the government and 100 euros for my ov-vergoeding. My rent was 450 per month so that was already covered by my monthly incomes so I could use my savings for the groceries and doing fun stuff. Also I received 700 euros from my grant while I was in Madrid, but in the first week my bag got stolen(be careful!) so I could use that money to replace my phone and passport etc ;) study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD The study program toke me some getting used to because I followed five courses for half a year instead of two courses for 8 weeks at a time. In all my classes they did hand out a study program in the first class so you know what they're expecting. The general idea is that they just treat the material that's on the program and in the end you get a test about it all. And in some classes they did expect you to give a presentation or write an essay as well. academic quality of education activities Although I heard a lot of stories about how easy the exams are in Spain I can't agree with that. I also had some friends in Madrid that toke classes at different faculties and they indeed said it was so much easier than the classes in their home country. But I may not be the best reference point for this question because in Madrid I followed classes about psychology etc which I never had in Utrecht, and also in Spanish, so I don't really have anything to compare it with. counselling & support at receiving university abroad At Complutense they have an Erasmus Office at every faculty where you can go if you have questions or if you have to get a signature. They also have limited opening hours so it's easy if you know those hours to avoid disappointment. They are very friendly and always willing to help. Also the teachers are willing to help if you say you're an Erasmus student. Something I experienced is that they really appreciate it if you just make an effort, so show up to classes and participate in the exercises. In some courses I didn't make the exams that well because they were too hard but because I always made an effort the teachers were willing to give me a second chance or an extra essay to write to get the credits anyway. transfer of credits I don't know yet how this is going to end. The Erasmus office in Madrid promised me to my transcript of records to the address I gave them, so you can give the address of the exam commission here in Utrecht and they will send it. Only at the moment I'm still waiting for a grade from one course so I don't know how it will go. UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 4

10 STUDENT LIFE welcome & orientation programme The university organizes a welcome session for all the erasmus students, they send you an about that. In that meeting they give information about how to get your student card, how to enroll for the classes, the library etc. The next day there was a language test for the people who wanted to participate in the language course they offer for free. You also get a welcome session just for your faculty. All the information you need for the practical things at the university you'll get in this meetings. accommodation I rented my room through Uniplaces. It's a very good and reliable organization. My room costs 450 euros per month but the locations was great, 20 minute walk to the centre but everything I needed was also very close to my house so that meant I good go for shopping and restaurants without going to the touristic and crowded centre. I lived at Quevedo, up north from Gran Vía and I can really recommend this area! I lived with two Spanish girls and a Dutch girl also from Utrecht. leisure & culture Madrid is a great city to live! I really liked that combination of traditional Spanish restaurants and tapas bars but also other great restaurants from other kitchens around the world and a little less traditional, that way there was always something suitable for the situation! Madrid doesn't even have that many touristic highlights you need to see but just wondering around will take you to the most beautiful places and usually they take you by surprise which is even better. Actually Madrid has a nice balance between everything, you can get great food, the nightlife is great and they organize a lot of stuff especially for Erasmus students, but there is also a lot of culture to experience and more quiete spots to enjoy a bit of peace. Also the fact that Madrid is so central in Spain is great cause it makes it so easy to take trips to other cities! I can really recommend the organization SmartInsiders, they organize really nice trips and have a great atmosphere. suggestions/tips If you have the time it's nice to arrive a few weeks before university starts. For me this was the best time because you make a lot of new friends and actually have the time to spend time with them before everyone gets caught up in the studying. Also it's nice to have some time to explore the area you live in and get used to your house and stuff. CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain I would definitely recommend Madrid to anyone! It's such a beautiful city and the ambience is great. There is always something to do or a trip to take. The university is a bit different than here in Utrecht but if you are openminded and aware of this it is perfectly fine. Just keep in mind that some things will take longer than here in Utrecht and you sometimes have to take a bit more initiative and go up to people to take care of stuff yourself. do you have any additional advice or comments? UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 3 of 4

