UA Madrid

Since the invention of the first camera, photography has evolved to become an indispensable tool in our daily lives. Every day we send photos to our friends and family, document funny things we see or happen to us, landscapes, selfies in places we visit to record that we were there. We finally post these images on social media and we generate a photographic dialogue with our audience. However, in this eagerness to photograph everything, most of the time we forget our own point of view and we let ourselves be carried away by the current photographic canons and the visual trends of the moment that advertising, social networks, TV, etc. repeatedly provide us with. Also, it’s important to learn how to analyze the high amount of images that we consume every day. With this course we will try to redirect our gaze towards our own point of view, original and without external influences in order to transmit our own narrative through photography. Also, we will examine how images enter and circulate in the public sphere of news and discussion, analyze how images of current events are made, and study the meanings these images create and the purposes they serve. In addition to learning the basic principles of photography and how to use a camera, we will also discover Madrid through the different photographic activities that we will carry out in its streets. We will also discover photographers who will serve as a reference to understand the different photographic styles and the different ways of storytelling. We will visit museums, photography galleries and photography festivals that will help us to consolidate our critical sense. All these activities will provide us with the necessary tools to work on a personal photographic project of each student's choice, which will be presented at the end of the course.

The aim of this course is to make students familiar with the most relevant and internationally outstanding Spanish and European artists within the Prado Museum Permanent Collections. The course will help students to fully understand and assimilate art history fundamental concepts and movements such as Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassicism, with a specific concentration on Spanish masters such as El Greco, Velázquez, and Goya. Simultaneously, it will help students confront Spain’s and Europe most controversial history: from the dark Medieval Ages to the beginning of the 19th Century.

This course examines principles of social responsibility, ethics, law, and stakeholder theory as they apply to organizations domestically and abroad. Coverage includes business ethics; individual versus societal interests; labor and employment issues; consumer protection; discrimination and diversity; the natural environment; politics, public policy, and government regulation of business. Particular attention is given to developing moral reasoning skills.

This course is an introduction to the main areas of corporate finance. Its focus is on developing an understanding of the tools and methodologies available to the financial
manager for decision-making in capital budgeting, working capital management, capital structure and profit planning and control.

This course is designed to introduce students to concepts and fundamentals of international management. The course will consider aspects of management within an international and culturally complex environment, while considering the business influences within the global workplace. Students with or without prior international management knowledge will benefit from the course.

This course provides an introduction to Macroeconomics. In Macroeconomics an entire national economy performs in a world of constrained choice is studied. This course provides an overview of the following macroeconomic issues: the determination of output, employment, unemployment, interest rates, and inflation. Monetary and fiscal policies are discussed, as are public debt and international economic issues. This course also introduces basic models of macroeconomics and illustrates principles with the experience of the United States and other economies. The insights of Keynesian and classical theories will be integrated. During the course a variety of simple models will be presented. As macroeconomics is an empirical discipline the course will cover case studies and statistical data interpretation. Special attention will be given to current European developments. By the conclusion of this course, students will be able to understand newspaper and magazine articles on current macroeconomic issues and have an understanding of the tradeoffs inherent in macroeconomic policy-making.

The objective of the course is to provide an understanding of how fundamental economic theory can be applied to decision making within the firm. Elements of microeconomic theory that support efficient business decisions will be stressed. This course presents a curated set of key topics from microeconomic theory and applies them to businesses and other organizations. These topics include decision-making under uncertainty, economic costs, pricing, and the basics of strategic interactions between competitors. The course should enhance your understanding of how firms maximize profits and markets operate as well as develop your capability in making economic predictions.

This course is an introduction to the concepts, principles, problems, and practices of operations management. Operations Management is one of the key functional areas in any organization or company that deals with the production of goods and services. This course is concerned with the tasks, issues and decisions of those operations managers who have made the services and products on which we all depend. Emphasis is on managerial processes for effective operations in both goods-producing and service- rendering organization. Topics include operations strategy, process design, capacity planning, facilities location and design, forecasting, production scheduling, inventory control, quality assurance, and project management. The topics are integrated using a systems model of the operations of an organization.

