CET Barcelona: At-A-Glance

Electives for business, liberal arts,
and communications majors

Spanish language classes for beginning and intermediate levels

Out-of-classroom learning and experiences

Live in a single room with your own bathroom

Smaller cohort size for more individual attention

Fall

SPRING

Fall

SPring

Created in partnership with the University of Minnesota, CET Barcelona students enjoy a customizable curriculum and engaging coursework that fulfill credits back home. Build your term up with Spanish language, English-taught electives, and even directly enroll at a Spanish university—what your semester looks like is up to you. And in a city full of huge study abroad programs, CET Barcelona offers a more personalized experience with smaller cohort sizes, field-based learning that treats the city as your classroom, and plenty of staff support.

Academics in Barcelona

Semester
Snapshot

Pre-requisites: None
Wide variety of English-taught elective options
Options for internships and taking classes at a local university
Spanish language classes
Engaging classes with experienced professors
Out-of-class learning and assignments
Host University: Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)

Curriculum & Syllabi

You combine one language course with three to four electives to meet the total 15 recommended credits.

Spanish Language

You are placed into one of these 3-credit language courses, according to a placement test or previous coursework you have completed.

Electives

Choose three to four 3-credit electives to meet the total recommended credits (including your language component). You take CET electives (taught exclusively for CET students) and have the option to direct-enroll at our host university.

CET Electives

Direct-enroll electives at UPF

You can swap two CET electives for two direct-enroll electives at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Courses are taught in English or Spanish and developed specifically for international students. Electives vary per term but have included:

From the Mundane to the Global: The Politics of Everyday Life
Gender-based Violence and International Protection of Human Rights
Cross Cultural Management and Intercultural Communication
Development, Environment, and Social Justice
Consumer Behavior
Managing Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Business
Generative Artificial Intelligence in Education, Culture, and Society
New Trends in International Marketing
Strategic Brand Management
See more direct-enroll electives on UPF’s website.

Build your own Barcelona semester

Barcelona as your classroom. Get ready for courses that take you out into the city where concepts from class can come to life. Spend an afternoon getting a behind-the-scenes look at Barcelona-based companies for your Transportation and Logistics Management class or take Social Media in Business and analyze local marketing trends with an advertisement agency. Interested in more ways to learn? Enroll in two electives at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) to learn alongside other international and Spanish undergraduate students.

Study abroad and stay on track. Spending a semester in Barcelona doesn’t mean delaying graduation by half a year. With a wide selection of English-taught electives, you can fill credits at your home university and experience life in a new country.

Housing and Meals

Private dormitory-style living
Share a building with CET peers and other international students
1 person/room
9 rooms/floor
Private bathroom, bed linens, A/C unit, wifi access
Shared kitchen per floor, in-building gym and pool, weekly cleaning, washer/dryer access, shared study spaces, 24/7 front desk security and assistance

Living in Barcelona

Your new home. We partnered with a student residence to provide you the best housing in the city. You have your own small room and bathroom, with community just outside your door—your neighbors are CET peers and other international students. Your housing also gives you access to a kitchen space (one per floor), a game room, a study room, and an in-building gym and pool. And the cherry on top? Walkable city living. Your housing is just a 15-minute walk to both the CET Center and UPF, where you take your classes.

Eating in Barcelona. Experience Spanish cuisine and indulge in paella, cool down with a bowl of gazpacho (a chilled tomato-based soup) or try a little bit of everything with friends and embrace local tapas culture. Feel like having something new? Not a problem in a global city like Barcelona—cuisines from around the world are just around the corner.

Life in Barcelona

Between its Mediterranean coastline, mountainous backdrop, and a more relaxed pace of life that prioritizes enjoying the moment, living in Barcelona is hard to beat. Explore a new-to-you neighborhood, relax at the beach with friends, and enjoy all of the city’s green spaces. And as a major European city, Barcelona is a transit hub—spend your 3-day weekends exploring the rest of Spain… and then the rest of Europe.

Experience Spain with CET

Around the city. The program offers different activities that help you explore Barcelona, experience the local culture, and connect with local university students. Make your way through the winding maze at Parc del Laberint d’Horta. See the sunset from Bunkers del Carmel—one of the best viewpoints in the city. Take a cooking class to better understand the flavors of Spanish cuisine. And there’s even more to see on your own.

Explore Catalonia like a local. Let us help you see a side of Spain that tourists don’t typically see. Once a month, you have the option to go on a day trip to explore Catalonia with the group. You might walk the streets of Girona to take in the beautiful architecture or visit Cardona and learn about the city’s long history with salt before climbing the castle to enjoy a hilltop view.

