Sevilla

Universidad Pablo de Olavide

Before you meet with an education abroad advisor be sure to complete the "Advising Form" linked at the top of this page.

Please note that you will not be able to apply for semester or yearlong education abroad program until you've met with an education abroad advisor. To make an appointment, please contact internationalprograms@noctrl.edu or call the Center for Global Education at 630-637-5132.

Program Overview

Fall Term/Winter and Spring Terms

Eligible participants must be at junior or senior level with a 3.0 GPA preferred. Two years of college-level Spanish preferred.

Universidad Pablo de Olavide (UPO), founded in 1997, is located in the beautiful city of Seville. The University’s Hispanic Studies Program offers courses in Spanish and English in a wide range of subjects and caters to international students of all majors. New biology and chemistry courses in English (with a lab component) have recently been added to the curriculum, as well as courses in psychology, business, film, religion and communication (in English), and a course in the culinary arts (in Spanish).

The university offers Spanish language courses at six levels; a Spanish placement exam upon arrival determines the Spanish language level for each entering student. The International Center organizes a number of social and cultural activities throughout the semester, including “Spanish Tables,” soccer/basketball matches and optional daylong excursions. Students also have the option to be matched with a Spanish “intercambio” to meet local students and practice their Spanish. For those interested in teaching English to Spanish children, each semester a number of students volunteer at local schools and receive a certificate from the school upon completion.

Pablo de Olavide University website

Academics

Students are required to complete GLS 277 in the spring term prior to studying abroad in the fall. Students earn 12-15 credit hours depending on course load and length of stay. All grades earned abroad affect students North Central College GPA when transferred back. Students cannot take courses pass/fail.

All UPO courses and their descriptions and links to syllabi are listed on the UPO website under the "Hispanic Studies Program" and "Courses". To view the list of courses please click here.

Note:  Students must have courses pre-approved by North Central College prior to taking them abroad. If students change their course schedules while abroad, they must get this change approved. Some departments only permit students to take a certain number of courses that count toward their major abroad; by getting all courses pre-approved, this ensures that these courses will count towards their degrees.

Housing and Meals

Students live with host families. Host families provide students with their own furnished room and often their own bathroom, but a shared bathroom situation is not uncommon. Some families will host more than one international student. During the housing application process (after students have been accepted by UPO), students can choose if they would rather live with a family closer to downtown Seville, or closer to the UPO campus. Students who have studied at UPO in the past recommend future students to live closer to downtown Seville, as students are downtown most of the weekend.

Meals:  Host families provide breakfast and dinner, Monday through Friday; all other meals are the student's responsibility.  There is a large central cafeteria on-campus that serves a variety of foods for every taste and budget, as well as several smaller cafes around campus as well.  There is regular, convenient bus service from UPO campus/host families to downtown Seville where there are numerous restaurants and grocery stores.

Estimated Costs

Students pay North Central College tuition and room and board to the host institution. A $30 non-refundable application fee is due at the time of application submission. Students are personally responsible for paying airfare, health insurance, departure tax, books, extra personal travel and spending money, as these items are not included in room and board fees. North Central College financial aid does apply.