ARC offers ‘study abroad’ program for fall 2023

Students will travel to Barcelona and experience Spanish life for 13 weeks

Carla Montaruli, Social Media and Opinion Editor|May 4, 2023

American River College will offer a study abroad program in Spain during the Fall 2023 semester. Barcelona, Spain’s second-largest city, will be the place students can experience their studies. (Photo by Carla Montaruli )

American River College is offering a study abroad program in Spain for fall 2023, through the Northern California Study Abroad Consortium.

Students will have the opportunity to travel to Barcelona and experience Spanish life for 13 weeks. The departure date is Sept.16 and students will return on Dec.15. 

To apply, students need to meet some minimum requirements. 

They must be 18 years old, have completed 12 units of college, have a 2.25 grade point average and be in good academic standing.

The priority application is due April 28, while the general application is due June 16. 

The program offers a full immersion of culture and language that can give the applicant a chance to learn and grow as a student and person. 

According to Roxanne Morgan, ARC English professor, traveling to Spain gives the opportunity to embrace different cultural experiences.

“Barcelona is a very old country that gives the students an opportunity to come across diversity,” Morgan said. “Since it’s surrounded by the ocean and other countries it is easy for the students to spend a weekend in Portugal, or maybe even France and confront a new culture.”

The program won’t be all about what students can learn in a classroom, as they are going to experience what the course is about while visiting the country and at the same time learning new life skills. 

“The greatest benefit is life experience, there is a perfect combination of life and study in all the courses we teach,” Morgan said.

This is an opportunity for students to make new connections with people, or dive every day for weeks in a place where they speak a different language. 

All the courses that students take during these 13 weeks are transferable units and meet different requirements. Spanish Life and Culture is a required three-unit course for all students, regardless of which college they transfer to.

Global competency and general education are the main topics of all the classes, with some specific insight related to Spanish culture. Also included in this experience are weekly schedules of cultural events financially supported by the program.

For more information regarding fees and details regarding deadlines, students should check the ARC website.