CIEE College Study Abroad in Seville, Spain

It sounds so cliche, but my semester abroad really was the best decision I've made and the most amazing 4ish month experience I have ever had in my life! Not a day goes by that I don't reflect on my time and wish I could do it all again.
To start, Sevilla is magical-- it's kind of a hidden gem that Americans don't often think of when they think of Spain, but it has everything. Rich histories from all sorts of people, stunning weather, the river, the nightlife, the food! That part speaks for itself.
But I really am lucky to have chosen this specific CIEE program! I suppose it was the staff that made it different from any other program-- they were unfailingly kind and fun to be around, and they challenged us. They knew we were there to learn and they did everything in their power to help! Plus the excursions the program offers (especially the one to Morocco!!!!) were always an amazing time. I learned something every day in this program, whether traveling or in my day to day classes. The classes were challenging enough (having them in Spanish is honestly a huge plus) while still allowing us to not stress too much and have fun too :) There were so many resources available too, everything was almost too easy!
Lastly, my housing/host family was incredible. I know everyone doesn't get this lucky, but my host mom and 2 host sisters became my real family, and we still keep in touch! I'm actually going back to visit them soon! They were the sweetest and so much fun.
I highly recommend this program to anyone looking to get an amazing taste of Spain and further their studies in the business realm, especially if you ever hope to do any business in Spanish! Ole, vamonos pa' Sevilla! :)

By far, the best term of my college career and i've had an amazing time in college as i'm sure most others have. Sevilla quickly became my favorite city in Spain and one of my top in the world. It is rich with culture and tradition that quickly become a part of how you want to live. Classes were not very challenging but allowed for a lot of free time to wander the city, do activities through the programs, and make new Spanish and American friends. I want to go back and live for a longer period of time and so did most of the study abroad students I went with said. Highly recommended.

My title says it all. My study abroad experience with CIEE in Seville was absolutely the best summer of my life. I always knew I wanted to study abroad in a Spanish speaking country, and my university offers programs in Chile and Spain. After my friend highly recommended the Seville program, I made my choice.

I arrived in Seville and immediately met my host family. They were incredibly friendly, accommodating, and excited to meet me. They welcomed me into their home and really made me feel like I had a home in Seville. I still keep in touch with them and plan on visiting next year.

The orientation that CIEE requires was extremely helpful. My orientation guide, Ana, showed us around the city and made sure we always got back to our homes safely after each night. I quickly learned my way around the city and learned the basics of how to live in Seville.

The staff at CIEE really made my experience what it was. The program director, Virginia, is so knowledgeable, passionate, and friendly. She really cared about each student individually and got to know us all personally. The professors that taught our classes were wonderful as well.

The trips we took during the program were informative and eye opening. I saw many different parts of Spain and Morocco too! Our tour guides knew everything I could want to know, and I always felt safe.

Altogether, this program is a MUST. I bettered my Spanish, broadened my horizons, made life-long friends, and really found myself. I have already recommended this program to my friends, and one is currently studying in Seville while the other will be there this summer.

Thank you, CIEE Seville, for giving me the best summer of my life!

My semester in Sevilla was one of the best experiences of my life! When I left the U.S., I was nervous and anxious about living so far out of my comfort zone. However, CIEE offered so much support and gave me opportunities to go beyond my comfort zone and truly experience Spanish culture. I'm most grateful to CIEE for the opportunity to live with a host family. I absolutely LOVE my host family! They took me to extended family gatherings and day trips, we ate dinner together every night, and they went out of their way to make sure I had an enriching cultural experience. Some of my favorite memories are going to Semana Santa, Feria, and a horse show with my amazing host family. We're still in touch, and I'm going back to visit them in a couple months!

CIEE also hosted lots of day trips and events to make sure we had the chance to see other parts of Spain (and Morocco!). The program also connected me to an "intercambio" (language exchange partner.) My intercambio and I quickly became friends and would spend time walking around El Centro (city center) in Sevilla, eyeing which bakery we wanted to visit that day.

Overall, I gained confidence and stronger Spanish skills, expanded my worldview, and most importantly, found a second family. Gracias, CIEE!

I have loved participating in the Business & Society Program at CIEE in Seville. Not only do I get the opportunity to improve my Spanish speaking abilities with courses entirely in Spanish, but I also am provided with a plethora of resources to help me succeed. I chose CIEE because my courses transfer directly to my university as business school requirements and because everyone who has gone on the CIEE program before me absolutely loved their experience. CIEE also has detailed schedules with loads of activities and trips so that you are never bored. I love the staff and my homestay is perfect. Highly recommend.

