Program Reviews

FU-BEST offered a comprehensive study abroad program that allowed students to apply what they learned in the classroom to the history of Berlin. The program also provided us plenty of opportunities to explore the city. My favorite part of the program was going to Stammtisch, our weekly social gatherings. I also liked the week long excursions that are a built-in part of the program. We took many day trips so I got to see more of Germany than just Berlin.

I spent my Junior year in Berlin and could not have been happier about my decision to study at FUBEST. While a year away from the US may seem a lot, I'd posit two semesters as the bare minimum time spent in Berlin to start understanding some of the various anxieties or issues currently holding the city's attention; this sort of year is a really (I think) healthy way to imagine transatlantic/world interactions in a honest, truthful light. A lot of the conversations happening in Berlin (immigration, rises in abhorrent Nationalism) are occurring in Berlin and happen in a really engaging way given Berlin's long history of activism/progressivism. Being in Berlin right now is a really great experience.

Berlin itself is a great city. FU-BEST is a good program overall, but like anything has a few flaws. The biggest I'd say came from the housing. It is a student apartment complex relatively far from the city center and took approximately one hour to get to classes and 45 minutes to get to clubs/bars. I liked my professors and the administration was always willing to help out! They are great at organizing group events and Stammtisch was a great tradition in which we would meet at a bar on Thursday nights. The cultural excursions were informative and the city events (I chose a soccer game and an opera) were an awesome experience. Overall, I'd recommend the program to others and suggest they consider doing a homestay.

The German Plus Package was an extremely challenging program with all classes taught in German. While it was challenging, it ensured that all students would leave the semester having reached a level of German proficiency that cannot be attained elsewhere. Taking 3 subject courses in the topics Art, Theater, and Politics, as well as a general writing course, allowed one to learn materials that one could immediately use outside of the classroom when exploring Berlin.

This program is very intense and not for those who are just looking for an easy and relaxed semester abroad. The assignments and readings are challenging, even for those who speak almost fluent German, and it seemed a bit overwhelming at first. It was somewhat frustrating how much time was needed to complete assignments, especially towards the beginning of the program. But it got easier toward the end, and most of the professors were really helpful and understanding. By the end of the program, I felt like my German had improved so much, that it was worth the time spent struggling through essays and readings. It's unbelievably satisfying to look back on the work that you've done throughout the semester, because it really is a huge accomplishment that everything was done in another language! The excursions were great in all of the classes and I think it made my educational experience a lot better. One of the most helpful classes was the academic writing class, which really made the Hausarbeiten a much easier, but it was sometimes a bit too long. (5ish hours on Wednesdays)
Although there was no choice of classes to take, it actually turned out pretty great because I took classes that I never would have normally taken and learned some really cool and interesting new things!
It was nice that the class sizes were so small, which meant we were often helped individually by the professors and also were able to give input into what we wanted to learn.
All in all, Berlin is an amazing city to spend a semester abroad and I think that this program did a pretty good job of teaching us the cultural aspects of Berlin and Germany in general. If you're looking for a rigorous program to improve your German, this is the one for you!

Berlin is like no other city in the world!
Before going to Berlin, I knew about the intense history of the city but it wasn’t until I studied in Berlin for a year was I truly able to understand Berlin, its people, and one of the most unique places in the world. The FU-BEST program only made the experience better. All my courses were extremely relevant to issues in today’s world and so it was really interesting to be able to connect my courses to current events. Most of the professors are really into their topics and so it makes the courses more easy going as interesting discussions arose almost every course. I thought the mandatory German courses were awesome. Most German courses were really fun but also intense enough to where I was able to learn a lot. The staff was super helpful and if we ever had any problems we could go to anyone and they would do as much as possible to help us out. The added weekly get togethers were awesome and it was a great way to get to know more people within the program while exploring new Berlin bars. The week-long excursion was also awesome as we went to interesting cities and were able to explore a lot on our own. For housing, I would highly recommend homestays. Almost everyone I know loved their family and thought it was much better than the apartments.
Berlin itself is such an incredible city. It is filled with endless amounts of art, music, fashion, etc. Anyone is able to find their own little funky niche because Berlin is meant for everyone and anyone. The restaurants in Berlin are all so good and you can eat out without breaking the bank. I think Berlin is the cheapest (big) city in Europe! Definitely don’t be afraid to try new doner places. The bars and clubs are all so unique and constantly playing different kinds of EDM. Though Berlin might seem overwhelming, it is such an amazing city and is filled with the coolest art, the best food, an awesome night life, and people from all over the world open to anything. I can't wait to get back to Berlin!!

Great group of student Assistents and advisors! Much work in the classes but I really improved my German!
Great experience!
The excursions that took place were also very helpful. Constant speaking in Germany really benefited my word choice and listening. Starting the program off with working on grammar and reading skills helped in the long run with writing the papers.
The professors were very kind and open to all questions. Also willing to work on topics that interested the students so that the class would be more fun!

The program was great! The staff was very helpful with everything. The classes were all structured the same which was not the best for some subjects. Beware of the schedule. I did not consider how exhausting going to school all day on Wednesday would be. The classes all offered 2-3 excursions which were fun because it helped us explore the city more. The week long excursion was fun and I got the opportunity to visit cities that I wouldn't have gone to on my own.

I chose to come to Berlin for the entire academic year primarily because I had the space for it in my schedule and FU-BEST's course offerings would allow me to fit two minors into my degree. FU-BEST is set up in a way that allows your study abroad experience to be both experiential and academic; the subject courses offer a good introduction into different fields and are not extremely demanding, thus giving you plenty of space to explore Berlin and Europe. The courses act more as survey courses in order to accommodate a wide variety of academic backgrounds from students, and as such, might not appeal to those who are used to working in-depth in their field. (That being said, the subject courses are a great opportunity to take something outside of one's field and learn more about Germany and Europe while you're at it.)

For those interested in the language component, FU-BEST operates best when you "make the most of it as you will." While I found the Intensive German courses good for learning vocabulary and more refined sentence structures, (non-beginning) students who came to the program without a good preexisting grasp of grammar basics definitely seemed to struggle more. The homestay option was my biggest asset in becoming more comfortable with the language, and I highly recommend it for students looking to improve their German. One of the biggest complaints I heard was students feeling discouraged about practicing their German in the city, but opportunities are certainly there if you look and persist. (:

The program exists in a bit of a (mostly) American bubble because it is not a direct enrollment program, but I appreciated the fact that it is not a school-specific program so that you can meet students from different campuses. In addition, the FU-BEST staff are wonderful to work with and easy to talk to!

If you have the option to go abroad for a year, then definitely consider coming to Berlin. You'll never be bored, and being abroad for two semesters means that you won't feel stressed about fitting everything into one.

FU-BEST was an extremely well-run program, in everything I noticed from start to finish. I am grateful for all the work the program director and staff do to make our experience here the best it can be. My favorite part about the program set-up was probably the week long excursion towards the end of the semester. After so much small-group travel, it was really great to have everything planned out for us for a week while traveling around a few new cities.