Student Resources

"There is a tendency to see Italy as a spot for vacation as opposed to a country filled with working people. I have certainly been guilty of this, and the reading [from a class] helped me to reshape my ideas about Italy as a country. Recently, I have been thinking more about how to change my view of Florence as a spot for vacation to a place where I live."

— Eden Comer
University of Wisconsin-Madison | Spring student

READ EDEN'S BLOG

"It can be easy to want to travel every single weekend because that is what you see everyone else doing, but in the end, Florence is one of the best cities to be in. CET also plans such incredible activities, and I would say to get involved in as many of those as possible. It makes it so much easier to partake in events you would not have considered otherwise and also helps build friendships with fellow students."

— Anonymous student evaluation

"My semester in Florence was incredible! CET staff were very helpful and engaging, and the activities were a great way to engage with Italian culture and with Italian locals. I loved living in a city with such beautiful culture, buildings, and landscapes for a few months."

— Sophia Kekes-Szabo
Vanderbilt University | Spring student

"All I can say is that CET Florence has exceeded every expectation and truly clarified what it means when people say that studying abroad changed their lives. While taking long weekends to travel throughout Europe is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, at the end of every travel experience, I am beyond excited to return to Florence, a place that I consider both a dream vacation destination and my home away from home."

— Jenna Landy
Cornell University | Spring student

"Overall, my favorite parts of my classes thus far have been when we go out into Florence to have a more visual, immersive experience. Learning about another country while living abroad completes my studies in a way that makes studying abroad an incomparable experience."

— Isabella Verga
George Washington University | Fall student

READ ISABELLA'S BLOG

Explore more resources:

On-the-ground support

Navigating a new city, country, and culture is a big challenge worth taking—and we’re here to help you along on this adventure. Our on-site team is bilingual, provides round-the-clock support, and is passionate about sharing their love of Barcelona (and Spain!) with you.

Program Fees

Fall/Spring

$20,990

What's Included

Tuition

All of your classes and program-related learning are included with your tuition.

Housing

We arrange for you to live in a dormitory with CET peers. Your program fees go toward rent, furnishing, and other management costs.

Visa Support

We guide you step-by-step through the visa process. You do the legwork, but we’ll make sure you have the documentation and information you need, when you need it.

Staff Support

From pre-departure to orientation, from on site to re-entry, CET provides you with the support you need every step of the way.

Insurance

You’re provided with a comprehensive insurance plan through GeoBlue that even includes medical evacuation coverage.

Activities & Excursions

The activities and excursions that we arrange are included in your program fee. All you need to do is remember to bring your camera!

Course Materials

Your textbooks and course supplies are covered and waiting for you on site.

Transcript

At the end of your term, you’ll receive academic documentation as proof of all you’ve accomplished abroad. Depending on your home institution, you will either get a CET grade report or a School of Record transcript from the University of Minnesota.

More on finances

Program Fee Breakdown. Of the total program fee, $15,990 goes to tuition and fees, and $5,000 goes to housing and other student life fees.

Local Cost of Living. While daily life may be generally cheaper than most major cities in the US, Barcelona is still considered to be one of the world’s more expensive cities to live in.

Estimated out-of-pocket expenses:

additional resources

How to Apply

Eligibility

• Pre-requisites: None.
• Must be 18 or older at the time of program participation.
• Open to students from any US college or university
• GPA: 3.0 or higher is recommended, students with lower GPAs will be asked for a faculty recommendation to supplement their application

Online Application Form

This is a brief form that asks for basic information and has a few short answer questions about why you want to study abroad.

Passport Information

Upload a scan of your passport to your CET Compass account. This should be a single scan that includes the signed signature page and the photo/personal details page. Don’t have a passport yet? Let us know and we can help advise you.

Study Abroad Office Recommendation

This is an online form that your study abroad office completes to let us know you meet the requirements to study abroad. To send the electronic form request, simply enter the name and email address of your study abroad advisor in the designated fields of your CET Compass account.

Official Transcript

Your CET Compass account has specific instructions for submitting an official transcript.

Application
Deadlines

Fall Semester:

April 1

Spring Semester:

September 20

Have a question? Get in touch!

Lucy Gough

Student Services Coordinator
202.349.7322
[email protected]

Price Subject to Change:

CET reserves the right to increase quoted charges at any time without prior notification, based on increased instruction costs, exchange rate fluctuation or other cost increases beyond CET’s control.

Our goal is to offer every course every term, but sometimes factors like faculty availability and program enrollment keep us from reaching that goal. If you’re concerned about needing to enroll in one particular course, please contact us!

CET Barcelona: At-A-Glance

Fall

SPRING

Fall

SPring