Program Reviews

My summer in Santiago, Chile as part of the IES Abroad Summer Health Studies Program was the most amazing summer of my life. There are several options for how/where to do your observations, and I chose to do them at the public hospital in Santiago. I got to shadow doctors of many different specialties and even got to see a few surgeries. I gained so much experience in the medical field and learned a ton of medical terminology in Spanish, a vital skill in our changing cultural landscape. The staff at the IES Abroad Center were so welcoming and more than willing to help you with anything, whether that was help with academics, travel safety tips, or just finding the best place to buy an empanada. Also, Chile is such an amazing and diverse country with amazing opportunity to travel on the weekends to places like the Atacama Desert or Easter Island. This program is PERFECT for those wanting to enter the health field AND learn medical Spanish that will be vital in your career. If you are wanting the most fun, challenging, and life-changing summer of your life while ALSO boosting your resume for medical school/career, this is the place to go. ¡Viva Chile!

If you are looking for a study abroad program so dedicated to its students and presenting the best that Italy has to offer, look no further than here! The staff with IES worked with me from the day I sent in my application until I returned home and confronted my reverse culture shock. Siena may not be the largest or most infamous Italian city, but it contains some of the richest history in the world and the most passionate citizens. With a smaller class sizes, professors get to know you on an individual level and do all they can to help you succeed. The staff is consistently presenting in and out of class options for immersing yourself in the Italian culture and my suggestion would be to capitalize on these opportunities. In Siena food, art, and history all come together in a beautiful communal lifestyle.

I had an amazing time at IES Rome! I was originally hesitant to even consider going abroad, but after some persuasion from my friends, I decided that Rome was the place for me. I heard about IES through some friends of mine who really enjoyed the program and had nothing but amazing things to say about it, my experience was amazing and the reviews I heard were extremely on point. Going abroad is definitely one of the best decisions you could make! The program director and the professors I had throughout the semester were amazing and an invaluable source of support whenever I needed help or had questions about the program. If you do decide to go abroad, IES and Rome specifically were amazing!!! If you choose IES, say hi to Gianni Ponti, he is the best resource if you have any issues or just want to talk!

Spending a semester abroad was more than just taking courses in another country for a couple of months. The experience impacted me in every way imaginable. I experienced the unknown a lot while I was abroad – public transportation, Kiwi slang, Māori language and culture, Tim Tam Slams – and each of these experiences is a memory I carry that developed me into who I am today and who I will be in the future. Study abroad taught me to be more independent, flexible and fun-loving. The five months I spent navigating the ins and outs of a new country increased my self-confidence and helped me mature as an individual. The curriculum I engaged with while abroad opened my eyes to new ways of thinking about subjects I thought I already knew, and a spark has been ignited in me to follow my passion and do what makes me happy.

While my experiences abroad may have shifted some of my plans for my future profession, there are certain qualities I acquired that will be useful no matter what field I end up in. I have a greater respect of people who aren’t the same as me. I’ve always been a tolerant person, but study abroad has helped me to better understand habits and notions of my own culture that were so ingrained in me I didn’t realized they existed. Not only have I earned a greater sense of respect for people, but I also feel more comfortable adapting to new situations and environments. My semester abroad threw many things my way I couldn’t plan for. I had to learn very quickly how to juggle them in order to succeed.

As part of my program, we went to Rarotonga, the Cook Islands. The entire trip was unforgettable. IES gave us such an incredible and unique experience that I never would have been able to plan myself. On one of my favorite days, we got to visit a school that had preschoolers through about year eight students. After our introduction and a performance from the children, we got the chance to interact with them on a more personal level. They showed us how to play the drums, husk and grate coconuts, weave plates and make coconut leaf jewelry and I even got the chance to play netball and tips with them on their lunch break. As we were leaving that day, most of the children lined up to give us parting high fives. A little girl that I played netball with grabbed my hand and interlaced our fingers instead of giving me a high five. She had one of the biggest smiles on her face I think I’ve ever seen and at that point I realized I would have been so grateful to just spend every day on our trip playing with those kids. Their lives are so fundamentally different than my childhood was, but their happiness was infectious. I have never been on a holiday where I’ve interacted with the local culture as much as we did that week. Yes, we spent our fair share of time on the beach, but I also left with a greater understanding of what life is like for Cook Islanders. I hope I can do that on all my future trips.

A semester abroad is about engaging with the culture of your host country. My program and my semester abroad helped me to do just that. I got the opportunity to embark on road trips with newly made friends, fly to the North Island and set out on an adventure in a very cramped campervan, work on one of my greatest passions (photography) and just see and experience the awesome New Zealand landscape. It seems like around every turn in the road there’s something new and overwhelming you get to take in. I spent a lot of my time abroad just feeling small in such a grand landscape. It was refreshing.

