1. School of Languages, Linguistics and Film The Year Abroad Iberian and Latin American Studies Meeting for 2 nd year students Wednesday 23 rd October 2013

2. Overview compulsory for all students of Portuguese and Hispanic Studies. minimum 6-7 months studying or working abroad Studying from introductory level: recommend full year abroad Studying Spanish and Portuguese: recommend spending time in the country where your weakest language is spoken. (Also possible to split your Year Abroad between two countries) Worth 120 credits and you will have to complete an assessment for Queen Mary whilst you are abroad (accounts for 12.5% of your degree)

3. Year Abroad options Study placement at a university under the European exchange programme in Spain or Portugal (ERASMUS) or independently Work placement: Teaching English as a foreign language assistant (British Council) * Not available in Brazil Work placement within Europe (ERASMUS) and beyond (Central and Latin America)

4. Study placements Study at our ERASMUS partner institutions. We have ERASMUS agreements with universities in Spain and Portugal. ERASMUS grants available to support your studies Open to ALL students, regardless of nationality or fee status. Numbers are limited on individual exchanges. Application is competitive.

5. ERASMUS Study placements in Spain (1) Universidad de Granada Universidad de Vigo Universidad Complutense de Madrid Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona Universidad de Salamanca Universidad de les Illes Balears Universidad Pablo de Olavide [Seville] Universidad Carlos III Madrid Universidad de Valencia Universidad de Malaga Universidad de Oviedo Universitat Jaume I Universidad de Murcia Universidad de Almería Universidad de Santiago de Compostela

6. ERASMUS Study placements in Spain (2) Students will be informed which placement they have been allocated by the end of the first semester. Students will be required to accept their placement by email by a given deadline. Failure to accept this placement by the given deadline may result in them losing their place. If you choose an Erasmus study placement as the back-up option you are not guaranteed to get one of their 3 preferred choices since students who choose Erasmus study placements as their 1 st choice are given priority. Students who choose an Erasmus study placement as their back-up option are guaranteed to get one, but the location will depend on places still available after having allocated placements as 1 st choice.

7. ERASMUS Study placements in Spain (3) Funding issues Students on Erasmus study placement(s) for a minimum of 24 weeks : will have to pay 15% of the full time QMUL tuition fee rate, i.e. £1350. will be able to take out tuition fee loans to cover these fees. will NOT have to pay any fees to their host institution(s). will be entitled to an ERASMUS grant since their study or work placement(s) is within the EU (including Switzerland). (in 2013/14, the Erasmus grant was 375 € /month)

8. ERASMUS Study placement in Portugal Universidade de Coimbra

9. Other study placements (non-ERASMUS) Partner universities in Latin America. Spanish Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia Partner universities in Latin America. Portuguese Pontífica Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC)

10. Academic exchange with Univ. of Guadalajara (Mexico) and Universidad de Los Andes Colombia) Competitive: two places available per institution; only those with an average of B for their first year will be considered. Finances: pay half tuition fees to Queen Mary, no other financial support available. QMPlus: EXCHANGE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF GUADALAJARA APPLICATION FORM QMPlus: EXCHANGE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF LOS ANDES APPLICATION FORM

11. Independent Study Placements (non-ERASMUS) This option is for those who: wish to study at any other Spanish-speaking university within the European Union that we do not have an ERASMUS agreement with OR wish to study at a university in Latin America. Students on study placements outside Erasmus for a minimum of 24 weeks* : will have to pay 15% of the full time QMUL tuition fee rate, i.e. £1350. will be able to take out tuition fee loans to cover these fees. will have to apply to the institution(s) independently and pay tuition fees to their host institution(s). won’t receive an Erasmus grant.

12. If you split your YA between France and Spain… We recommend that you spend your 1 st semester in France, and your 2 nd semester in Spain. It is essential that you check the academic calendar of the universities you’re interested in to avoid clashes with beginning of classes and final examinations

13. Language Assistantships (1) Teaching English as a foreign language assistant Teaching in primary or secondary schools or in universities Locations: Spain and Latin America Generous salary in addition to ERASMUS grant BC registration forms must be downloaded directly from their website: http://www.britishcouncil.org/english/language-assistant-programme http://www.britishcouncil.org/english/language-assistant-programme

14. Language Assistantships (2) Only those who hold a EU passport and have completed their secondary education in the UK are eligible. Students will also need to be native level speakers of English. Finances for BC in Latin America: Students on British Council placements outside Europe: will have to pay 20% of the full time QMUL tuition fee rate, i.e. £1800. will be able to take out tuition fee loans to cover these fees.

15. Language Assistantships (3) Students on British Council placements in Europe: will have to pay 15% of the full time QMUL tuition fee rate, i.e. £1350. will be able to take out tuition fee loans to cover these fees. -will NOT have to pay any fees to their host institution(s). -will be entitled to an ERASMUS grant since their study or work placement(s) is within the EU (including Switzerland) (in 2013/14, the Erasmus grant was 375 € /month)

16. Language Assistantships (4) Reference letters and Application Forms Students must get a reference from a member of academic staff They must ask this person as soon as possible! The reference form comes together with the downloaded application form ( http://www.britishcouncil.org/english/language-assistant- programme) http://www.britishcouncil.org/english/language-assistant- programme Please tell your advisers to hand in the completed reference to Laetitia Calabrese.

