As a starting point I want to comment the reasons that motivate me to be an Erasmus student, I suppose much of us share the same motivations although we come from different countries:
- Knowing different countries, styles of life, traditions...
- Improving our level of English.
- Making friends from different places around the world.
- Adding an important point to our curriculum vitae.
- Having the chance to study innovative subjects related to my career that don't exist in my home institution.
AN INTRODUCTION TO MALAGA
A city with a rich historic and cultural tradition, Malaga was founded by the Phoenicians around 800 B.C. and later colonised by Iberians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Christians. Its privileged position on the shores of the Mediterranean, its mild climate and the friendliness of its inhabitants have all meant that the capital of the Costa del Sol has, throughout its history, sustained excellent trade and cultural relations all over the world. Nowadays, Malaga is a modern, cosmopolitan and welcoming city with over 600,000 inhabitants, which has successfully developed its commercial, industrial and tourist sectors.
THE UNIVERSITY
In its 35 years of existence the University of Malaga has taken on a major role as both principal catalyst of the cultural life of the city and fundamental platform for future developments in the fields of technology and research.
The University of Malaga constitutes one of the three vertices of the so-called “productive triangle” of the city, together with the airport and the PTA or Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía (Andalusian Science and Technology Park). The latter has close ties with the University due to the constant flow of ideas, highly qualified professionals and advanced technologies.
At present the University of Malaga has two campuses, El Ejido and Teatinos, in addition to several other buildings located in different parts of the city.
The ultimate objective of the policy of the university regarding infrastructure is to eventually have all university centres and services located on the Teatinos campus.
PROGRAMMES FOR ERASMUS STUDENTS
The University of Malaga has already introduced the ECTS into all its faculties and schools. With this system 60 credits represent one year of study (in terms of workload); normally 30 credits are awarded every six months (a semester) and 20 credits every term (a trimester).
- Grading system
The grading system used by Spanish universities is based on specific attainment levels, rather than on a numerical scale. It should be noted that the grade Matrícula de Honor is rarely given.
Spanish System | ECTS Grading Scale |
Matrícula de Honor (MH) | Excellent |
Sobresaliente (SOB) | Very Good |
Notable (NOT) | Good |
Notable (NOT) | Satisfactory |
Aprobado (APR) | Sufficient |
Suspenso / No presentado (SUS) / (N.P.) | Fail |
- Spanish credit system
The Spanish Credit System only measures different teaching loads using temporal criteria. That is to say, one Spanish credit is equivalent to 10 teaching hours, regardless of their practical or theoretical nature. As a Spanish semester has 15 weeks, an UMA six-credit module (60 hours) will have four allocated hours per week.
DEGREE COURSES
These are the degree courses in the University of Málaga:
Faculties of Sciences (Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology, Chemical Engineering); Educational Sciences (Pedagogy, Psycho pedagogy, Hearing & Language Education, Special Education, Physical Education, Pre-school, Musical Education, Primary School, Foreign Language); Journalism, Audio-visual Communication; Economics and Business Studies (Administration & Business Management, Economics, Management & Public Administration, Actuarial & Financial Sciences); Law, Humanities (English, Spanish & Classical Philology, History, History of Art, Geography, Philosophy, Translation and Interpreting -English, French, German, Italian, Arabic and Greek); Medicine, Psychology, Higher Technical Schools of Industrial Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Informatics and Computer Science, School of Tourism, Architecture, Nursing, and Labour Relations.
For more detailed information about the university’s different degree courses, consult the UMA website: http://www.uma.es
ACCOMMODATION
Universidad de Málaga doesn’t book accommodation for students. Nevertheless you can consult a broad selection of accommodation in Málaga through our “Accommodation Office” in the following link, where you will find information about hostel, residence halls and flats in Málaga.
http://www.uma.es/ficha.php?id=158
Students who wish to share a flat will have to find provisional accommodation for few days, particularly in February due to the affluence of students. To this end the city’s pensions and hostels are a cheap and safe option.
TRAVEL EXPENSES
To cover all eventualities it is a good idea to travel with about 30 € in cash. A taxi from the airport into town costs 12 € and a normal meal around 9 €.
Students who wish to take a bus into town should obtain some small change at the airport as the drivers will not accept anything larger than a 5 € .
The bus from the airport into town costs 1 € and the train approximately 1.15-1.25 €.
BANKING
In Malaga, as in many other cities, it is not a good idea to keep large amounts of cash on one’s person or at home. Therefore, students are advised to open a bank account on arrival.
Banks are generally open from 9:00 am to 14:00 pm weekdays. On Saturday, some of them open only from October to April.
In addition, many banks have 24-hour automatic teller machines that give you access to most bank services.
HEALTH INSURANCE
European Students only need the European Insurance Card. Students may also wish to take out additional insurance to cover liability and personal belongings during their stay in Malaga. The University of Malaga will not be held responsible for the loss of personal belongings.
VACCINATIONS AND PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES
No special vaccinations are required or recommended before travelling to Spain. Students following a course of treatment should bring enough prescription drugs with them to last them their stay.
WEATHER/CLOTHING
Malaga is a Mediterranean city with a very mild climate. Winter temperatures very rarely drop below 10ºC and in autumn and spring the average temperature is about 20ºC, although evenings can be a lot cooler. Average rainfall for the region is normally quite low, nevertheless it can rain torrentially during the autumn and spring months.
SHOPPING HOURS
Normal opening hours: 9.30-13.30 and 17.00-20.30.