11 Although the first days can be overwhelming and a bit lonely try to participate in a lot of activities you'll see for example on Facebook. When I arrived I felt a bit lost but I went to a meet-up organized through Facebook, something I would never do here, but I met great people who I saw everyday for the rest of my stay. It's really easy to make friends at Erasmus because everyone is in the same situation and looking for a friendly face. And as far as the rest goes, enjoy this amazing time because it's going to be great, and I envy you! ;) UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2016 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2016 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 4 of 4

12 ERASMUS+ STUDIES UU Report e mail address faculty/college optional; only if you don t mind students preparing for study abroad contacting you directly kristawassenburg@hotmail.com social sciences level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme Cultural Anthropology destination city & country name university abroad start date end date Madrid, Spain Universidad Complutense de Madrid 02 / 02 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) 23 / 06 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) exchange application process You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! PREPARATION First I went to a meeting where we were provided with information about studying abroad, this happened in Utrecht. I decided I really wanted to go to Spain. I started comparing anthropology courses that were available in the second semester in a number of Spanish cities and universities. After this little research, I decided to choose Universidad Complutense de Madrid as my number 1. Luckily, I got chosen to go there. After this, we had a meeting (with other students who went to southern europe) and we got some more detailed information. I gathered the required documents, took some Spanish courses and applied via Osiris for a semester of studying abroad, in particular in Madrid. The university in Madrid sent me an that I could apply, after Utrecht had approached them. After applying and sending them the required documents, I got accepted. I made sure I had insurance, changed my public transportation card for a monthly financial compensation, found an apartment etc. Before I went to Spain, I called to make sure when and where I had to be; I left early so I had plenty of time to arrange everything, get settled and take up another short Spanish language course. counselling & support at Utrecht University I went to the International Office one time to ask about some things that weren't clear to me. Besides that, I sent some s with questions and doubts. They were really nice and answered all my questions. They also gave us a list (in the southern european erasmus meeting) with s of people who were already there, so I ed one of them and she added me to a group on facebook. This was helpful as well. academic preparation I am now ending my third year of my bachelor of cultural anthropology, usually this is the year when you write your bachelorthesis but because I really wanted to study abroad and didn't do it in my second year, I decided to take this extra year. I chose courses from 2 nd, 3 rd and 4 th year of anthropology at Complutense. I had heard that the level of the courses wasn't extremely high, it would be mostly the language (everything was in Spanish) that could cause problems. Therefore I did several Spanish courses, I wasn't worried about the level or subjects of the courses itself. Also, since I am already in my third year of anthropology, I assumed it wouldn't be all new stuff, since you gather more academic skills every year you're in university. language preparation UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 4

13 A home study of Spanish (up to level B1), 2 courses of Spanish (level A2.1 and A2.2) at Instituto Cervantes in Utrecht, each class was 3 hours (so I had 6 hours of class each week) and lasted 10 weeks. Finally a week of level B1.1 at 'Estudio Hispanico' (with only 2 others students) in Madrid. Especially this last one was really helpful, since it was almost a private class; a lot of time for questions and personal attention. finances I saved money before I got here (about 600 euros), also my parents contributed by donating money to pay for my rent and some extras (3000 euros in total). I received the first and biggest part of the Erasmus Grant of 700 euros as well. The 'stufi' (a monthly amount of money students receive from the government) together with my monthly compensation for the public transport was 384 euros each month. All this allowed me to pay for my apartment and at the same time have more than enough to travel around etcetera. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD I've chosen 5 courses to do, in English they would be called: Anthropology of Art, Ritual and Beliefs, Development Economies, Anthropology of knowledge and cultural knowledge (which was sort of cognitive anthropology) and Cultural differences & human rights. I had chosen some other subjects before I came to Spain, but after the first two weeks of orientation (where you could go to any class to see if you liked the subject etc) I decided to change some of the courses and this resulted in the 5 I described above. The Anthropology of Art course was about the connection of anthropology and art; we mostly had to listen to the teacher who told us about different painters etc; later we had to give a presentation about an object of art and analyze it (but since there wasn't enough time for everyone to present, I handed in an essay). We also had to do an exam. The ritual and beliefs class (I think the name speaks for itself) was partly the teacher giving us information and partly discussing the topics. (we had to read one of two articles each week). We also had to write a huge paper (about 18 pages) and had to give a small presentation about it. The course about cognitive anthropology was in my opinion really 'authentical' anthropological, with subjects like the meaning of colour in different cultures, the way of how people categorize (and how this depends on your cultural background) etc. After the first few weeks of the teacher telling us a lot about these subjects, we had to form groups and present about articles the teacher had assigned each group. We still had to read an article every week. We also had to hand in 2 essays and later hand in our group work. There was an exam at the end of the course as well. The course 'development economies' was usually one class where the teacher gave us information and the next one (for which we had to read articles) we had a discussion. Also, we needed to pick a country and describe their development in the last 20 (or so) year, using the indicators we discussed a lot during class. We had to give a presentation about this, I also handed in 2 summaries of articles (which was compulsory). At the end we had an exam. Finally the human rights course, each week we had to read an article, and then in class form groups of 3 and answer one or two big questions about the article that the teacher would give us. We got one hour every time and then had to hand it in. The next day we would discuss the whole article in detail. This course also had an exam at the end of the year. academic quality of education activities In my opinion, the level of the course wasn't always corresponding with the year. I found the 'cognitive anthropology' course quite difficult sometimes (which was a second year class), while the anthropology of art class was a fourth year class and in my opinion a lot easier. In my opinion, the overall level of the courses was lower than it would be at Utrecht University, although the cognitive anthropology and human rights classes were quite hard at times. counselling & support at receiving university abroad I haven't had any big problems, so I didn't contact anyone to help me. Especially in the beginning I had some questions, I went to the International Office and they answered them for me. Also there was always the UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 4