This course focuses on the theory and application in the management of organizational behavior. It introduces students to key concepts and models of human behavior in organization and provides information about the essential and practical skills needed to be an effective manager and leader. Topics addressed include self-awareness, learning, motivation, stress, group dynamics, intergroup behavior, ethics, conflict, power, change, leadership, and cultural implications. Behavioral science concepts are applied through self-assessment, case studies, videos, and experiential exercises.

Introduction of managerial accounting information for planning, controlling, and making decisions within a firm. Current changes to the business environment and their impact on accounting is also presented.

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the important issues undertaken by marketers. Students will learn the language of marketing and the basic elements of a
marketing analysis. Students will be able to identify, define, and examine the process of developing the components of the marketing mix, and explain how marketing managers
use these components to gain competitive advantage within a socially responsible and ethical environment. Pre-requisites: Introductory Microeconomics & Introduction to
Calculus.

The main objectives of this course are to study the structure and characteristics of the international news media system, understand mass media’s role and influence in creating the world’s public opinion, and to review the evolution of mass media from the invention of the printing press to the arrival of internet. Students will also study the principal international news media systems as well as the future of mass media in our globalized society.

The main differences the course focuses on are nationality, race, class, gender and religion. Students will study and observe how different identities under those categories affect people’s perceptions of themselves as individuals, themselves within their groups, themselves within other groups, and how those perceptions affect the way they communicate and interpret messages. In response to the changes in the way we communicate due to communication, the course will also focus on the impact of technology on intercultural communication as well as the ways that different cultures utilize the various forms of social media platforms. 

This course examines the role media play in the progression and public perceptions of conflict. Relevant topics will include media and military intervention, portrayals of protest movements, and news and entertainment coverage of crime, rumors, domestic politics, violence, and ethnicity.

This course introduces object-oriented programming using the C++ programming language. Students will learn how to program in C++. Special importance will be assigned to the object-oriented nature of C++ and its use of polymorphism. Hands-on labs, exercises, and assignments will be implemented on real-life cases, this enables students to become highly skilled C++ application developers.

This course provides an overview of network security and related topics. General threat classifications are discussed as they relate to the CIA triad: eavesdropping (confidentiality), man-in-the-middle (integrity), and denial-of-service (availability). We will discuss vulnerabilities as they manifest in standard TCP/IP network protocols and real-world attack incidents and implementations are used to tie concept to reality. Defensive technologies and techniques, including authentication/authorization, access control, segmentation, log/traffic monitoring, reputation-based security, and secure protocol (SSH, TLS, DNSSEC) usage are discussed and demonstrated.

Basic concepts in database systems, including data manipulation language and data definition language. The relational model and its implementation will be covered in
depth together with an overview of SQL.

This course provides advanced Computer Science students with a foundational grounding in the development, design, and use of Operating Systems (OS) in general. While OS have significantly evolved over the past few decades, the foundational components are still an important part of understanding and modeling OS operations. In addition to understanding OS software specifically, students are engaged with non-trivial and large-scale programming challenges, which include creating a software product that simulates a working OS.

Students will have the opportunity to learn a variety of Latin-based dances as well as the historical context of each. Latin dances will include Tango, Cha Cha, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, as well as others.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the specialized area of Artificial Intelligence. It is therefore suitable for students interested in pursuing studies or industrial work in intelligent or self-adapting/learning systems, or those wishing to gain a broad understanding of the state of the art and programming approaches used in this rapidly growing area.

Sinusoidal steady-state analysis, sinusoidal steady-state power calculation, balanced 3- phase systems. Mutual inductance and transformers, series and parallel resonance. Applications of Laplace and Fourier transforms to circuit analysis.

Analysis of forces acting on particles and rigid bodies in static equilibrium; equivalent systems of forces; friction; centroids and moments of inertia; introduction to energy methods. (Students should have completed introductory mechanics and calculus II prior to enrolling in this course.)

This course is a combination of lecture and professional tasting to analyze the quality levels, marketing of wine, import and export, sales positioning, and pricing structures. Students will learn vineyard and winemaking techniques utilized to achieve certain styles of wine. Course includes Field Studies to wineries and vineyards. Extra fee required.

