Program Reviews

IES -Study in Tuscany is a great program if you are looking for a smaller group program to get immersed in Tuscan culture while taking classes with less than 10 classmates. You will get the chance to live in the center of Siena, learn about authentic Italian culture and cuisine, while making friends not only of your program but with people from the local community. Siena is known for its great university, so it is considered a "college city" within Italy. Classes in IES are in English and language classes are available for all levels. I highly recommend taking one course at the local university as well. You can have the chance to make friends outside of your program too!
Siena is more of a medieval town rather than a big city, still during the end of the spring and at beginning of the fall there are a lot of tourists who visit the city, but still remains authentic comparing to the metropolitan cities in Italy. I would totally recommend this program if you want a break from our busy life style we have at our American universities, and want to experience a little bit of a more relaxing and fun time while still having the chance to learn a lot about Italian language, culture and history. People are super friendly with exchange students, in fact the Erasmus network organizes activities like wine tours, tournaments, parties and other extracurricular activities to have a lot of fun after class or during the weekends.
Although Siena is considered a predominant catholic place, there are several options for Christians, Jewish, Buddhist and Muslim students. You just need to ask the program coordinator for information. If you practice a sport there is a center outside the city walls where you can find a swimming pool and a soccer field. The university offer the students a basketball court but again, you will need to ask for a specific information of time and rules of usage when you get there.
If you are a going out type of person, there are bars opened during the week and weekends. Night clubs like Vanilla and Sotto Sopra are available outside the city wall. The Erasmus network organizes some parties with buses that take you there and back - with special discounts for students. If you prefer to just hang out with friends Piazza del Campo is a great place to just sit, have a conversation and enjoy the night.
The experience of going abroad is definitely what you do with it and up to you to have a great time. IES Siena provides you all what you need to have the time of your life and it is indeed up to you how you get to live it!

I highly recommend this program, I had no regrets of all the things I have learned and lived there.

I spent a semester in Paris with IES Abroad. Through this program I was able to take classes on the colonization of francophone Africa, feminism movements in France, and a sociology course, along with my grammar course. These classes were instrumental in broadening my worldview and how I view social movements and the perspectives of other cultures. I was able to gain a better understanding of how history can shape right and wrong and influence political discourse, not only for France but the ways in which the same has been done here in the United States in a way that is unique to America.
Also, thanks to this program I was able to complete an internship. This experience was invaluable, not only in helping me gain an understanding of French culture on another level, but in improving my language skills, and giving me experience that will be invaluable as I continue to move forward in my professional life. My internship was with an organization called Afrika Tiss, which is a fair trade organization that works specifically with female artisans and Malian refugees in Burkina Faso. In Ouagadougou the artisans there make jewelry, bags, and home accessories that are later sold in France as well as other countries. The production works on a small scale, but everything is made by hand in a way that preserves ancestral patterns and skills while also adding a modern touch. I met some incredible people through this internship and I learned a lot about humanitarian work and what that looks like from the inside.
IES from the beginning was very clear and helpful in terms of telling me what I would need while I was there and everything I would need to do before. The staff onsite was incredibly helpful in determining what courses would be best for me and for helping me find my internship. They had multiple excursions that helped me meet other students in the program and they also had so many meetings that helped me get acclimated to French culture and prepared me for the types of things that I might experience in my first few weeks in Paris. From the beginning the staff was readily available to help me and provide me with advice to help guide me through the early and often times difficult stages of my transition into Parisian culture. Even better, the entire staff was open to the suggestions of students so that they could continue to better the program for future classes of students. Overall the program was instrumental in helping me discover myself and broaden my education not only in an academic setting but also from an intercultural perspective.

The opportunity to study abroad in Milan brought about the most joyous 3 months of my life. From the delicious food to the beautiful fashion, Milan's unique charm was unmatched. What makes Milan so interesting to me is that you can get the large, metropolitan feel of a modern city, while also still being able to find and appreciate all the old-world, antique qualities that define Italy/Italian culture. I cannot thank the IES staff enough for making the immersion process seamless and enjoyable. The genuine relationships I built with native Milanese people, through both IES and my internship, will last a lifetime. My beloved friends at IES pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to look for adventure in each day. Because of this, I will always consider Milan my second home.