There are several Shopping Centres open from 10.00 to 22.00, like, for instance, El Corte Inglés (up market department store), Centro Larios and Centro Rosaleda.
Although shops are usually closed on Sundays, there are a number of small grocer’s and delicatessens to be found in the city centre.
CHEMISTS
Most chemist’s open from 9.30-13.30 and 17.00-20.30. Nevertheless, some establishments open from 10.00 to 22.00 and others 24 hours a day. When in doubt, consult the local newspaper or the list displayed in all establishments.
WEEKEND FUN
Always a must when travelling abroad, Malaga has an exciting and varied nightlife. When the city centre’s shops close its numerous bars offer foreigners the chance to get to know the locals.
ARRIVAL IN MALAGA
For people arriving at the international airport “Pablo Ruiz Picasso”, there are three ways was travelling into town:
• A taxi costs between 12 €, depending on the destination, and takes roughly about 15 minutes to reach the city. The rank is located directly outside the arrivals terminal.
• There is a bus into town every 30 minutes, and a ticket costs 1 €. The stop is located directly outside the arrivals terminal.
• Trains leave the station connected by a pedestrian walkway to the departure terminal on the second floor every 15 minutes, and a ticket costs between 1.15-1.25 € (Sundays).
FREE SPANISH COURSE
There is a free Spanish Language Course for all Erasmus students, which is given at the “CURSO DE ESPAÑOL PARA EXTRANJEROS” language school located at the following address:
Avenida de Andalucía, 24
E-29080 Malaga
Telephone: +34 952 278211
Fax: +34 952 279712
E-mail: cursoext@uma.es
LIBRARIES
To use the university libraries Erasmus students must present the UMA card.
General Library
The University of Malaga has a General Library located on the Teatinos campus, and other smaller libraries located in different schools and faculties of the University. The fundamental objective of all these libraries is to ensure that the university community has access to scientific information contained in published material in order to meet study, research and teaching needs. General library services available to the academic community include reading rooms, with seating room for 8,000 persons, direct access to books and periodicals, check out system, bulletins (Boletín de Sumarios) summarizing the contents of the latest issues or volumes available, the Information and Reference Service (Servicio de Información y Referencia), providing access to dictionaries, guides, catalogues, etc., located in the general library via data bases, interlibrary loans and photographic documentation (Préstamo Interbibliotecario y Fotodocumentación); and lastly, user training programmes. The library's opening hours are from 8.30 a.m. to 20.45 p.m., Monday to Friday.
SPORTS
University Sports Centre
The University of Malaga offers a wide range of interesting sports activities for sports enthusiast of all levels. To take part in such activities or to use the university’s sports facilities (or those belonging to those clubs that have signed agreements with the university), apart from being enrolled at the university, students only have to obtain a pass from the Sports Vice-rectorate.
Furthermore, teams from the university are now taking part in federated competitions, national university leagues and the University Games.
It is located on the Teatinos campus and consists of a series of modern sports facilities.
The installations cover an area of more than 76,000 square meters, at the centre of which is the multiple sports area, where different state-of-the-art sport units and equipment are located. The building also includes a swimming pool and a sports track, along with squash courts, bodybuilding room, gymnasium, dressing rooms and offices.
CULTURE
Cultural activities
The activities organised by the Culture and Sports Vice-rectorate in the last few years have transformed the University of Malaga into a cultural centre of great importance at both a local and national level. Besides sponsoring different citizens' and university projects, it is geared towards the plastic arts (with numerous exhibitions inside and outside the university and a regular programme at the University Art Gallery located in the Plaza de la Merced), cinema (weekly programmes, “Fantastic Film Festival,” “Summer Cinema,” among others) and drama (regular theatre courses, work shops, etc., activities which have led to the establishment of the Andalusian Theatre Centre in Malaga), music (the Musicology Chair R. Mitjana and the Flamenco Chair, the Contemporary Music Workshop, the Jazz Lecture Room, the University Choral Society, alternative music cycles including singer/songwriters, youth jazz, church organ concerts, historical and religious polyphony, etc.), and literature (the Creative Literature Workshop, Literature for Children, etc.).
USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT MALAGA UNIVERSITY AND THE CITY
- UMA
Málaga University: www.uma.es
Academic calendar: www.infouma.uma.es/calendario/calendario.php
Campus map:
www.uma.es/menu.php?idm=3&id=35&f=2&PHPSESSID=0b7fe4794979b522ed53f6b7e004f075
Faculties and Schools:
www.uma.es/menu.php?clase=t&idm=79&id=30&tipo=t&HPSESSID=350bd2b753c1ae9ecf2c85527765fd61
University Services:
www.uma.es/menu.php?clase=i&idm=12&id=8&tipo=s&PHPSESSID=0b7fe4794979b522ed53f6b7e004f075
Culture: externos.uma.es/cultura/index.htm
Sport: www.uma.es/ficha.php?id=155
Programas de Movilidad:
www.uma.es/ficha.php?id=3966&PHPSESSID=0b7fe4794979b522ed53f6b7e004f075
- MALAGA
Málaga City Council: www.ayto-malaga.es
Culture: www.ayto-malaga.es/A_cultura/default.html
A to Z: callejero.lanetro.com/apps/lanetro/index.asp and www.ayto-malaga.es/util_calle.html
General information: www.malagaturismo.com and www.webmalaga.com
Consulates: : www.webmalaga.com/organismos/consulados/
Buses: www.emtsam.es
Airport: www.aena.es
Train: www.renfe.es
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