CAPA is pleased to announce that Australia is now open to all vaccinated international visitors. CAPA will begin programming in Sydney in May.
Live, work, and learn with CAPA in the vibrant Global City of Barcelona, which is home to a variety of digital media outlets, newsrooms, and agencies.
Learn more about Barcelona with our Barcelona City Guide.
The CAPA Concentration in Media and Communications offers the opportunity to explore the diversity of multicultural Barcelona through classes, an optional internship, plus cultural events and excursions that take you around the city and beyond.
Choose from a range of traditional and new media and communications courses, plus take courses across CAPA's Global City curriculum in disciplines such as art, business, history, Spanish language, political science, and urban/global studies. Enhance your experience by adding an optional for-credit internship in the fields of media and communication in English or Spanish. Earn 6-9 credits.
Experience
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CAPA program fees are comprehensive and include tuition, housing, excursions, My Global City events and activities, 24/7 emergency support, insurance, and more.
Earn 6-9 credits in the Spring (courses are 3 credits unless otherwise noted; internships are 3 or 6 credits). Credits are issued by the University of Minnesota.
Live in shared apartments or a homestay (with your own room and two meals a day), all within commuting distance to the CAPA Center. Homestays incur a supplementary fee.
A local transit pass is included for the length of the program.
Full-day excursions to Montserrat, including transportation, a zip train to Cova de Sant Joan with guided visits and entrances, and to Tarragona, with transportation, entrances and guided visit to the Museum, Forum, Circus and Amphitheater. Social events and program activities include an arrival event featuring traditional Catalan cuisine, mid-term dinner with a flamenco show, and a farewell event.
Participate in an internship opportunity, earn credit, and gain valuable skills. Placements are in English or in Spanish. You must have completed at least four semesters of Spanish language to participate in a Spanish internship.
CAPA-led events each semester include a walk through the Born District, with its labyrinth of streets in the oldest parts of the city, a visit to the Spanish Civil War Bunkers, including a discussion of the Historical Memory movement in Spain, Raval Street Art Tour, and a visit to the Picasso Museum. Other activities vary by semester and reflect what is on at the time.
CAPA provides comprehensive support services for students to utilize during their time in Barcelona. The team is available throughout the duration of the program to assist and support students 24/7 with any emergency situations. Students will also have access to the Guardian study abroad safety app which includes emergency assistance and other support resources. LEARN MORE
You’ll receive our medical, travel, and accident insurance.
CAPA is committed to the health and wellness of our students while they are studying abroad in Barcelona. We maintain a comprehensive health and safety plan to ensure a safe and productive learning experience, and provide a variety of health and wellness tools and resources. LEARN MORE
Choose from a variety of media and communications courses along with the optional Global Internship Course, plus additional courses of your choice from the full Barcelona Global Cities curriculum.
This course will explore the fact that today, most brands make their offerings available through multiple distribution channels and demonstrate how a brands channel strategy may also act as a key differentiator. Students will develop an understanding of how brands can distinguish themselves competitively while taking multichannel marketing, managing of channel conflict, disintermediation, and push vs. pull marketing efforts in the channel into consideration.
BCLA BUSN 3375
This course will introduce students to the dynamic relationship between advertising and society. Students will develop an understanding of the fundamentals of how advertising works; discuss the many ways in which our behaviors and attitudes as human beings can be influenced and impacted (both positively and negatively) by advertising; explore various criticisms of advertising; and apply critical thinking skills in the analysis of selected examples of advertising.
BCLA COMM 3362
This course will provide a structured approach to media systems, and explore the dynamics of news, politics, and freedom of the press. Students will examine how international media report on ongoing, international crises of global importance; investigate the dynamics governing news media; develop an understanding of why audiences from different cultural spheres perceive news in diametrically opposed ways; and gain an awareness of press repression tools used by some regimes and the courageous journalists who try to circumvent these obstacles. Given the rapidly evolving nature of subjects studied, this syllabus is subject to change.
BCLA COMM 3350
This course will explore the new digital platforms that have profoundly changed how we live, work, and conduct business over the past decade. Students will work to demystify these technologies and develop a deeper understanding of social media as a business tool through a combination of readings, podcasts, class discussion, case analyses, and group projects.
BCLA BUSN/COMM 3389
This course will explore the craft of creative writing in relation to the city and the particular challenges of writing about place. Students will examine different aspects of the city in relation to Barcelona narratives including travel, urban spaces, solitude, politics, ethnicity, and particular boroughs and characters (both fictional and real); and participate in both practical exercises and field work.
