~ What to Expect ~ Majors Offered ~ More Information ~

What You May Expect as a Student at the University of Valencia

I found that the most important thing I had to remember as a student at the University of Valencia was that it was not Ithaca College. Once I realized that it was a completely different ball game, and that I just had to relax and go with the flow, I managed a lot better as a 'Spanish' student.

Some major differences between University of Valencia and Ithaca College:

 
  • The University of Valencia is HUGE, with approximately 60,000 students. This means facultads (schools) are spread out all over the city, the classes are large, and you will often not know your peers and/or professors.
  • Since classes are so big, conversation, personal interaction, and project-based learning are less frequent. Also, professors rarely mandate attendance policies.
  • There is a lot less hand-holding at the University of Valencia. If students want to learn and pass their exams, they are expected to show up to class. My professors generally had the attitude that if you came, good. If not, it was your problem. This means that as a student, I had to have a lot more independence, motivation to learn and study on my own every night, and willpower to drag myself out of bed in the morning!
  • The grading system is much different at the University of Valencia. Instead of continual quizzes, projects, papers, etc., the majority of professors grade only on one final cumulative test or large project. This puts a lot of pressure and weight on this one test, and also means you have to be disciplined to study and work a little bit during the whole semester in order to be prepared for the final.
  

Celebrating Halloween with international students
  • Instead of the system of A's, B's, etc., or a 1-4 GPA, professors here grade on a system of 1-10. Zero is the worst, 5 is passing and 10 is the best possible. Students and professors here certainly would like to score 9's and 10's (which is very difficult to do), but are usually almost just as happy with a 5. Passing is the only important thing to most in the system. This was a huge difference for me.


With Barb, a Dutch friend, on a trip to the westernmost point of Spain

 

For contact information for each of these majors, see the U of V for IC Resources binder located in the
Office of International Programs.
Also, more academic information is available at the
University of Valencia web site.

A Sampling of Majors (careras) Offered:

  • Audio-visual Communication, Photography and Cinematography
  • Biochemistry
  • Biology
  • Business
  • Business and Tourism
  • Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
  • Dentistry
  • Economics
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Geography
  • History
  • Information Engineering
  • Labor Relations
  • Law
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Nursing
  • Optometry
  • Pedagogy
  • Pharmacy
  • Philology (Classic, French, Italian, Spanish, German, English, Catalan)
  • Philosophy
  • Physics
  • Physiotherapy
  • Psychology
  • Social Work
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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University of Valencia for Ithaca College Students, developed by Brin Tucker, Spring 2000

Last updated 6/15/04