Salamanca, Spain

Salamanca, Spain

The lively, sandstone streets of Salamanca are bustling with the students of Spain’s oldest university, and we look forward to being a part of the university’s approaching 800th anniversary. Famous for its beautiful Plaza Mayor, Salamanca is filled with awe-inspiring Renaissance architecture. The striking, intricate details of the two cathedrals and the facades of the university reflect Salamanca’s historical importance. The Old City here is one of UNESCO’s 43 “World Heritage” sites in Spain.

The yellowish red sandstones that are the building blocks of Salamanca, chosen as the dominant material due to its close proximity and availability, reflect any light lucky enough to fall upon it, imparting a soft golden glow to the city. When the sun disappears, the city lights up brilliantly against the backdrop of a black night sky.

A walk through the streets reveals a more contemporary side of Salamanca that is equally noteworthy. There is an exciting, contagious energy to Salamanca. It is easy to get swept up in the day-to-day life of its students, whether they are lounging on the grassy lawn in front of the “new” cathedral, built in the 16th century, or enjoying the romantic style of the street musicians. The diverse and lively cafes, bars, and restaurants are typical of a European university town.

Program Description

This month-long course in digital magazine journalism will introduce you to multi-platform storytelling. As part of a special Spanish issue of the English-language Pundit magazine, students will create text, audio, video and photographic feature stories. You will seek out stories in Salamanca, and introduce this region to the rest of the world in all its glory. The magazine will reflect your growing skills as a mobile journalist, featuring content that will be accessible through smart phone technologies.

In addition, students will study basic Spanish language and learn about the culture and history of Salamanca. You will learn to work with an interpreter and navigate a foreign culture, getting a taste of what it’s like to be a foreign correspondent in the 21st century.

Academic Credit

Course Syllabus

- Interactive Magazine Syllabus

Travel Opportunities

Around Salamanca

Students will have three-day weekends (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays) free to explore the city, or to travel within Spain. Madrid, Seville, Malaga, Pamplona, and much of Portugal are accessible by bus and train; regional buses from Salamanca serve many charming, small towns in the region. Those who want to tour extensively should plan travel time before or after the program.

Students

Salamanca Students

The program is open to English-speaking college students and recent graduates from any school. Students from many universities — including Iowa State University, James Madison University, Louisiana State University and Ryerson University — have participated in past ieiMedia programs. We’ve also had students from Japan, the United Kingdom, Puerto Rico, Thailand and Trinidad.

Most of our students are journalism or communications majors but those majoring in other subjects are welcome as well. For non-journalism/communication majors, experience working for a college or professional publication is helpful, but is not necessary. The program is also open to graduate students as a supervised independent project that would qualify for graduate credit at your school, or to offer this experience as a graduate internship.

Faculty

On an Excursion

Our faculty come from leading universities and news organizations. In 2012 our faculty will include:

Program Director

Doug Cumming, Ph.D. is an associate professor of journalism at Washington & Lee University with 26 years experience at metro newspapers and magazines. Since getting a Ph.D. at UNC-Chapel Hill in mass communications, he has taught multimedia reporting and feature writing at Loyola University-New Orleans and at W&L in Virginia. Earlier, he worked at the newspapers in Raleigh, Providence and Atlanta, was editor of the newspaper’s Sunday Magazine in Providence and helped launch Southpoint monthly magazine in Atlanta. He won a George Polk Award and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard. His book The Southern Press came out in 2009, and more recently, he edited The Lexington Letters, a book featuring letters-to-the-editor from 200 years of weekly papers in a small town in Virginia. He taught reporting in Urbino in 2011 and will do so again in 2012. He will also be the director for the Salamanca program in 2012. Read professor Cumming’s 2011 Urbino blog at: http://docurbino.wordpress.com

Faculty

Sherine Mansour, M.A.C is a former journalist with over 20 years experience as a reporter, host, producer and writer. She holds a Masters degree in Journalism and Communications from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario. She has received awards for her reporting, including an RTNDA award for her story on the one-year anniversary of the massacre at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, Canada. Sherine is also an experienced online journalist and has focused her efforts on web news environments and enhanced content creation for print publications. Now a journalism educator, Sherine is the head of the Journalism New-Media post-graduate at Sheridan College in Oakville, Canada. She teaches courses in TV reporting and hosting, producing, writing and interactive storytelling. She is the Editor of Pundit magazine, Sheridan’s news and current affairs publication.

Cindy Burgess, M.A A is a Toronto-based journalist with over 20 years of experience in all aspects of the news broadcasting industry – both in front of and behind the camera. She holds a Masters Degree in Journalism and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Western Ontario. Cindy’s innate sense of curiosity and passion for storytelling has served her well in markets across Canada and in the United States. She recently completed six months of freelance work throughout Central America, where her coverage included the constitutional crisis and subsequent military coup in Honduras in July 2009. Cindy teaches journalism courses at Sheridan College and Ryerson University in Canada. Cindy continues to work as a freelance journalist both at home and abroad and is a frequent contributor to the Toronto Star’s travel section.

John Zibluk, Ph.D., is professor of journalism at Arkansas State University, where he is the primary teacher in the state’s only photojournalism degree program. His professional journalism work has appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education, News Photographer magazine, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Memphis Commercial Appeal, and Rolling Stone. He is a former National Geographic magazine faculty fellow, and a former vice president of the National Press Photographers Association. He won the NPPA’s Garland educator of the year award in 2005, and the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association’s Lemke educator award in 2009. In 2011, he led a group of Arkansas State University students to India, where he produced a multi media blog at: http://www.asuindia.blogspot.com. A native of Derby, Connecticut, he worked for 10 years as a newspaper writer, photographer and editor in southern New England. He earned his bachelors and masters in political science and urban studies at Southern Connecticut State University, and his Ph.D. in mass communications from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He lives in Jonesboro Arkansas, with his wife, Sara E. McNeil, director of communications at Arkansas State, and their daughter, Kate, 12, who is also a budding journalist.

Accommodations

Mester School Building

Our Salamanca residences, classrooms and labs are all conveniently located in the Mester School building, and meals will be served in the restaurant next door. Students will stay in newly remodeled double rooms with shared bathrooms on each floor. All rooms are equipped with a television and wireless internet and are cleaned regularly. It is worth noting that, as compared to most accommodations offered to students throughout Europe, these are above and beyond expectation.

Equipment

Students are expected to bring a laptop computer and digital still camera. Digital high-definition video cameras, microphones (handheld, lavalier and wireless) and tripods are provided. Some digital still cameras will be also provided for those who need them.

Program Cost

The cost is $4,995 plus airfare. The price includes tuition (3 credits), housing and most meals, instruction, basic travel insurance, welcome and goodbye dinners and special programs, activities and cultural events. Transfer from and to the airport in Madrid is also provided.

Financial Aid

Students studying abroad for the summer term have limited financial aid options. Check with your school’s financial aid office to find out if assistance is available. More information on financial aid is available here.

Application Process

Students must fill out the online application and submit an email contact for a professor or employer and college transcripts, along with a $500 deposit. Deposits will be refunded only if a student is not accepted into the program.

More Information

For more information, fill out our contact form.