14 possibility to have a private session with the teachers in case you needed help etc, but I didn't go since (like I said) there weren't any problems or questions that I couldn't ask in class. transfer of credits Since my last exam was the 22 nd of june, I was told I will get my grades around half july. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE There was a bit of confusion about the orientation programme. Apparently there was a meeting for erasmus students the 22 nd of January, but I didn't know this until 2 weeks before I would leave to Spain and I had already booked my ticket for the 24 th of January. In the end this didn't really matter, because I had some roommates who for example told me how and where to get a student pass with discount for public transportation, and in school I met people who told me other important stuff about school for example. accommodation A friend of mine had done her Erasmus semester in Madrid as well. She gave me the address of her former landlord. When it turned out he still had a room available, I decided to take that one. My room is about 8m2, and there is a living room and a big kitchen to sit or hang out. I pay 350 euros a month plus some extra for gas and water. I live right in the center of Madrid, so this is a really good deal. leisure & culture I had joined some groups on Facebook (Erasmus Madrid, Citylife Madrid etc) who organized a lot of activities. I went a few times to a bar where you could meet other erasmus students, booked some trips with them (Toledo, Segovia, Valencia, Ibiza), went to a pubcrawl and a few times to salsa classes which they organized as well. Besides that, I went with friends to Granada, Málaga, Córdoba and Salamanca. I visited Ávila and the Reina Sofía museum with my parents. suggestions/tips When it comes to apartments, I heard a lot of people who paid a lot more than was previously said. Some friends didn't get back their deposit if they didn't find anyone new for their apartment (I thought they arranged this via HelpMadrid). they were told about this later and also were told that it would be really easy to find a new tenant, but the opposite turned out to be the case. Therefore, I think it's important to do a thorough research before signing a contract for an apartment. CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Based on the looks of the building, I wouldn't recommend it (lots of graffiti, really ugly prisonlike ceilings); it's not a fancy university (at least not the anthropology/ciencias politicas department). Besides that, I thought the teachers were really nice in general (except for one); same goes for the students. I thought the material we studied was interesting. So taken this into account, I would recommend it. I have to say, you need to be a bit open minded (people walking out of class during presentations, teachers always being late etc). On the other hand, this is probably quite normal in Spain. do you have any additional advice or comments? I enjoyed my semester abroad more than I could imagine. I do think it's important especially in the beginning to do activities that are being organized to get to know new people, after a while everyone's found their own group of friends and it's probably more difficult to join in. UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 3 of 4