I mean, it was incredible. Absolutely amazing. I knew I wanted to study in Spain because I wanted to practice my Spanish, but I also wanted to be able to travel through Europe. I went abroad during my fourth year (out of 5) of college, and hadn't really taken many Spanish courses since high school. After my time in Seville, living with a host family and taking classes in Spanish, I can now put "Spanish (Conversational fluency)" on my resume without it feeling like a lie.

The host family I was paired up with was incredible, and we're still in touch and I love them dearly. And the support given by CIEE was so incredibly helpful. When it came to choosing classes, traveling around Europe, or general in-class support, the staff and professors went above and beyond to make sure all my questions were answered. I couldn't imagine a better group of people to studied under/with. The program director even began to help me search for opportunities to stay in Spain another semester after I mentioned to him I was thinking about it! They all really truly cared about the students and what they achieved, especially in the smaller CNMJ program.

The program also brought us on multiple excursions (Córdoba, Cádiz, Morocco...) and showed us around the cities in a fun and interesting way. And they struck the perfect balance between watching us/giving us support and also letting us explore the cities on our own.

Oh, and DUH I made some of the best friends of my life. I'm still in contact with some of the people from my program, and I'm actually living with one friend now! CIEE really knew how to establish a community.

I loved my time in Seville so much, and I really hope this review does a good job capturing that. I loved my time in Spain so much, that I'm actually living here again now that I've graduated from college! I'm so grateful for the opportunity CIEE gave me to learn about myself and my obsessive passion for travel and living abroad (sorry, mom!)

I spent a whole academic year in Seville through CIEE's Liberal Arts program and leaving was not easy. Seville is such a prime location to study abroad in if you're looking for language immersion and culture. I really enjoyed the classes I took at the CIEE study center because all of them involved outside of the classroom learning and getting to know the city in different ways. In the cultural history course I took, we would spend the first half of the class in our classroom learning about a topic and then the second half walking around the city seeing what we had learned, for example we were learning about the Roman empire and right around the corner from our study center there were still Roman columns standing. One of my favorite things about Seville was that so much of the Muslim, Jewish, and Catholic structures from the past centuries still remain. You can get lost in the city's narrow streets or climb the Giralda to check out the view or do like the locals do and hang out along the river for hours or go for a beautiful run along Parque Maria Luisa! The Sevillanos are also a big part of what makes Seville so appealing. Their way of living, their passion for their art and dance, and how friendly they are made it easy to always want to be surrounded by them. Overall, every one's experience abroad is unique and it's what you make it but the CIEE Liberal Arts program definitely kept me interested in the courses and I had so much valuable information that even my local friends didn't know about their city! The staff at the study center was also very supportive and made me feel comfortable as well as helped me make local friends! I'd go on a CIEE program again because they really care about the individual student's experience and have so many great excursions and activities available for the students!

I had studied Spanish for 8 years prior to my semester in Seville, Spain with CIEE's Communications, New Media & Journalism program. As a communications major, this program provided me with the best of both worlds--a way to combine my passion for storytelling with the goal of improving my fluency abroad. As a senior in my last semester of college, I'm looking toward the future and am feeling a strong draw to return to Spain. CIEE both supported and challenged me during a semester abroad, and from those moments of personal growth and pure bliss I feel confident in my decision to return for an extended stay post-grad.

The CNMJ professors are all about engaged learning. This is not a program where you'll coast through classes, but rather one where you'll create things with your peers to add to your portfolio. I interviewed locals and refugees for a bilingual magazine. I hit the streets to record podcasts on flamenco culture in Andalusia. I took an art course that toured me around Seville, taking me to the sites where the history actually occurred. The CNMJ program made sure that learning wasn't confined to the 4 walls of a classroom; a true experience abroad was built on cultural immersion. I am proud of the work that I completed while abroad, and it definitely has enhanced my professional portfolio when seeking internships and jobs back home in the states.

With the CNMJ program, we also went on trips to other cities and countries. There were only 33 people in the group, which made it easy to get to know new friends. We went to the port city of Cádiz for a day trip, and also spent a few days in Morocco where we were toured around by host families. The professors are so, so fun and very passionate about their jobs, which I appreciated.

The only downside to my CNMJ experience was with my host family. I ended up having to switch families, which was uncomfortable, but the CIEE staff made sure to coach me through the process. My second homestay was better, but it definitely was a more difficult transition abroad having to up and move again only a few weeks into the semester.

I would highly recommend this program to any communications major who is interested in an abroad experience in a Spanish speaking country. Seville is the perfect city for study abroad--I felt very safe, it's affordable, rich in history and a beautiful location. I'll forever cherish the memories I made during my semester abroad with CIEE CNMJ, and I look forward to returning to Spain soon.