CWRU in Madrid
Success Team and Resources
Advisors
You will be assigned a CWRU four-year advisor and CWRU study abroad advisor who will work one-on-one with you to make sure that the courses you take will positively impact your path to graduation, setting you up for success.
You and your advisor will determine your fall schedule from a pre-approved course list of humanities, social sciences and business courses. Four-year advisors will review schedules after registration to verify appropriate course selection.
Faculty
A CWRU faculty member lives in Madrid and teaches a CWRU course that fulfills one of the Unified General Education Requirements for degree completion. This course will be graded, and the grade will count toward the student’s CWRU GPA.
The faculty member will also serve as an in-person resource to support you, holding meetings with students as a group and office hours for individual support. You are responsible for connecting with the faculty member to seek support.
Health and Safety
You will secure Spain-specific health insurance through Innoinsure.
Benefits include:
- Full, comprehensive, up-front coverage with an accompanying app to make finding providers easy
- English-speaking liaisons available 24/7
- Over 43,000 doctors and 1,200 medical centers in-network in Spain
- Coverage for 20 mental health sessions with a psychiatrist per year
TalkNow mental health abroad: CWRU offers all students access to TalkNow, a mental health service of TimelyCare to support you. You must download the app while still in the United States in order to use this service.
Health and safety education: CWRU will provide summer webinars on health and safety that include in-country and CWRU resources, details of CWRU's insurance offerings, U.S. government resources, and case studies on dealing with emergencies. In addition, you will receive an emergency card with important numbers to call and instructions to follow in the event of an emergency.
Expectations
Pre-Departure
You and your parents/guardians will sign an agreement regarding academic expectations, advising, registration, transfer credit, course format, health and safety, and other program expectations.
You will be required to participate in a series of pre-departure orientation activities prior to leaving for Spain, a week-long orientation in Spain, and a mid-semester orientation. You will also meet regularly with the on-site CWRU faculty member.
Academic Expectations In Madrid
While participating in the CWRU in Madrid program, you are a concurrent student at two universities—Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and Case Western Reserve. UC3M is one of the top academic institutions in the world, and courses are rigorous. Similar to students starting their fall semester in Cleveland, CWRU in Madrid students are expected to prioritize their academics, studying a minimum of six hours per week for each class. Both CWRU and UC3M offer support to help you be academically successful.
You will take most of your courses at UC3M, taught by UC3M faculty. Because these are UC3M courses, you will follow UC3M course policies, including grading, adding and dropping courses, and withdrawing from classes. Courses are graded on a scale of 1-10 at UC3M. You must receive a grade of "5" out of "10" or higher for credit to transfer. UC3M grades will not appear on the CWRU transcript; therefore, transfer credit will not factor into your CWRU GPA.
Each student participating in the CWRU in Madrid program has a unique path to graduation for their intended majors. While every course you take will count toward degree requirements, students in certain majors could find themselves a semester out of sequence with their peers, specifically those studying STEM fields and pre-med. This could create a need for you to take summer classes through CWRU or off campus, though not always.
When you meet individually with your four-year advisor in the summer, you will work together to develop an individualized path to graduation. You should understand, before participating in the CWRU in Madrid program, that you will be on an alternate path to graduation from your peers.
First-Year Students Enrolling in Fall 2026
Visas
CWRU's Office of Education Abroad will provide more information and resources to get you started after you confirm your enrollment in the CWRU in Madrid program.
Housing
The Office of Education Abroad and UC3M have established group housing for CWRU in Madrid students at a brand new, high-end facility in Getafe. Housing will most likely be in double rooms and will include half board Monday through Friday and a small kitchenette. Light housekeeping services will be included.
Important Dates
| Event | Date | Additional Details |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival in Spain | August 29-30, 2026 | Welcome reception will be held on Sunday, August 30 |
| Orientation | August 31-September 4, 2026 | |
| Departure from Spain | December 14-18, 2026 | You may depart after your final exams conclude. |
| Spring Move-In Day in Cleveland | January 6, 2027 | Move-in will be followed by CWRU's Discover Days orientation programming. More details regarding spring move-in and orientation will be sent in the fall to your CWRU email address. |
Cost of the CWRU in Madrid Program
You will pay the same for the CWRU in Madrid program as you would for a semester at CWRU: tuition will be to CWRU, and the costs for room and board will be the same as any other first semester student would pay to CWRU. You are responsible for travel expenses.