I had my life turned upside down in the Southern Hemisphere and realized that it was exactly what I needed for a lot of pieces in my life to slot together. I don’t think I’ll go a single day in my life where the impact of my semester abroad doesn’t somehow play a role in how I interact with this world. Study abroad is important. It opens new pathways and changes perspectives. Study abroad enabled me to learn about marine biology, evolution, Māori culture, and land ethics. It enabled me to learn about what it means to engage with your surroundings. It enabled me to learn about how I think about the world and what I can do to be a better global citizen. My experiences during my semester abroad are unparalleled to any method of learning I have previously been a part of. Not every moment was perfect, but I experienced so much sheer joy in the five months I spent abroad, I know I’m going to look back on those memories in the future and just soak in that happiness again. I am so immeasurably grateful for the opportunity to study abroad and I can’t wait to continue traveling in the future.

Step 1: Go. And don't look back.

I grew so much as a human and performer (which is what I was studying) in my time abroad. I had the entire world, culturally and artistically, at my fingertips. Each weekend I would sit with my friends, over a full potluck we cooked together at only 19 or 20 years old, and decide whether or not we wanted to go see 3 shows on the West End this weekend, or go to France and try escargot and fine wine. To put it simply, the availability to extend myself whichever way I wanted, grew me. The opportunities to be around some of the best theatre in the world, grew me. Making my own choices and handling my own responsibilities halfway across the world, grew me. I would recommend this program to anyone who has anxiety, or is bad at decision making. This will shake these things out of you, or at least help to, in the most rewarding way.

My time with IES Abroad in London was an absolutely and unbelievably rewarding experience. First of all, I was not expecting to enjoy the classes I took as much as I did, but I swiftly fell in love with the curriculum and educators. Among my courses, two that stood out were British Youth Culture with Richard Weight and Architecture of London with Jon Wright. These two educators are incredibly intuitive, experienced, and above all caring. I am pleased to say that my academic performance was one of my best during my time abroad. I felt challenged, but embraced by all of the educators and staff at IES London. My housing, located in King’s Cross allowed for ease of travel to other parts of Europe, leading me to travel to 17 cities in 7 countries. While I was able to travel to places I’ve always wanted to go, I truly believe that I left my heart in London. A city with an abundance of culture, educational values, and above all good times. I am forever grateful for the time I spent in London and will absolutely be back. But while I wait, I want to recommend London and especially IES Abroad to expand your horizons and have the best months of your life!

The IES Abroad Madrid program was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not only was the city of Madrid clean, entertaining, and my favorite city I've been to, but the citizens were some of the friendliest I encountered during my entire stay in Europe and most of my experiences in the USA as well. The program allowed us to mingle with local Spanish students while exploring various monuments and points of interest around the city. Also, my host family made the transition to life in Spain very smooth. While they didn't speak English, the ability to practice Spanish and learn the culture in more of an informal setting was very beneficial in the long run. The first couple weeks were a little challenging, but it was extremely worthwhile in the end. Overall, I did not have many complaints about the program. One of the few was the transition to having attendance policies for classes, which is very unlike most universities here in the states, but I understand the reasoning behind it and it forced us to focus on class, but the workload outside of class wasn't overbearing and allowed us to explore and enjoy my time in Madrid.

Maybe it was our enthusiasm because we were in a new country. Maybe it was positive energy established and maintained by faculty and administration at IES London. Nonetheless, I have never felt such strong connections be formed so fast. Within days I made friends that quickly became forever friends. Some came with me from my home college whereas others I met for the first time while abroad. Some were even residents of England and other countries across Europe and even the world. Despite all that, I spent so much time, shared so many experiences and felt so much love from each and everyone of these beautiful people. In fact, I am still in contact to this very day with all of them. We can speak everyday or once a week, once a month even and the genuine love and affection built during our time with in London does not waiver. I would have never come across the wonderful people I did without IES London.

This experience was very amazing to say the least. Starting off with IES program, they were really efficient in everything. At the beginning of the program they showed us around the city and this tour was well detailed. Also, they hosted numerous activities so that we could interact with the French locals. Some of these activities included games night, movie night and playing pétanque. In addition, we had food tours and at one instance we went to the fragonard factory to make perfume. I know super right! Skema business school was also great, the only thing that threw me off was the fact that the classes were three hours long nd that wasn’t something I was used to. Also they would have classes on a Saturday in some instances. Lastly, transportation is very accessible so saving on Uber is always a win.

I absolutely loved living in Milan, Italy and studying abroad through IES. The Business Studies program provided many courses that were similar to courses at my home University and many classes unique to Milan. For example, I took a business class about managing fashion companies which is extremely unique to Milan and also transferable to my school.

Milan was an amazing city for me because it had a lot to do but was small enough for me to easily navigate on my own within a few days of being there. The public transportation was great!

The program administration was amazing and extraordinarily helpful when I needed to go to the doctor and complete insurance reimbursements.

I chose to live in an apartment and WOW- my apartment was beautiful. I don't think I'll have another apartment like that for a while.

I would definitely recommend Milan to someone who loves to travel to big and small cities around Europe and especially within Italy. The Milan airports were extremely accessible and reliable and usually pretty inexpensive compared to other airports. I traveled somewhere new almost every weekend and Milan was a great home base to do that from!