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Universidad Politecnica de Madrid Program Level: Undergraduate Number of Weeks/Term: 20 View the Program Dates |
- Background
- Location Information
- Program Dates
- Host Institution
- Academic Information
- Academic Disciplines
- Credit Transfer Information
- Eligibility Requirements
- Program Costs
- Housing and Meals
- Insurance
- Extracurricular Activities
- Climate
- VISA & Passport Information
- Your Next Steps
- Experiences of Former Students
BACKGROUND
Georgia Tech (GT) has developed a number of overseas programs around the globe. These programs provide students with the opportunity to complete a portion of their academic programs in top-notch foreign universities that are partnered with GT. As a result of immersion in a foreign academic and cultural environment, students have the maximum opportunity to learn to operate effectively in an atmosphere that is wholly different from that of GT and the U.S.
LOCATION INFORMATION
This university is located in Madrid, Spain. To learn more about this city and country, please visit:
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_4965.html
http://www.iiepassport.org/pages/sitecontent/country.aspx
http://www.iiepassport.org/pages/sitecontent/cities.aspx
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations
PROGRAM DATES
Spring term: early February - late June
Academic year: early September - late June
NOTE: Students may participate in this program for the spring or for a full academic year.
Year Program Started:
2009
HOST INSTITUTION
Global E³ / AE3 is an exchange program for engineering students: a student can study abroad while continuing to pay tuition at home. With member universities in 18 countries, students at 80 universities have the opportunity to study abroad. Global E³ / AE3 exchanges about 200-250 students a year. Georgia Tech is a member of Global E³ and GT students may apply to go abroad for a semester or academic year to GE³ partner institutions such as UPM.
UPM has more than three thousand faculty members, around thirty eight thousand undergraduate students, and around six thousand postgraduate students.
In the style of the french Grandes Écoles, UPM is made up of 21 Schools dealing with the different areas of technology. Twelve of them are Advanced Technical Schools awarding engineering degrees of either five or six years duration, and the rest are Technical Schools which award three years study degrees.
Technical University of Madrid (UPM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) is the oldest and largest of the Spanish Technical Universities.
Although UPM is a young university, having been founded only in 1971, most of its Schools are over a hundred years old, dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries and existing independently until they were grouped together as UPM.
ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Subject Areas Available:
- Aerospace Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Engineering
- Computer Science
- Electrical Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
Language Information
Courses are taught in Spanish, with some in English. GT recommends that students complete at least 2 years of college level Spanish or have the equivalent advanced/3000 level of skills before participating in this program.
Course Information
For more information about the academic departments at UPM, please click here.
TopCREDIT TRANSFER INFORMATION
Credit for courses taken as part of GT exchange programs is added as transfer credit on the GT transcript. Since it is important to know which kind of credit students will earn abroad as soon as possible, GT requires that courses be pre-approved for transfer. With a Foreign Credit Approval Form (available from OIE) in hand, and the credit transfer system information (listed below), students should submit course descriptions to the appropriate academic unit to request their approval. If taking Math classes, for example, then the student should go to the GT School of Mathematics to get permission for the courses to transfer to GT. If approved, the GT School of Mathematics signs the Foreign Credit Approval Form showing how the courses will transfer so that students will know which type of credit they should expect to receive.
For detailed credit transfer instructions click here
For the Foreign Credit Approval Form click here
CREDIT TRANSFER AND GRADE CONVERSION SYSTEMS
Under construction
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Eligible students must meet the following criteria:
- Georgia Tech degree-seeking undergraduate student
- 3.0 GPA or higher
- completed at least two semesters of college-level study prior to participation
- at least 18 years of age by the program's departure date
- enroll in 12 or more credit hours at the host institution and earn a C or higher for each course
- be able to stay at the host university for the duration of their semester, INCLUDING through their exam period
- international students (non-US citizens) may have additional requirements set by the overseas university
- all students must have completed all the prerequisites for any courses they wish to take
- Students who are not U.S. Citizens may not participate in a GT exchange program in their home country. Non-U.S. Citizens are welcome to apply to participate in an exchange outside of their home country. This rule applies to all who do not have a U.S. passport, including U.S. Permanent Residents.
- provide evidence of adequate level of Spanish (recommend 3000 level Spanish)
PROGRAM COSTS
The same matriculation, tuition and other mandatory fees (including transportation, technology, activity, health, and athletic) apply to a term abroad as would normally at Georgia Tech. Exchange students must pay tuition and fees to the GT Bursar for each semester they are abroad. No other expenses associated with this program are paid to GT; instead, these expenses are paid on site.
The currency in Spain is the Euro (EUR). Exchange rates fluctuate, so check the newspaper or click here for the most current rates.
DON"T FORGET TO APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS!! See the OIE web site for more info: click here
Following are cost estimates for one semester at UPM that may help you prepare for your term(s) abroad. All costs are in USD.
In State Tuition $3,641 Out of State Tuition $3,891 GT Mandatory Fees $1,185 Books and Supplies $400 Administrative and/or Application fees Miscellaneous (includes passport/visa fees, required field trips, local transportation and incidentals) $900 Roundtrip Airfare $1,000 Room and Board $5,000 Additional Language Instruction Mandatory Insurance $165 Total $12,291 (in state) $12,541 (out of state)
*Out-of-state students pay in state tuition, plus $250 for this exchange program.
*Costs in the preceding chart are estimates for undergraduates based on tuition rates posted by the GT Bursar for "continuing students." Guaranteed tuition rates, graduate tuition rates, and MBA tuition rates vary. Please check the GT Bursar's web site click here to confirm actual tuition rates based on degree, term, or level of study. Actual costs may be higher or lower than those listed above, depending on the exchange rate and personal spending habits/needs.