15 ERASMUS+ STUDIES UU Report e mail address faculty/college optional; only if you don t mind students preparing for study abroad contacting you directly a.s.devries@students.uu.nl Law, economics and governance level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme law destination city & country name university abroad start date end date madrid, spain universidad complutense de madrid 24 / 01 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) 24 / 07 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) exchange application process You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! PREPARATION I found it dificult what efects certain choices such as wich country, languag and university would have. Once decided in Utrecht, the aplication proces of Erasmus+ was very clear. Although íf unclear, it was dificoult to find someone who could help me solve the problem easily counselling & support at Utrecht University I found the International Office, and especially International Officer Marleen van der Ven vérry helpful. My own faculty and "studiepunt" not so much to be honest academic preparation I don t think academic preparation is relevant in this case. I left for the exchange in my 3 rd year, and I think it would have been possible immediately in the first semester of my second year as well. Also because of the courses I chose, and the level diference in Utrecht University and Complutense, only 1 year of academic preparation would be more than sufficient to be able to do this exchange program. language preparation Language preparation was verry, very bad. everything is "recommanded" but nobody actually cares. The lack of knowledge of the lenguage was the hardest thing I have experienced during my Erasmus time (especially in the begening of course). I was not even able to tell in Spanish that I couldn t speak Spanish. If I could change something, I'd recommand an obligatory course, and level of Spanish that is higher than B1, since this was my level and I experienced a lot of troubles due to misunderstandings because of language diference. finances My planning was good, although i didn t realize that there are a lot of Erasmus activities that you normally wouldn t do, wich can make it a lot more expensive than planned. Its good to be aware of that for the next exchange students. STUDY ABROAD PERIOD UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 2

16 study programme (content and organisational issues) I was told I was free to choose, although it turned out I only could do what I said I'd do in November, without knowing the teachers, timetables nor content. Utrecht University set very clear rules about required levels and credits. At complutense it was very hard to find out the content of each subject. Often it differed per professor and subject, and the overvieuw of the content would only be available halfway the course. Untill then, students wouldn t have had any idea of wich books to buy, what to read or learn etc. etc.. academic quality of education activities lectures in general were very good. Practicals were often too easy or useless (such as watching a movie without any following homework). counselling & support at receiving university abroad this was verry low. I could do pretty much whatever I wanted without anyone to care. transfer of credits? welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE I could not attend the full lenguage test and course, but the welcome session was verry helpful. After that I knew where to go, was able to find out what to do and got into contact with my fellow erasmus students. accommodation accomodation was eady to find. The Erasmus social network is very big in madrid, so a lot of house owners only want students for one or two semesters. It is quite expensive though, and better to have something with local Spanish students, but that is hard to find for a short time. leisure & culture I, and with me most other Erasmus students, didn t have any idea for a long time. This could be promoted better by the host university, because It was verry unclear when of where things would be, how to subscribe or join etc. Only Erasmus activities were verry easy to join, but I think it is valuable to join local teams, sportsclubs and other activities. suggestions/tips CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain Yes I would recomand this university, but not better than any other. It's the whole experience that counts. do you have any additional advice or comments? not for the moment. Save this UU report for your own records and send it as attachment to verslagen.internationaloffice@uu.nl within 30 days after finishing your study abroad period and in ANY case before the final deadline! UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 2

17 ERASMUS+ STUDIES UU Report e mail address faculty/college optional; only if you don t mind students preparing for study abroad contacting you directly ilse_staal@hotmail.com Geowetenschappen level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme Sociale geografie & planologie destination city & country name university abroad start date end date Madrid, Spanje Universidad Complutense Madrid, UCM 31 / 09 / 2014 (dd/mm/yyyy) 31 / 01 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) exchange application process You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! PREPARATION Madrid was very late with the application and with the confirmation if I was alloud to come. The insecurrity made it annoying, because I couldn't book my flight and room yet. Futhermore, the erasmus office and contacts in Madrid were not available for a very long time due to the holidays, there was no one to reply and this took until half of september before they could anwser my questions and sign my learning agreement. counselling & support at Utrecht University It was good that the erasmus office of geosciences is most of the time open and they reply soon at all the e mails. academic preparation I studied 2 years of human geography this was enough to know the basis for any social study. In Spain I follow subjects in a different faculty, this was do able. language preparation I did allready some spanish in my high school. During my second year in University I did finances two courses of spanish (1 & 2) this was enough to start in Madrid. I didn't do the free spanish course in Madrid (because during the test day I still had somethings to finish in Holland). study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD I followed subjects in Anthropology and Sociology. These were not so hard, especcially because I did two first year courses. On the other hand, I think if I would do it again I would prefer to do subjects in my own grade. Because the combination of a different language and different subjects I had no background information of it made it quite hard. UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 3

