During the middle three weeks of the program, you will have 3-day weekends for independent travel. As a gateway to Europe, Madrid allows you to easily explore nearby cities or travel to other European destinations during your long weekends. Madrid is also home to the fifth largest airport in Europe and an extensive train system, allowing students to jet set to another country or explore the coast of Spain. The GO Madrid staff will hold office hours throughout the program to support students and plan safe, exciting weekend excursions.

Classes meet Monday-Thursday most weeks which will provide you the opportunity to travel and explore your surroundings on your 3-day weekends. GO Madrid courses are available in culture, business and communications. Students will enroll in two classes for six hours of credit or one class for three hours of credit if combined with the PRO track micro-internship experience. Our experienced faculty work year-round to develop engaging and relevant courses. They incorporate local culture into the classroom whether it is through cultural sites and museum visits, readings by Spanish authors or providing local context to the topics discussed. Due to our smaller class sizes, it’s easy to engage with the class material and your fellow students as you learn about your area of study. And, the slightly shorter calendar and less class days during the program, GO Madrid students will have pre-program assignments to complete.

Our engagement model is the reason the GO programs are different from other study abroad programs. Our team consists of a program director, faculty members and peer leaders who will support you and create fun and unique opportunities to connect with your program group. In past summers, we have hosted a variety of optional activities from cooking classes, river-side dinners to epic charcuterie picnics. Students have told us they’ve connected with new best friends and future bridesmaids and groomsmen during these optional activities designed to bring the program together.