As a major part of my Madrid study abroad program, I took 12-15 U.S. credits worth of classes at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M). The university was 30-60 minutes away from where I lived depending on the trains, but it became increasingly easy to get there as I became more familiar with my environment.  

Since the campus was not in the Madrid city center, it required a train to get to. The journey ranged from 30 minutes to an hour, but time flies when you’re with friends. 

I recommend giving extra time to get to class that first week as you adjust; it’s important to make a good first impression and get to class on time. There are several different classroom norms here, but it still does vary by professor. For example, one professor required attendance and didn’t allow students to leave during the lecture, but another had optional class. 

As a Computer Science major, I took classes on both campuses; Leganes had STEM classes and Getafe held all other classes. A bus allows you to get between the campuses, and at any point it would take 30-45 minutes to get from one campus to another.  

Most days, the Leganés campus is very pretty as shown by the auditorium building here. This campus has all of the STEM major classes, and I came here for two of mine. 

The Getafe campus is where all the other classes are held, and you can see blooming flowers here. 

Both Getafe and Leganes are large and have a lot of restaurants and coffee shops to work in. Some students even live in these areas of Madrid, so I recommend exploring them and seeing what they have to offer. 

This is a cool circular library on the Getafe campus. Getafe has two libraries, and this one was my favorite because it was quieter and had private rooms to reserve. 

This is another picture of the Getafe campus, showing the UC3M logo on a water tower. You can see a number of students walking to or from class, showing how busy the campus gets. 

My coursework consisted of one computer science class and three humanities classes focused on reading, essay writing, history, and research. Thus, I had diverse experiences and had all types of courses including seminars, lectures, and labs.  

My lab section for my files and databases class is shown here. The TA would explain examples to help prepare for the exams and then he would answer our questions. 

This is one of my lecture sections, notably the largest one. Most of my classes at UC3M are less than 30 people, but they can also be on the larger side. 

My favorite were the seminars since they were characterized by discussions and diverse perspectives. I was able to engage in debates during seminar sessions, enriching my understanding of global issues. Most lectures are smaller in size, but my files and databases lecture was much larger. Thankfully, there was a smaller lab section where we could ask the professor more questions and practice exam-style problems. 

This image was taken during my seminar section where the entire class debated a predetermined topic each week. The class was a mix of people from all over the world and it was interesting to hear the varying perspectives. 

I discovered the convenience of coffee vending machines placed conveniently throughout the campus, something that I think we need in the United States. They were always a lifesaver for me as I was running to my 9am class and needed some caffeine to wake up. Even the cafeterias on campus had cheap coffee, pastries, and sandwiches for students.  

Something I didn’t think we needed in the U.S. but now do is as shown: coffee vending machines. On the UC3M campus, coffee is especially cheap and you can get a coffee in one minute from these machines for 70 cents. 

Between classes or on the weekends, local cafes provided the perfect setting for study sessions, where coffee-fueled productivity fueled our studies. I regularly met up with project groups and people from class to study for exams. Finding time to do schoolwork is important, and I ended up doing a lot of work on trains, planes, and buses during my time in Spain. 

There are many cafes in the city where you can study with friends, one of them is shown here. It’s nice to sit down with some coffee (and maybe a croissant) and get some work done. 

Academics in Spain have a lot of similarities to those in the United States, but there are a lot of cultural differences that are interesting to explore. UC3M is a stellar university with top professors, and the adjustment wasn’t that hard especially since the university has a population of more than 20% international students.