17. Work placements - criteria Office-based/classroom based opportunities only Must demonstrate exposure to the target language Any Spanish/Portuguese-speaking country Needs to be approved by the Year Abroad Committee: work placement details form, job description and confirmation from the employer to be submitted by Friday 16 th May 2014 at the latest Once approved – complete training agreement

18. Portuguese-speaking work placements In Portugal, the School has received placement offers from employers such as: –Companhia Carris de Ferro de Lisboa –British-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce –Catholic University of Portugal – Porto

19. Spanish-speaking work placements Accounts/ Logistics internships with Bosch in Madrid Marketing Assistant with Hello! magazine in Madrid Translation internships with 1 Global Translators (Barcelona) Journalism internship with Argentina Independent (Buenos Aires) Language Assistants with charities/NGOS in Latin America (VolunTeachPeru, LAFF, Put Them First etc)

20. Work placements - Back up plan You are responsible for sourcing your own placement, which will have to be approved by the Year Abroad Committee. You will need to provide a back up plan (e.g. an Erasmus study placement) in case you don't manage to secure a placement by the deadline or if your placement falls through You need to fill in and return a FORM indicating whether you intend to find a work placement and in which sectors of activity. This is an indication of intent to work not a final arrangement!

21. Application Forms All the forms will be available to download on QMplus from Thursday, 24 th October. There will be a QMPlus submission page to upload your forms by 20 th November.

22. Fees and funding – International students (1) Overseas students on Erasmus study and/or work placement(s) (incl. British Council**) for a minimum of 24 weeks* : will have to pay 50% of the full time QMUL tuition fee rate, i.e. £6375. will NOT have to pay any fees to their host institution(s). will be entitled to an ERASMUS grant since their study or work placement(s) is within the EU (including Switzerland). (in 2013/14, the Erasmus grant was 375 € /month) * This can include split placements although each placement MUST be at least 3 months long. ** There are certain eligibility criteria to be able to work as an English language assistant through the British Council

23. Fees and funding – International students (2) Overseas students on study placements outside Erasmus for a minimum of 24 weeks : will have to pay 50% of the full time QMUL tuition fee rate, i.e. £6375. will have to pay tuition fees to their host institution(s). Overseas students on work placements (incl. British council) outside Erasmus for a minimum of 24 weeks will have to pay 50% of the full time QMUL tuition fee rate, i.e. £6375.

24. YA Deadlines All forms are available on the Year Abroad 2013-14 website First stage: all students need to submit their first and back-up options by Wednesday 20 th November to the Main Office Arts 1.08 ERASMUS study placements: YA officer will inform all students by e- mail by 13th December 2013 with confirmation of placement. Students need to confirm their acceptance of ERASMUS study placements by 8 th January 2014. ERASMUS study placement students will be informed of the outcome of their applications on Friday 13 th December (except British Council applications which are externally administered).

25. YA Deadlines  students wanting to do a BC assistantship need to ask their advisors for references and give them plenty of time to do so (at least a week).  reference letters must be sent by advisors directly to the YA officer by 20th November at the very latest (Laetitia Laetitia Calabrese: l.calabrese@qmul.ac.uk). l.calabrese@qmul.ac.uk  Second stage: Semester 2. FOR ALL STUDENTS: You should begin your research for the YA option NOW!

26. Santander Grants The SLLF has been granted 10 scholarships of £1,000 each, to be allocated as follows: 1) 6 scholarships to the best students of Spanish 2) 1 scholarship to the best student of Portuguese 3) 2 to the best students of German 4) 1 to a student of French (Belgium) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS Completed application forms should be submitted by e-mailing the YA coordinators. APPLICATION PERIOD: 21 st to 28 th of July 2014 Eligibility criteria on QMPlus

27. Country-specific CV and interview workshops Register for workshops by emailing Birgitta (b.y.hall@qmul.ac.uk) stating which country workshop you’re interested in.b.y.hall@qmul.ac.uk CV and job hunting Going for interviews FrenchWed 15 January Wed 29 th January SpanishWed 15 th January Wed 22 nd January Portuguesetbc

28. Year Abroad contacts Hispanic Studies – Dr Mar Encinas Portuguese – Dr Patricia Sequeira Bras German – Dr Martina Deny French – Dr Elsa Petit Work placements (not British Council) – Mrs Birgitta Hall ERASMUS placements – Wiebke Leugers

29. Decision time! Talk to final year students about their experiences Contact students currently on their Year Abroad by going on QMUL Facebook group: ‘Help! I’m on my Year Abroad’ Research your placement options by looking at thirdyearabroad.com If you’re interested in studying abroad, visit our partner institutions’ websites