HOUSING AND MEALS
Housing
- student residence halls
- off-campus apartments/rooms for rent
UPM does not find housing for students. However, they do provide advice about the different types of accommodation that are available and how to find it. UPM recommends that students book provisional accommodation in Madrid before they arrive and find permanent accommodation most appropriate to your needs once you are established in Madrid. For more information about housing options, please click here.
Meals - NO meal plan (except in some of student residence halls)
INSURANCE
Students participating in this program will be assessed $150 per semester for mandatory insurance coverage. You will be covered by T.W. Lord and Associates. For detailed information about this insurance plan, click here. This cost is included in the above cost estimates for the program.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Student Clubs play a major role at the UPM. There are currently 178 clubs operating, with activities in a variety of fields ranging from all kinds of cultural activities such as cinema, theatre, tunas (student musical groups in traditional costumes) and photography to professionally-oriented clubs for exchange and research. If you would like to be a member of a club or take part in their activities, you can find out about the clubs at your Centre of studies, or by going to the Sub-director responsible for University Extension, the Student Council at your Centre of Study, or the Student Services and University Extension Office.
The UPM organises a large number of cultural activities at low prices aimed at all UPM students, including Erasmus students or students on any other exchange programme.
The Cultural Service (Aula de Cultura) organises courses of all kinds: photography, cinema, short films, storytelling, public speaking, astronomy, visits to art museums, ballroom dancing, Latin dancing, Flamenco, gardening, biodancing, magic and illusionism, music and much more. During the academic year courses are held from October to February and from March to June.
The UPM promotes and encourages sports activities by organising and participating in internal and Spanish universities championships and running a variety of activities at its sports facilities. For students interested in taking part in sports, the university runs the following activities: aerobics, chess, badminton, basketball, handball, fencing, football, indoor football, 7-a-side football, fitness, gym-jazz, karate, kung-fu, bodybuilding, swimming, paddle tennis, rugby, squash, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball.
CLIMATE
Winter in Madrid is not very cold, with minimum temperatures of around 2ºC and maximums of around 15ºC. Spring and autumn are very pleasant, with maximum temperatures of around 20.5ºC and minimums of 7.5ºC. Summer in Madrid is normally hot, with maximum temperatures ranging from 30ºC to 40ºC. Madrid is fortunate to have a majority of sunny days throughout the year.
VISA AND PASSPORT INFORMATION
Complete information about how to apply for or renew a U.S. passport is available from the GT Office of International Education or online: click here
Participants of this program must have a valid passport and visa. For Spanish visa information click here, please note that getting a Spanish visa can be a lengthy and complicated process, so start as early as possible. The closest Spanish Embassy is in Miami, and they require students to apply in person - in Miami! It may be possible to pay a visa service to apply for the visa for you as your legal representative. OIE cannot make referrals/recommendations on such services.
YOUR NEXT STEPS
To begin the process of participating in this exchange, please do the following:
- Attend an exchange program information session. For dates visit: click here. If you are unable to attend, please make an appointment with the OIE staff member listed below.
- Download the OIE Exchange and Study/Work Abroad Application instructions at click here and submit the completed application by the appropriate deadline.
- Deadlines: Fall/academic year/summer applications are generally due in mid-February. Spring applications are generally due in early to mid-September. Specifics are listed in the application packet.
- Visit the host institution's course information link located under "academic disciplines". Print course descriptions of all the courses of interest that you believe will fit into your GT academic plan.
- Make an appointment with your Academic Advisor to review course options, bring course descriptions to help.
- If you need to get or renew a passport, you should start that process now! Passport information is online: click here.
- For financial aid information click here
- For scholarship information click here
EXPERIENCES OF FORMER STUDENTS
click here
Madrid
Spain
Europe
Semester
20
12 or more
Spanish, English
For more info, contact OIE.
Can I go abroad while pursuing a GT degree?
GT students have many opportunities to participate in semester/exchange and study abroad programs. In a semester program, you actually take classes with the host university’s students and faculty. (In some cases, this means that you must have excellent knowledge of the local language to participate). Semester program participants usually pay normal GT tuition and fees for each term abroad. Credits can be pre-approved to transfer back to GT so that you do not get behind in your studies. The application deadline for fall and academic year programs is in early February; for spring programs the deadline is in September/October.
In a study abroad program, the courses are taught by GT faculty and you register for regular GT courses. Residents pay normal matriculation fees, but do not pay ancillary fees (athletic, health, etc.). Non-residents only pay resident matriculation plus $250 ($1500 for GTL Summer/$2000 for GTL Spring/Fall) . This is a savings of over $6,000 for out-of-state students who participate in GT study abroad programs as full-time students! Deadlines for summer study abroad programs vary from early January to mid-February.
In most cases, if you are eligible for financial aid or scholarships, you can apply your grants, scholarships, and/or loans toward the expenses associated with participating in all GT programs.
GT’s International Plan: More than just study abroad
Your major is participating in this new initiative!
The International Plan is an intensive, degree-long program designed to prepare GT graduates professionally and personally for successful lives in the 21st century. Requirements of the program include international coursework, two terms abroad (any combination of study, research or internship abroad), proficiency in a second language, and a culminating course. Students who complete the program will have a designation on their diploma indicating completion of the degree with global competence: for example, “BS in Mechanical Engineering: International Plan.” For more information or an application, contact your major advisor or OIE and visit the website: http://www.oie.gatech.edu/internationalplan