18 academic quality of education activities The courses did have a lot of contact houres (if you compare it to Utrecht) these are all obligatory, you have to sign in and you get graded on your presence. On the other hand it was mostly just being there. There is not that much work to be done or any reading. The exams are all on the end of the semester and do not include that much literature. Only the fact that it is in Spanish makes it hard and takes more time to read, but the content is quite easy. counselling & support at receiving university abroad The erasmus office for my faculty was only open in the morning really short, this was quite anoying, because you had to skip a class to visit them because before or after they would close allready. transfer of credits I don't know about that yet. I still have not even one grade back from Spain. welcome & orientation programme STUDENT LIFE There was not really anything organized, only a introduction where they told us something about the university. But there was no tour over the campus or any activity to meet other erasmus students. Outside of the University there are a lot of organisations that do have activities for students; like Citylife, BeMadrid and ESN. accommodation I booked a room up front with an organization (HelpMadrid) which has different kind of appartments which you can rent for a short periode, all quite in the centre. I was glad I booked this place, because my faculty (somosaguas) was far from the centre and in the middle of no where, one wouldn't want to live near the campus. leisure & culture The city is really nice, especially for eating. There are so many nice places to grab a bite or go for a drink. The parks and the good weather make that you want to go outside all day. suggestions/tips In Madrid there is a Hema (fuencarral) what sells a lot of dutch food, so if you get home sick, they even had pepernoten en chocolade letters during Sinterklaas! Madrid has a lot of nice clubs, go see different ones and not just the erasmus parties, the other clubs and the real spanish ambience is a really good experience. CONCLUSIONS would you recommend this university/destination abroad to others? please explain For the destination I would really recommend Madrid, it is such an alive city, very good to live in. It is comfortable, really safe and it is not so touristic as for example Barcelona. It is not really expensive, especially going out for dinner is cheaper than in The Netherlands. And of course the weather is much better, even in december it is not that cold and it just rains less then back home. For the university I don't think I would recommend it. It depends a lot on the faculties, because I heard some different stories from students on other faculties. But mine (social sciences) was a really depressing building, they were even alloud to smoke in some places, the classes a long without breaks and it feels really like high school. The faculty is out of the centre quite far, (somosaguas). And the content of the courses are not really interesting or exciting. For me I think if you want to go to Madrid to learn Spanish, it is perfect to do some courses here in Spanish, but if you really want to learn something new you better go to an other faculty or even country. My spanish really improved by reading all literature in Spanish and listening to a teacher go on for two UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 3

19 houres. do you have any additional advice or comments? I had a great erasmus time, my spanish got improved, Madrid is awesome, but the courses themselves were not really challenging and the faculty was just strange. Save this UU report for your own records and send it as attachment to verslagen.internationaloffice@uu.nl within 30 days after finishing your study abroad period and in ANY case before the final deadline! UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 3 of 3