BCLA CWRT 3317
This course will explore the fact that today, most brands make their offerings available through multiple distribution channels and demonstrate how a brands channel strategy may also act as a key differentiator. Students will develop an understanding of how brands can distinguish themselves competitively while taking multichannel marketing, managing of channel conflict, disintermediation, and push vs. pull marketing efforts in the channel into consideration.
BCLA BUSN 3375
This course will introduce students to the dynamic relationship between advertising and society. Students will develop an understanding of the fundamentals of how advertising works; discuss the many ways in which our behaviors and attitudes as human beings can be influenced and impacted (both positively and negatively) by advertising; explore various criticisms of advertising; and apply critical thinking skills in the analysis of selected examples of advertising.
BCLA COMM 3362
Cities around the world are striving to be ‘global’; Barcelona, the capital of Catalunya, is one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in Spain. It is globally-renowned for its art and architecture, possessing no fewer than nine UNESCO-designated ‘world heritage’ sites, and has become a major destination for global tourism. In this interdisciplinary course, students will examine the emergence of this elegant, creative city as Spain’s gateway to the Mediterranean; analyze its history and evolution since its foundation by the Romans; explore the role of population dynamics, industrial change and globalization in shaping the city and the lives of its inhabitants; and investigate the ways in which the interplay of urbanism, politics, and society has addressed challenges of social, political, and technological change in the past and today.
BCLA URBS 3345
This course will provide a structured approach to media systems, and explore the dynamics of news, politics, and freedom of the press. Students will examine how international media report on ongoing, international crises of global importance; investigate the dynamics governing news media; develop an understanding of why audiences from different cultural spheres perceive news in diametrically opposed ways; and gain an awareness of press repression tools used by some regimes and the courageous journalists who try to circumvent these obstacles. Given the rapidly evolving nature of subjects studied, this syllabus is subject to change.
BCLA COMM 3350
This course will investigate the creation of contemporary identities through “Spanish” films and cinematic form. Students will critically examine the notion of a “national cinema”; the role cinema plays in constructing our stories; cinema’s impact on shifting ideas of what constitutes the human condition; and where and how issues of gender, sexuality, class, and ethnicity surface in cinematic articulations of the relationship between national identity, global trends, and personal history.
BCLA FILM 3316
This introductory course is designed for students who have never received formal Spanish instruction or who do not know any Spanish language. Students will develop Spanish communicative proficiency in four key areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing; gain an awareness of Hispanic cultures; and have opportunities to practice Spanish language skills in real-world situations. The instructor will strive to use only Spanish as a means of communication, and students are expected to do the same.
BCLA SPAN 1101
This course is designed for students who have successfully completed Spanish 101 or its equivalent. Students will develop Spanish communicative proficiency in four key areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing; gain an awareness of Hispanic cultures; and have opportunities to practice Spanish language skills in real-world situations. The instructor will strive to use only Spanish as a means of communication, and students are expected to do the same.
BCLA SPAN 1102
This course is designed for students with some prior knowledge of Spanish, who can already use basic words and phrases, and understand simple requests. By the end of this course, Students will have built a solid foundation in five key skill areas: intercultural communication, reading, writing, listening, and speaking, in order to accomplish a variety of everyday needs in the host culture. The instructor will strive to use only Spanish as a means of communication, and students are expected to do the same.
BCLA SPAN 2201
After completing this course, the student will understand extended speech and readings (TV, movies, newspapers, …). Will be able to communicate with a degree of fluency that will allow them to interact with natives with spontaneity. The information presented will be precise when talking about a field of interest and quite clear when writing or speaking on a range of subjects.
BCLA SPAN 2202
This course will explore the new digital platforms that have profoundly changed how we live, work, and conduct business over the past decade. Students will work to demystify these technologies and develop a deeper understanding of social media as a business tool through a combination of readings, podcasts, class discussion, case analyses, and group projects.
BCLA BUSN/COMM 3389
This course will provide the knowledge, skills, and tools for understanding core elements of logistics and transportation systems. Students will examine the dynamics of key logistics and transportation decisions, develop an understanding of best practices, and gain an appreciation for the challenges that typical companies face in managing their logistics and transportation network.
BCLA BUSN 3377
This course will explore the craft of creative writing in relation to the city and the particular challenges of writing about place. Students will examine different aspects of the city in relation to Barcelona narratives including travel, urban spaces, solitude, politics, ethnicity, and particular boroughs and characters (both fictional and real); and participate in both practical exercises and field work.
BCLA CWRT 3317