The application process is super easy. In addition to some forms, hardly any documents are required, except for the usual items such as proof of English (mine was from the DAAD ), a transcript of records , a copy of your ID and a digital passport photo.
University & courses
The campus for the international students (mainly Americans and Germans) is in the middle of the city center. You don’t have a campus, but you have a top location!
I took 5 courses at UAB – 4 business courses and 1 language course.
International Marketing Strategies at Ana Garcia (recommended)
For this subject I had to do the most in proportion. There was a midterm exam as well as a final exam, a project (2 parts) and a few papers and group presentations in between – but the effort is still quite low compared to German universities. In addition, the content is not very ‘challenging’ either. Still, I got the most out of this course. If you are diligent you can get very good grades .
Managerial Skills for International Business at Maydo Arderiu (recommended)
For managerial skills you hardly have to do anything except to be always present and on time and to read the given texts as homework. In class, you almost only play games in order to better memorize the learning content. There was a midterm and a final (true / false) for which you hardly have to learn. If you don’t behave in a clumsy way, you can get very good grades.
International Finance with Alex Martinez (recommended)
The teacher explains poorly and likes to make mistakes, but the material is not difficult, so that with a little bit of thinking you can still keep up. He is also very personable and very helpful. Midterm and final are not difficult because he works on a lot of exercise sheets beforehand. In addition to the two exams, there was also group work in which we were supposed to work on and present a case, but that was also feasible. If you stick with it, you can get very good grades.
E-Commerce and Online Businesses at Marc Rocas (not recommended)
Unfortunately, e-commerce was a course that I never really wanted to take, because the teacher only showed videos and in my opinion is not suitable as a teacher. I hardly learned anything and I never really knew what to expect. There was also midterm and final in the course as well as group work with 3 submission dates (paper & presentation). In contrast to how and what he taught, his exams were not exactly easy. You can still get good grades.
Spanish 45 beginners with Francisco Dominguez aka. Paco (recommended)
Since I couldn’t speak a word of Spanish, the language course was definitely worth it for me, so that after a few sessions I was able to speak to the staff in cafes or supermarkets in Spanish. My teacher Paco always tried very hard to teach us a lot and was always open to questions. Here, too, you can get good to very good grades if you are not so linguistically gifted.
On-site support
I had to get some documents signed by the UAB on site and that always worked great.
Accommodation search
Even before I arrived in Germany, I was looking for apartments or rooms. There are many sites here that unfortunately charge agency fees. I can therefore warmly recommend IDEALISTA, as no fees are charged here and the selection is quite large. I have already made about 5 viewing appointments from Germany and found my room (550 € per month) during the second viewing.
Leisure and excursion possibilities
Because the university is in the city center, I, like almost everyone else, lived in the city center and had a walk to the Eixample campus of less than 10 minutes. The great location has the advantage that it never gets boring and everything is on the doorstep. In Barcelona you can sit outside almost anywhere and have a drink or eat – and you can do that well into the night. The city just lives! In addition, it takes about 15 minutes by train from Eixample to get to the beach in Barceloneta, where there’s always something going on. But if you want to go to a quieter beach, Sitges is a good choice. For a great view of the city, I can recommend a little ‘hike’ to the Bunkers del Carmel.
Overall, I would definitely recommend a semester abroad at the UAB in Barcelona .