This course starts with a view of the Spanish history, and then examines the different cultures within Spain: Castilian, Catalan, Basque and Galician; focusing mainly on language, nationality, and political implications. The rest of the course will travel throughout the various aspects of the Spanish Civilization, understanding civilization as lifestyle and society (family, immigration, youth, economic crisis, politics, etc.), and also the various artistic ways of expression (painting, architecture, literature, music and cinema). By using concepts from these various subjects, students will study how Spain changed from being a polarized country to an allegedly reference in the West.

This experience is designed to immerse students in a multicultural professional space. A special effort is placed on helping students develop the skills required to enter the professional world and navigate cross-cultural entrepreneurial environments. This hands-on experience is complemented by an academic component, which guides students through the experience and helps them strategically reflect on challenges, accomplishments, and personal and professional development. Students are intentionally placed based on interests and skillsets with the aim to build their professional network through industry-specific training. Students will need at least an intermediate level of Spanish to participate in an internship; it is recommended that students take 12 credits total, including the three-credit internship.

This course serves as an introduction to the formal linguistic analysis of the Spanish language. It surveys key areas of the field of Spanish Linguistics, including Phonology and Phonetics, Morphology, and Syntax. Additional topics (Historical Linguistics, Semantics, Psycholinguistics, Dialectology, Bilingualism, etc.) in the context of the Spanish language may also be covered.

This course introduces key concepts in probability and statistics with engineering applications. Emphasis is placed on modeling variation in observations, characterizing its distribution, and making inferences with regards to quality assurance and control. Fitting multivariate models, experimental design and hypothesis testing are all critical skills developed in the course.

A systematic study of the theory of matrices, vector spaces, and linear transformations. Topics include systems of linear equations, determinants, linear independence, bases, dimension, rank, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors. Additional topics may include inner products, orthonormal bases, projections, and quadratic forms. Applications may include geometry, adjacency matrices, calculus, difference equations, least squares, and Markov chains.

Ordinary differential equations (ODE's) and systems of ODE's. Existence, uniqueness and stability of solutions; first and second order ODE's; applications; the Laplace transform; numerical methods; systems of ODE's; solutions of linear equations with constant coefficients; qualitative results.

From the perspective of selected topical issues of politics and society, students will be encouraged to develop an enhanced critical awareness of how major political and social thinkers in the past have treated the relationship between individual and society. The course will thus include the study of prominent texts in moral and political philosophy (from Plato and Aristotle to authors of the twentieth century), but it will also aim directly to improve students’ analytical skills for understanding conflicts that commonly arise in the practice of citizenship, while also helping them to develop a finer appreciation the significance of social change and of cultural diversity, in an emergent global society.

The object of this course is to analyze the principal institutions, actors and issues in contemporary Spanish government and politics. The course has four broad themes: first, the collapse of the Francoist dictatorship and its replacement by a constitutional parliamentary democracy; second, the key actors and institutions in Spanish government under democracy, third, the evolution of politics and policies in Spain over the last three decades, and finally, the nature of the country’s current economic and political crisis.

The purpose of this course is to give the student an opportunity to explore current issues in understanding and treating abnormal behavior. The course will provide an initial overview of history, perspectives, assessment (DSM), diagnosis and treatment, followed by an in-depth look at several disorders from a combined biological, developmental and cultural approach. The focus will be to achieve an understanding of the various ways that human behavior can be compromised and the various factors that affect our ability to adapt.

The course begins with brief overviews of the structure of the central nervous system, basic principles of nervous conduction and synaptic transmission, neurotransmitter systems, and basic techniques used in biological psychology research. We will then review current knowledge on the biological substrates of a range of behaviors and mental processes, including perception, memory, emotion, and sleep. The course will also examine the biological basis of a variety of neuropsychological disorders and forms of mental illness, including addiction, depression, and anxiety. Finally, the course will take advantage of its location in Madrid to understand biological psychology within a Spanish cultural and scientific context.

This course offers an understanding of how culture influences our behavior from a cultural psychology perspective. Through the lenses of cultural psychology, we consider how embedded culture is in our lives, how vital a cultural perspective is in understanding the lives of others and the importance of a cultural lens in academic psychology. It is a unique opportunity for you to combine academic learning with personal development: understand the influence of your culture on your behavior, your intercultural interactions and your cultural adjustment during your study abroad period and eventually your personal and professional life on returning home. Being in a new cultural context while learning about cultural psychology promotes self-awareness and learning and brings many concepts to life. Development of cultural awareness, sensitivity and competence is facilitated.

