IES Abroad Reviews

I have hardly any complaints about my semester spent with IES in Dublin. Dublin is a perfect sized city filled with culture, parks, museums, pubs, and even a castle. The people were friendly, and it was rare to go to a restaurant or even hop in a cab without having a great conversation with an Irish local. IES Dublin is filled with some the most amazing people I have ever met. The professors were some of the most genuine I have ever had, and I loved learning all about Irish culture. The staff was truly dedicated to making sure we had the best time possible during our time there. They were there for any suggestion, problem, or help that I needed. They even took us to a field trip to an Irish farm where we got to learn a jig, bake Irish bread, walk through a bog, and practice the sport of Hurling. It was the best time of my life where I made friends and memories to last a lifetime!

IES Abroad was wonderful. The program staff was so helpful and was there every step of the way and made sure that I enjoyed my stay there. I had a wonderful host family and did a neuropsychology internship. It was a great experience and I learned a lot.

They also provide the opportunity to take classes at Complutense and that's a great opportunity to meet other locals and practice your Spanish while also experiencing actually being a part of the Spanish culture.

Madrid is such a great city because it is central so it is easy to get to other places in Spain and to other countries quickly. I definitely recommend this program.

I studied abroad in Madrid through IES during the winter semester of my sophomore year. Before this, I had never been to Europe and I had never flown by myself. I was nervous and almost backed out at the last minute, but looking back I am so happy I went through with it. IES Madrid did a great job securing housing for me and helping its students get acclimated to the local culture. At times, I would complain that the staff refused to speak English, but now realize that immersion is the best way to learn a foreign language. The University of Michigan required me to take 2 classes at la Universidad de Complutense. Those were very difficult and boring, but the classes through IES were moderately easy and interactive. The classes were small and each professor was eager to learn about our weekend plans and happy to help us choose between attractions / places to visit. The campus is very easy to get to from the Metro and the Metro is very easy to use in Madrid. I still keep in touch with some of the people I met abroad. I'm only 24, but I consider this one of the best experiences of my life. I've never heard anybody say they regretted studying abroad. If you're considering it, do it. If you're thinking about studying abroad in Madrid, I'd highly recommend IES.

The IES EU study abroad program was the spark that ignited my flame for wanting to learn from everyone and everything. The staff and faculty were the most caring people who were willing not only to support me in my new lifestyle but also were absolutely up to the challenge of listening to my desires to engage in the community and allow me the opportunity for it to happen. Freiburg was a beautiful community, and there was no shortage of people who wanted to assist me to become part of the community. I found that because my fellow US American students had various goals, it would have been nice to incorporate students from other countries into the program as well. That said, we had a lot of fun with EU simulations and model conferences which were great exposure to our core studies.

Despite what you may think, life in Shanghai is very easy to adjust to, provided that you expect to make an adjustment. Yes, things are different here, but Shanghai is an amazing place to be! We have Chinese class every morning 4 days a week, with our other 3 classes meeting just once a week. My Chinese class is honestly very enjoyable, and I credit that to my classmates (all IES students) and my teacher. Its also much easier academically because your language skills take off after living here for a while, so Chinese class feels like a breeze. We live in the Fudan dorms in singles, and its very nice to have my own space and my own bathroom. You will survive easily if you don't like Chinese food; there are a ton of restaurants with huge variety. At the same time, I strongly suggest trying new things and embracing as much of the traditional culture as possible, because chances are you'll enjoy at least part of it. I will completely admit to eating street food for dinner because it is delicious, and I have a new found love for tofu that I never knew existed. I walk to the stores on my street, bike around campus to class, take the bus to the big shopping center a few blocks away, and take the subway when I need to get into the city. And if I don't feel like utilizing those options there are taxis everywhere. I take a taxi maybe every other day, because despite the traffic I like being above ground instead of on the subway. My wonderful experience was made possible by the research I did before my arrival. If you prepare well, you will be much happier. To prepare, I would suggest the following: figure out what your banking situation will be (go with Bank of America for no ATM fees), which classes will transfer back to your university, get all of your prescriptions filled for 6 months, lay out all the clothes you want to pack and then get rid of some because you WILL shop here (fake markets rock, and everything is cheap), put a copy of your passport and visa in your wallet, bring a tube of toothpaste (the ones here just aren't the same), and be prepared to go with the flow. China is such an interesting and dynamic place, so be ready to take things in stride and you'll be good to go!

IES Rome is probably one of the best study abroad programs in Rome. The field studies in my classes have made this experience incredibly worthwhile so I feel I am learning a lot from living in this city. The location of the IES center in Rome is excellent and I love living in the Trastevere neighborhood. The Italian Student Companion program is also really outstanding. I love my Italian roommate and getting to hang out with Italian students my age.

