University of Jaen

Brochure 2012

Given its great location, one of Spain's main characteristics is its astonishing variety of landscapes. From the Pyrenees Mountains along its northern boarder and the Mediterranean along its southern, Spain offers a cultural experience that is not only unique to Europe, but to the world.

Come enjoy the beauty of this country while immersing yourself in the country of origin of the Spanish language.

Jaen is the capital of the province of Jaen and is located in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It has a population of 117,500, which will provide students a smaller city feel. In the last years Jaen has had a great increase of cultural tourism, due to its idyllic location in respect to monuments such as the Alhambra. This town is the epitome of Spain as it has both a bull-fighting ring as well as a soccer team, not to mention the Flamenco shows! Jaen is also known as the World Capital of Olive Oil, because it is the largest producer of this liquid gold in all of Spain. The urbanism of this city is determined by its adjustment to the hills of the Santa Catalina mountain range, with steep, narrow streets, in the historical central city district. The city is the administrative and industrial center from the province. Industrial establishments in the city include chemical works, tanneries, distilleries, cookie factories, and textile factories

The Universidad de Jaen is a medium-sized, public university with about 14,500 students and over 800 faculty members, most of who have their PHD's. Established in 1993 at Campus Las Lagunillas, the Universidad de Jaen has more than 30 departments related to almost any university field of knowledge: business administration, anthropology, geography, history, chemistry, etc.

The Universidad de Jaen welcomes international students as part of a conscious effort to increase its international profile, which is of utmost importance, an institution that is constantly striving to widen both its knowledge and its horizons. No doubt, and thanks to an outstanding undergraduate and postgraduate international incoming and outgoing students population (which amount to approximately 650 students during the academic year), they Universidad de Jaen is becoming one of the leading exchange universities in the south of Spain.

The University is also part of the Erasmus Student Network (ESN). This organization operates as a support group to all International Students. It provides a forum for the students to meet and get to know one another better. It also provides trips to nearby cities including Malaga, Seville, Granada, and Cordoba. There is also a week long trip to the famous island of Ibiza.

The courses offer students a unique language learning experience, studying with enthusiastic, native professors. Students usually find their spoken Spanish vastly improves over the course of their program, as they interact daily with native speakers and gain confidence in their ability to communicate in Spanish. However, there are many courses taught in English. Students also learn a great deal about Spanish culture by experiencing day-to-day life in Spain, sharing meals, and conversation with their conversation partners (regular Universidad de Jaen students), exploring Jaen nightlife, and traveling to other cities within Spain.

The University also offers Intensive Spanish language courses before each semester, for more information email Dr. Narciso Contreras-Izquierdo: ncontrer@ujaen.es

Semester 1: End of September until mid-February

Semester 2: Mid-February until beginning of July

Academic Year: Includes semesters 1 and 2

Holidays:

• Christmas Break (End of December until beginning of January)
• Easter Break (1 week)
• Summer Break (From mid-July until the 31st of August)

See the official calendar

The Universidad de Jaen has an accommodation office which offers all international exchange students the following accommodation possibilities Temporary accommodation in hotels, hostels, and youth hostels; permanent accommodation in flats/apartments (sharing it or renting your own) or university student halls of residence. It also offers a wide range of sport facilities/activities and cultural activities for all incoming exchange students.

The University of Jaen provides each International Student with a Buddy that helps them find a residence as well as get acclimated to the layout of the city. This program will make finding a place to live very easy!