Recent advances in psychological, medical, and physiological research have led to a new way of thinking about health and illness and understanding that our health is not only the product of biological processes but also of psychological, behavioral and social processes. Health psychology is a relatively young field of study that examines the relationship between psychology and health. The course highlights differences between health psychology and the biomedical model and examines the kinds of questions asked by health psychologists like: How our personality may affect our health? What does stress do to our health? What psychological and social factors cause people to behave in unhealthy ways? What can psychologists do to help cure illness? Are there ethnic and gender variations in health? Does it matter how your doctor talks to you?

This course provides a broad introduction to the nervous system with an emphasis on the human nervous system. The course will introduce the structure and function of neurons, the main anatomical and functional units of the nervous system, and of the main functional systems. The nervous system complexity stems not only from a great number of neurons, but also from an enormous number of connections between them, which are organized into functional systems. Functional systems will be approached through an understanding of the anatomical circuitry. The fundamental concepts of neural communication will be introduced early in the course and re-examined relative to specific functional systems towards the end of the course. Although the course is centered on the normal nervous system, common disorders and pathologies will be introduced for each main topic.

This course reviews the history and key concepts of positive psychology and the contributions this new field has made to several traditional research areas in psychology. Areas of controversy (e.g., what is happiness, how should we measure it, what determines it, can and should we deliberately increase it) will be critically examined, with consideration given to conflicting viewpoints and their respective empirical support. Throughout the course we will also engage in experiential learning and practical exercises to increase well-being, which will inform our theoretical and empirical understanding of important questions in positive psychology.

Application of psychological theory/research to recruitment, personnel selection, training/development, job design, work group design, work motivation, leadership, performance assessment, and job satisfaction measurement. Industrial/organizational psychology is the application of the scientific study of human behavior and thinking to
work organizations. I/O psychology is both an academic discipline and a professional discipline; thus, in this class we focus on the research and the application of research
findings to practical problems in the workplace. I/O psychologists are concerned with the recruitment, selection, training, motivation, and job performance of individuals at
work. They are also involved in issues such as teamwork, leadership, and job attitudes.

Learn how the human body turns different physical stimuli into neural impulses (sensation), and how the brain receives and interprets these impulses (perception). The Focus will be on commonalities between senses as a guide to understanding how the brain interprets data about the external world.

This course offers a critical assessment of the contemporary relevance and plausibility of belief in God, against the background of an historical review of attempts to propose its philosophical basis and justification. Students will be invited to critically reflect on such perennial questions as: What is evil? Does God exist? What is the good life? Why do we have religion? What is the relationship between religion and science? Particular attention will be paid to situating the human spiritual experience within the philosophical discourse of modernity, assessing religious faith within the context of major political, social, and intellectual upheavals of our time.

This course is a comparative study of the three Abrahamic religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  It examines the shared aspects as well as the distinct elements of these religions, and shows that sometimes these traditions work together and sometimes they are at odds with each other.  The course first introduces the three Abrahamic religions emphasizing their common source.  Then it compares them along thematic lines, and finally it examines the way these three major traditions impact the modern West and the Middle East specifically.  Among the themes to be discussed are: Abraham, scripture and tradition, law, the creation, God, worship, mysticism, the house of God, the tradition of head covering, homosexuality, Jerusalem, and the end of times.

This course provides students with an understanding of the behavior of consumers in the marketplace, using an interdisciplinary approach that employs concepts from such fields as economics, psychology, social psychology, sociology, and psychoanalysis. Topics include motivation, perception, attitudes, consumer search, and post-transactional behavior.

This course offers an introduction to the different cultural representations of contemporary migrations into and within Europe. The emphasis will be given to the study of the realities and their cultural representations of both emigration and immigration and the sociocultural and cognitive effects migration may have on migrants as well as on European citizens and national institutions. Forced migration towards Europe has had a deep cognitive and emotional impact on the migrant subjects, shaping their individual and collective identity. It has even disrupted not only migrants’ own conscience, but also the way that national governments in Europe and worldwide have perceived what now is referred to in the media as the refugee crisis. The main influx on non-European migrants has been mainly through: a) Greece and the Balkans countries, b) Libya and Italy, and c) the Spain’s African territories (Ceuta and Melilla) into Andalusia. The extent that it is relevant, the textual and cultural representations of both emigration and immigration in Europe will be studies in relation to their historical and social backgrounds as well as from an interdisciplinary and an international perspective.

