Facilities and Support

Academic Advising

Before the start of the semester, students are allocated an academic adviser in Barcelona. Via email and virtual meetings, the adviser helps the students to pre-select courses from the course offerings available at the four local institutions. Once on-site, students complete at least one in-person academic advising session before the start of classes. These sessions aim to guide students through the course selection process and find the best courses for their needs. Students must be in continuous contact with their home universities to confirm that the courses taken in Barcelona's universities can be transferred. Follow-up meetings are held throughout the semester to analyze students' academic performance in each course, detect any issues and determine the best course of action to take in order to achieve academic success.

Tutors

CASA-Barcelona offers tutoring sessions with local students/professors throughout the semester. The main objective of these sessions is to help students acquire the skills and strategies necessary to succeed in the courses at the partner universities. The tutor also helps the students with preparation of written work and exams.

Libraries

CASA-Barcelona Library

The CASA-Barcelona center has a small collection of reference books on the society and history of Catalonia and Spain. The student will find dictionaries, grammar books, and manuals used in the most popular courses taken by CASA-Barcelona students.

University Libraries

All the university libraries have their entire catalog online, which can be consulted via the specific university website or the unified University Union Catalog of Catalonia (CSUC) catalog: Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya.  In addition, the university libraries are open weekdays from 8:30am-9pm. During exam periods opening hours are much longer.

Public libraries

There is a network of public libraries throughout the city. The two nearest to the students' halls of residence are:

  • Fort Pienc
  • Vila Olímpica
    In order to borrow books from these libraries, students must present a valid ID and two passport-sized photographs.

Specialized bookstores

The manuals that are usually used in classes are often available in the university libraries and bookstores. In addition, each campus usually has its own specialist bookstore with discounts for students. Some of the bookstores that stand out for their specialization in university textbooks are the following:

At a glance

City
Barcelona, Spain

Lead Institution
Brown University

Partner Institutions

Housing
Self-catered, single rooms at a student residential facility

Language requirements
Minimum of six semesters of college-level Spanish (or the equivalent). Students who have not reached the six-semester Spanish level, but have completed a combination of at least intermediate/advanced Spanish and some Catalan coursework are also encouraged to apply.

Calendar
Academic year
Fall or Spring semesters

Applications
Students from CASA member institutions apply via their home institution. Non-CASA member students apply through Brown University.

Special Features
Distinctive research, internship, and volunteer opportunities

Member Universities

Brown University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Georgetown University
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Northwestern University
Trinity College, University of Dublin
The University of Pennsylvania
The University of Melbourne
Vanderbilt University