CET Academic Programs

Studying abroad in Siena through CET was one of the best experiences of my life, and I mean that without exaggeration.

There's something about being dropped into a foreign country and having to figure it out that no classroom can replicate. But what made this specific program special was Siena itself: a city with more going on beneath the surface than most people realize.

Learning about the Contrada system, the rivalries, the identity people build around their neighborhood from birth. It made me understand that some cultures run so much deeper than what tourists ever see.

We traveled most weekends. Bologna's food scene and student energy hit different from anywhere else in Italy. Venice during festival season was something I'll remember for the rest of my life, same with Rome and its history. Every city taught me something different about how people choose to live.

But the thing I'm actually taking back home with me is a concept I had no word for before this trip: dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing. Not laziness. Not wasting time. Just being present without needing to optimize every moment. That quietly changed something in me.

The friendships this program built are the other thing I didn't see coming. When you're navigating foreign cities together, missing trains, finding hole-in-the-wall restaurants at midnight, you bond with people on a different level entirely.

If you're debating whether to go: stop debating.

Academics: I took the 12-credit 300 level class and 1 elective course. I chose this program primarily because it offered classes at the 300 level and above, and I was pretty happy with my class. The workload is fairly intense since we covered 10 chapters in one semester. There was a lot of homework, and we had two quizzes every chapter and a speaking and written test about every 3 chapters. All of the instruction is entirely in Japanese, and I'd say the primary focus in class was on discussion rather than grammar/kanji drills. I think people who are comfortable with self-study will do really well, while those who are used to more in-class guided instruction might struggle. The class also featured a number of field trips and cultural activities that I really enjoyed! The only issue I had with those was that class would often end at the field trip location, meaning students who had class soon after had to spend their lunch time commuting back from Kyoto or Umeda. As for the elective course, that was handled by the university, OGU. In my experience, and from what I heard from others, these classes almost never had homework, so even though the Japanese workload was intense, the elective didn't make things overwhelming. That said, by the end of the semester, everyone in my Japanese class was exhausted.

Language Acquisition: I would say I was able to achieve the goal I set before I left. My primary focus was on developing my reading skills, and I could feel a noticeable improvement in both my abilities and my confidence by the end. The impact of immersion on language acquisition is really amazing. I would be waiting for the train and suddenly see something I had just learned in class on a poster or train announcement. It was really exciting to recognize and understand words and grammar points while just going about my day. While the language pledge really only felt strict in class, I do think its existence drew in more students who were serious about using Japanese as much as possible. Plus, if any OGU students were around, then Japanese was definitely the language of choice.

Housing: I was pretty happy with my housing. I stayed in a share house with each student in a code-locked room and shared living areas. My house was pretty conveniently located, and I almost never had issues with my housemates. We set up a cleaning schedule to make sure the common areas stayed clean. The OGU students we lived with were also really kind and helpful.

Support: Absolutely 10/10. From pre-departure to preparing to leave, the staff made sure we had the information we needed. We had several days of orientation when we arrived to prepare us for living in Japan, including earthquake training. If we had any issues at all, it was easy to contact the staff. One of my housemates accidentally burned himself while cooking, and a staff member accompanied him to the doctor. I honestly felt so taken care of while I was in this program. They're also very upfront about the support they offer, so you're not left worrying.

Program Trips/Excursions: This was probably one of the weaker aspects of the program in my opinion. Some things didn't pan out as expected. Our day trip ended up feeling unbalanced with the time we spent sitting in the bus to get places compared to the time we spent actually enjoying things. I also personally found some outings less enjoyable simply because we were such a big group. That said, I didn't regret joining any of the trips, and I don't doubt that they'll make adjustments in the future to try and avoid running into the same issues. Even within the semester, after traffic caused us to run late during our day trip, they planned out our overnight trip with extra time. All of these trips are also no extra charge and entirely optional, so if you do them, you're losing nothing but time, and if you don't want to do them, you don't have to.