Please note: This course transfers as general elective credit and cannot fulfill second language requirements or be used in the Spanish major or minor, per the Spanish Department’s policy. This course includes a detailed review of Spanish grammar and a rigorous writing component which will allow the student to perfect Spanish composition skills through drafts, revisions, and final projects .

Please note: This course transfers as general elective credit and cannot fulfill second language requirements or be used in the Spanish major or minor, per the Spanish Department’s policy. Intensive practical study of more advanced components of the Spanish language for those who have completed the equivalent of one semester of college‐level Spanish.

Please note: This course transfers as general elective credit and cannot fulfill second language requirements or be used in the Spanish major or minor, per the Spanish Department’s policy. Intensive practical introduction to Spanish for those with little or no previous study

Please note: This course transfers as general elective credit and cannot fulfill second language requirements or be used in the Spanish major or minor, per the Spanish Department’s policy. Spanish cinema provides an excellent route for understanding social and political change throughout the 20th and 21st Century. As the most important artistic medium of modernity, cinema allows one to construct and deconstruct many myths and identities. This course will analyze the most relevant Spanish film productions primarily as socio-historical documents (content). Topics in Spain may include the Republic and Civil War (Fernán Gómez and Buñuel), the '60s comic criticism of dictatorship (García Berlanga), and censorship (Lazaga), the transition to democracy (Garci and Almodóvar), and the new '90s cinema (Amenábar, de la Iglesia, Medem, Coixet, and Bollaín).

Please note: This course transfers as general elective credit and cannot fulfill second language requirements or be used in the Spanish major or minor, per the Spanish Department’s policy. A course designed for students who wish to enhance their command of spoken Spanish, including building vocabulary and expanding the use of more advanced grammatical structures. This course does not accept students who already have high intermediate or advanced oral proficiency in the language. A brief interview with the instructor is required for admission.

Please note: This course transfers as general elective credit and cannot fulfill second language requirements or be used in the Spanish major or minor, per the Spanish Department’s policy. Continued development of competence in reading, writing, speaking, and understanding spoken Spanish. Intended for students who have completed the equivalent of one year of college‐level Spanish.

Please note: This course transfers as general elective credit and cannot fulfill second language requirements or be used in the Spanish major or minor, per the Spanish Department’s policy. Continued development of competence in more advanced elements of reading, writing, speaking, and understanding spoken Spanish. Intended for students who have completed the equivalent of three semesters of college-level Spanish.

Please note: This course transfers as general elective credit and cannot fulfill second language requirements or be used in the Spanish major or minor, per the Spanish Department’s policy. This transatlantic and interdisciplinary course is designed with the objective of allowing students to delve into the cultural history of the relationship between Spain, the United States, and Latin America. The course will focus specifically on the contemporary period: from the mid-nineteenth century until the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Please note: This course transfers as general elective credit and cannot fulfill second language requirements or be used in the Spanish major or minor, per the Spanish Department’s policy. This course starts with a view of the Spanish history, and then examines the different cultures within Spain: Castilian, Catalan, Basque and Galician; focusing mainly on language, nationality, and political implications. The rest of the course will travel throughout the various aspects of the Spanish Civilization, understanding civilization as lifestyle and society (family, immigration, youth, economic crisis, politics, etc.), and also the various artistic ways of expression (painting, architecture, literature, music and cinema). By using concepts from these various subjects, students will study how Spain changed from being a polarized country to an allegedly reference in the West.

Please note: This course transfers as general elective credit and cannot fulfill second language requirements or be used in the Spanish major or minor, per the Spanish Department’s policy. The course is specifically designed to improve students’ oral and written business communication skills through language immersion and study of the local cultural and work environment. In addition to academic study, the course will provide an overview of Spanish social culture as it applies to the professional workplace, focusing on specific fields of expertise that are of interest to the students.