SAI Study Abroad: Elisava School of Design (Barcelona, Spain)

Elisava was such a unique experience and I am glad l I took this chance to grow and learn. Doing it through SAI really helped to ease me into it. SAI staff were always there for support and constantly checked in which created a sense of community and comfort. Elisava as a school is a really wonderful place where people from all over come to learn and share their design background. Compared to some other study abroad programs in Barcelona, Elisava is a heavy workload but highly rewarding. There is such a strong sense of community and teamwork with so many differing perspectives which really broadened my horizons.

-Met a lot of new friends in the program
-The SAI staff was really helpful and nice, tons of nice trips hosted by them as well including well planned day trips!
-The Housing was amazing, better than what I had back home.
-SAI classes are decent comparing with home school classes (Parsons), the professors are generally helpful and nice as well.
-The city itself is amazing and enjoyable.
-Would 100% recommend.
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I studied at ELISAVA in Spring of 2019 and it is definitely worth your time and money. Don't be fooled into thinking this school will be easier than your home university though. ELISAVA is a world renown design school and their teaching staff are a good example of why. You can really make some great connections a learn a lot (don't worry you can still travel on the weekends). My SAI program coordinators were there to answer any questions at all steps of the process and our excursions/trips were so fun. Barcelona is a city that has a lot going on and it can be a really fun place to be. You'll get tons of advice on what things to see and food to try and meet a lot of people from all over the world. There is so much to love about the program it cannot be put into a small review.

SAI is incredibly put together! Had an amazing experience with them from pre-departure days all the way through till the end. I would recommend them to anyone wanting to study abroad in a heart beat. Mireia, the program coordinator for Barcelona, is more than perfect for her position. She is impossible not to love, and without her, I definitely wouldn't have had the amazing time that I did. As for Elisava, I think it was a great school that helped me view design in a completely different way than I was used to. It's a prestigious school that will look amazing on resume!

I had a wonderful time in Barcelona with SAI and Elisava. SAI was very helpful and accommodating during my time here. I could not have asked for better on site staff or the excursions provided. I loved the fact that the program was smaller, about 20 people, because it allowed everyone to get closer and the excursions were more personal. Elisava was a little disappointing in regards to helpfulness but I did enjoy the tours around the city with my classes

SAI was an amazing help throughout my whole study abroad experience. From day one to nearly our last Mieria (program coordinator) was there to help me with what ever I needed. The school was really nice, a lot of projects with limited tests. We have several activities through the program and I recommed attending each one. We got to see so many amazing places and had unique experiences. Our housing was a beautiful apartment in a very central location. The housing agency was very helpful to work with as well.

My study abroad experience was one of my favorite semesters throughout college. There is not one thing I would've changed about my semester. SAI is an incredible program. They are so helpful and kind. Our Barcelona Program Coordinator, Mireia, was truly incredible. Mireia is so helpful and caring, she made the experience even better. I am so thankful that I ended up studying through SAI programs and had Mireia as my coordinator.

We went on visits of furniture companies and we built a full scale model out of cardboard. I was able to sit on my model piece, but I found it difficult that the teachers wouldn't let me do what I felt like as a designer. My design changed a lot in the process and it was a great design but I didn't feel like it was my own creation. The cardboard was a difficult medium especially since we didn't have a lot of resources for the rest of the materials we needed to build it. We never got scissors and it was almost the last day when we finally got hot glue. Our lunch was suppose to be from 1-2 pm everyday but it was sporadic and on the last day we didn't get a lunch break. I learned a lot about the design process and how to make a full scale model, however, I wish the professors were a little more helpful and more structured. The time allocated wasn't enough to build a full scale model and I had to come in early or stay late multiple times and it was expected of me to do so.