What about Japan as a whole? 100000/10 I loved it there. There's so much to do in Osaka, and the trains make it so easy to explore! I went to the "downtown" like area of Umeda at least once a week, and almost every weekend, I was traveling to places like Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe. Those kinds of day trips are incredibly affordable, too. The weather is so nice in Spring, and throughout the semester, there were plum blossoms, cherry blossoms, wisterias, and more blooming. Japan really is a beautiful, clean, safe, and easy to travel country. That's not to say it's some utopia country without any issues, but I think if you're realistic in your expectations of it, it's a really wonderful place to go.

I am personally planning to continue my Japanese studies and return to Japan in the future, and I think CET Japan was an amazing opportunity to further those studies and reaffirm my goals.

Studying abroad in Taiwan was probably the most fun I've had during a college semester. I had so much free time to explore the city because Chinese classes only ran everyday until 11:10am and I only had one other class on Monday evenings. I learned that during all this free time and the weekends, I really enjoy solo traveling. I was able to explore so much of the island in my free time, and because Taiwan is so safe I learned how to enjoy solo traveling. It was honestly so freeing to be able to go travel an hour or two into the mountains or to the coast by myself and not feel worried about safety or transportation, as the public transportation is also excellent! Because the program houses you in apartments off site of the campus, all the CET students became excellent users of the many modes of public transportation. I really enjoyed this because it made me take in the city more as I often had to travel on foot or bike a lot more, versus at home in the US where I just drive everywhere. It was also great that the Chinese language department at NTU is about a 3 minute walk from alleyways filled with cheap food options. Often a lot of the CET students would gather in the hallways after class and all walk over to eat lunch together, which was really nice and a good way to make friends with people outside of your class. I also made a lot of friends due to the CET hosted activities. Two of my friends and I actually won an award at the end of the program banquet for going to the most CET hosted events. These are at no extra charge and were so much fun because then I wouldn't have to do any planning and just go along with their schedule. I especially enjoyed going to hike teapot mountain on the northeastern coast with CET. I also loved the language partner program and I requested two language partners as well. I specifically requested CET to match me with at least one partner who likes hiking, and they paired me very well, one of my language partners had a goal to hike every peak in Taipei and New Taipei City during their four years at NTU and my other language partner also enjoyed hiking so all three of us went hiking together on many occasions. And of course, the Mandarin learning component of this program is excellent. My professor at NTU was incredible, I really enjoyed going to her class and she fostered a really nice class environment where all of the students got along together. I really like that the textbooks we use are written by teachers at universities in Taipei, so the language we learn is very useful in Taiwan, and includes a lot more common words and grammar that is more local. Overall, the program is great and has a lot of amazing aspects, especially for those who want to explore the island during their time!

Studying abroad in Florence was one of the most rewarding experiences of my college career. As a student from Vanderbilt University, I was looking for a program that would allow me to immerse myself in a new culture while continuing to take meaningful courses related to my academic interests, and CET delivered exactly that.

One of the biggest strengths of the program was the support from the CET staff. They were always available to answer questions, help navigate life in a new country, and organize activities that helped us engage with Florence beyond the typical tourist experience. I especially appreciated how easy it was to connect with other students while still having the independence to explore on my own.

Florence itself was an incredible place to live. Walking past historic landmarks on the way to class never got old, and the city's central location made weekend travel throughout Italy convenient. At the same time, Florence can be extremely crowded with tourists, especially during peak travel seasons, and it is easy to spend time in an American study-abroad bubble if you do not actively seek opportunities to engage with locals and practice Italian.

Overall, I would highly recommend CET Florence to students who want a balance of academics, cultural immersion, and travel opportunities. The experience challenged me to become more independent, adaptable, and confident while creating memories and friendships that I will carry with me long after returning home.

I loved how staff was invested in their students and took time to get to know us, it made the culture shock less intimidating! The housing situation was great and I appreciated the program coordinating it for the students. The program sponsored activities were always fun as well and there was a variety of things to choose from! Florence was an amazing city with something for everyone and I liked how our school curriculum was always hands on and aligned with our environment! The program also provided lots of helpful tips for the city and navigation.