20 ERASMUS+ STUDIES UU Report e mail address faculty/college optional; only if you don t mind students preparing for study abroad contacting you directly m.s.ruiterman@students.uu.nl Social Sciences level bachelor s master s PhD name study programme Psychology destination city & country name university abroad start date end date Madrid, Spain Universidad Complutense Madrid 04 / 09 / 2014 (dd/mm/yyyy) 31 / 01 / 2015 (dd/mm/yyyy) exchange application process You are requested to write on the following topics. Text boxes will expand automatically while typing! PREPARATION I always wanted to study abroad, so during my second year at the UU I started to orient on all the possibilities for studying abroad. A lot of people told me that the appliciation process was hard. You need a lot of signatures and documents etc. After all, I do not think it was that hard. Of course you have to wait for people to sign your documents, wait for e mails but if you follow all the steps it is not hard at all. You only should be patient some times if you are waiting for a reply or signature. counselling & support at Utrecht University The support at Utrecht University is good. Marleen (International Office) helped me with my questions. You can reach the Erasmus Office by e mail, but if you want a quick answer it is better to call. academic preparation I did not do any specific academic preparation. language preparation Because I thought I would have all my courses in Spanish, I did some Spanish courses in The Netherlands and in Spain. I started with an A1 and A2 course at Babel (Utrecht), in January 2014 I went to Valencia for a one week Spanish course (25 hours) with five hours intensive speaking. During January and August I read some simple Spanish books and watched series/films either in Spanish or in English(Spanish subtitled). In August I did a two week Spanish course in Madrid (50 hours) with intensive speaking classes as well. Universidad Complutense offered a free Spanish course in the beginning of September, with every day four hours of Spanish speaking, writing, reading. After all, it was possible for me to do all my courses in English. My Spanish level is definitely better than when I came to Madrid in August, but I am not sure if my level was high enough to enroll in Spanish courses. If you really want to follow all your courses in Spanish, you should do more preparation before you go to Spain. I recommend to take (free) Intercambio's in Spain as well. In Madrid they are offering a lot of this meetings. finances UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 1 of 4

21 During the preparation you have to make up an financial plan. From the beginning I thought I would have enough money for six months. I had my savings, the Erasmus Grant, Studiefinanciering, Reiskostenvergoeding and my parents gave me a monthly amount. Still, it was enough, but my expenses were higher than expected. It is so easy to go out for dinner, make some day or even weekend trips, partying and additional costs which you forget. study programme (content and organisational issues) STUDY ABROAD PERIOD Before going I assumed I was going to study at the faculty of Psychology. I applied for five different courses which were in Spanish. On the website of Universidad Complutense, it is written that they offer courses in English. These courses are unfortunately not available for Dutch Students. When I arrived in Spain, and after the language course at the University I was really stressed out. I thought that I would never make it, to pass any courses in Spanish. I changed everything, even faculty. I followed five courses, from first year courses to fourth year courses. I followed: Consumer Behaviour, Strategic Management, Principles of Business Management, Principles of Marketing and Financial Analysis. All courses were business administration courses (ADE). Although I was really stressing out in September, it was quite easy to change from faculties. This is because of the fact that I am in an ''University Exchange'' and because it is my mobility window (keuzeruimte). As everyone told me before, it was so easy to switch courses. During the first 2/3 weeks you had the time to take a look at all courses. You can see which courses you like, which teacher speaks good English or Spanish. After those 2/3 weeks you hand in your subjects and after some days you will receive a transcript of registration. After signing this registration you can not change subjects any more academic quality of education activities In my opinion the level of this University is not as high as the level at University of Utrecht. I think it could be related to the English courses. Because I did not enrolled in any Spanish course I only can give my opinion about the English courses. The English speaking level of my teachers was not that good. Some of them got tired after speaking English for a while or even changed to Spanish. I think the English courses at Universidad Complutense are more of HBO level. But not every course was that easy. Because I am a Psychology student, some Business Administration courses were really hard for me, certainly the third and fourth year courses. You have to do more groupwork and more 'homework'. I had to hand in cases almost every week. As well I had to prepare a lot of presentations, but the teachers just picked one group to present. counselling & support at receiving university abroad I was quite surprised about this. Because I changed faculties I thought it would be really chaotic to do. But it was really easy to change faculties. And at the Erasmus Office of Economy and Business Administration they are really helpful. Luckily there was a native English speaking employee at their office. She helped me a lot, replied to e mails really quick and was able to answer all my questions. I really appreciated her help. transfer of credits I followed five courses, which are all 6 ECTS. Unfortunately I had to drop one course because it was too hard for me without any knowledge of Financial Analysis. So I hope I will receive 24 ECTS. The University in Madrid has to send the transcript of records to me and then I will bring the transcript to the International Office and they will be transferred in Osiris. UU Erasmus+ report deadlines: 1 March 2015 for 1 st semester ~ 1 July 2015 for 2 nd semester or full year exchange page 2 of 4