Popular program in a great location. The facility is located in an excellent area of the city and the staff are very friendly and helpful. Teachers were nice and enthusiastic. The program did not have class on Fridays, allowing students to travel around Europe. Overall, if I had to do it all over again, I would go back to Barcelona with IES Abroad.

Though the city has been inconvenienced by the earthquakes, that doesn't mean that Christchurch isn't a place to go to. In fact, it may be the best option to go to within New Zealand. Situated on the eastern coast in the middle of the south island, you're within driving distance to so many magical places. Arthur's Pass, Mt. Cook, Dunedin, Lake Tekapo, and many other places are all within a reasonable distance from the University of Canterbury. Places like Auckland or Otago are a bit removed from other places and take longer to get anywhere. Besides, the south island is 100x more scenic than the northern island!

Regarding the IES program, I would say it's an amazing thing to do if it's an option for you. The program leader here in Christchurch is wonderful - extremely helpful and caring for you. She is always looking out for you and will help in any way she can - she even helped pick classes for a few stressed IES-ers! I'm pretty confident in saying that she's more than welcome at my family's holiday dinner (that's how great she is!). Having our coordinator with my group was invaluable. Scheduled trips and going out to eat at different places is extremely helpful (especially when you first arrive). Though it might not seem like a big deal, a good or bad coordinator for an overseas program can have an impact on how you see the country & how you spend your time abroad.

Why go to a program? Why not just study abroad on your own? For starters, when you immediately arrive with your IES group, you have an immediate group of friends that you can rely on. They're going through the same experiences you are and they can help you (and you'll help them) during your time abroad. That isn't to say that they're the only friends you meet though! You'll meet people outside of IES and make friends with tons of Kiwis. However, should something happen, or you need a place to go for a weekend, or you want a traveling buddy, IES has you covered. I have all of my group's contact information (which is incredibly handy) so getting in touch with someone when you needed it wasn't an issue.

Overall, I've had a blast. Christchurch is awesome. New Zealand is awesome. Being able to be a part of the IES family and meet so many people is awesome. Kiwis are awesome people. If you want to have an awesome experience too, definitely look into coming to Christchurch with IES Abroad!

If you're interested in studying abroad in Morocco be mindful that it is a Islamic country. Many of the traditions of the religion are embedded within the culture.
On the other hand the program, IES Abroad, does a great job scheduling activities and field trips for the students. There are trips to the Sahara Desert, Spain, hiking the Atlas Mountain and a visit to the Berber Village.
Classes are relatively easy and everyone is required to take an Arabic course. The first week, Darija, Moroccan dialect of Arabic, is taught so the students are able to converse with their host families. During the semester, there are 4 different levels of Arabic provided ranging from beginners to intermediate.
Overall, the trip has been amazing and a great experience to learn more about Islamic culture.

Vienna is literally all I could have asked for in a city in term of studying abroad. There is always something happening (concerts, operas, musicals, plays, festivals, parties, and so much more), it is an incredibly safe city, it is clean and green, surrounded by alpine mountains, full of life, and so so amazingly easy to get around in. Not a day has gone by since I have been in Vienna that I haven't found another reason to love this city. And I certainly think that IES Abroad Vienna has a lot to do with this. They provided my the resources and the knowledge necessary to make the most of Vienna. The IES staff are wonderful. Always so helpful, no matter how mundane your question is and just generally excited to show you as much of Vienna as they possibly can. However, I must say that IES can become sort of a bubble. You take all your classes with the same students in the same buildings. If you wanted to, you could easily limit yourself to the easy, comfortable life provided by IES. However, with just a little effort, it is fun and rewarding to step outside this bubble. For an example, I started taking two sports classes with Austrian college students at the Universität Sport Institut Wien (which IES staff helped me do).

One of my goals in this program is to not let a day go by without having done something new or exciting. This can be anything from going to an opera or trying a new restaurant, or going on a new hike. It is incredibly easy to make this happen. Most days it happens without any effort at all! It seems as though tons of amazing opportunities are simply everywhere in this city.

I have been enjoying all of my classes so far. I am a neuroscience major at my home school, so the idea of taking all history, literature, music, and language classes is both foreign and exciting. My professors have all been extremely well qualified and enthusiastic. I truly feels as though they are excited to teach this material and are excited by IES students. The language program has been wonderful. I adore my German class. I truly feel like my German skills have been improving every day and I have been enjoying it. Each class we find ourselves laughing and joking, all in German! It has truly been a great experience thus far.