My year abroad in Berlin has been one of the best experiences of my life. Studying abroad provided me with a chance to truly experience the German culture and language firsthand while also getting to learn a different side of myself. This experience has shaped me into a person who is willing to be adventurous, chase understanding, and explore new sides of myself and my surroundings. But not only have I gotten to know myself, but I have become a part of the language and culture around me. Being able to take classes both through IES and Humboldt University, I have been able to learn about the German educational culture while furthering my German language skills immensely. But while these aspects of my education have given me a greater understanding and appreciation of studying in Germany, they almost do not compare to the amount I have learned outside of the classroom. Living in Berlin has taught me more about Germany - in the past and the future - than I could have ever hoped to learn from afar. I have been able to live and be part of the history of Germany. My home-stay taught me about the German culture and past from the point of view of someone who lives it everyday. It is truly amazing to be able to discuss things like the Berlin Wall with someone who lived in Berlin from the time of the Wall's creation until the time of its destruction. There is nothing better than learning from those who saw it happen. These are the moments that made my experience abroad something that I will remember forever. Things like that can only happen on a study abroad like this, and this is just one small example of the amazing things I have been able to experience through this study abroad experience. Studying abroad was the best decision I have ever made. No matter what I do in the future, I know that this experience has helped shaped me into an independent, open, and ever-learning individual. I could not be more satisfied with my IES Abroad Berlin experience, and I highly recommend the opportunity to anyone and everyone.

Studying abroad in Rome, Italy was hands-down one of the best decisions that I have made. Rome is a city rich in history and there will never be a shortage of things to do. I had amazing roommates and my apartment was located in the perfect location. While walking to and from class everyday, I walked by the 2,000 year old Pantheon where I could stop and sip on a cappuccino or enjoy a scoop of gelato. The classes were engaging and allowed us to use the whole city as a classroom instead of learning about it through a projection on a screen. There is never a shortage of things to do, you can try a new spot for aperitivo with friends, take one of the cooking classes offered through the program, or catch an AS Roma game in the Olympic Stadium. Rome is the perfect location for anyone who loves history, food, coffee, art, and wants to learn Italian. I enjoyed not having classes on Friday, this gave me the opportunity to travel more throughout Italy as well as other countries.

My Milan study abroad experience was the most rewarding and incredible experience of my life. The friends I made there have changed my life so positively, and I will always be so thankful for the opportunity to have met them! IES staff was so helpful and supportive throughout the entire process. I believe Milan was the perfect city to study in, since it is a city that makes you feel right at home. Although the city mainly speaks Italian, even my friends who did not speak Italian at all found that they could get around. Also, the IES Italian classes are very in-depth, which helped raise my own level of Italian. I highly recommend Milan to anybody looking for an experience in a young, exciting city that’s located in the center of all the action!

Studying in Rome was a great decision. It gave me the chance to break away from my college routine and experience learning, working, and living in an entirely new and enjoyable way. I took IES courses to further my studies in political science by studying both classic political philosophers like Macchiavelli and the current events of modern Italian politics. IES also connected me with a great internship working working for an english-language journal as an editorial assistant in charge of communications and social media. The internship gave me excellent work experience and professional insight into the current dynamics of European politics. And even while studying and working, I still had ample time to explore the city of Rome during the week and to travel to different parts of Europe during the weekend. I was able to immerse myself in Italian culture and become more deeply connected to my Italian heritage and identity. IES helped to facilitate this by giving me the opportunity to have a local Italian student as my roommate during the semester. I am very grateful for all that I learned and experienced during my time abroad.

I know that I definitely made the right choice by choosing Salamanca. This was the perfect city to learn Spanish in. Even though there were only four of us in the program, as this was the first time the program was being held, I feel like I still gained a lot from the experience. The small class sizes provided me with the opportunity to truly learn Spanish and to actively participate in class. I was also given the chance to learn about psychology and sociology from a different perspective. I had three classes with IES and two classes at the university (Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca-UPSA). However, I only had one class in Spanish and I lived in the residence halls. As a result, I did my best to participate in activities that would help me speak Spanish more often. I went to some Intercambio nights and I also had multiple intercambios. I also tried my best to meet up with the orientation leaders, volunteers and grad assistant whenever I had the chance. By doing all this, I got to know the language and culture better.

Being able to walk around everywhere in the city was also a highlight for me as my college is in LA. The staff at the center were also very helpful and the activities that they provided were very fun. This university city was truly the best place to meet students from different cities and the best place to really learn Spanish and more about the culture. I made so many amazing memories and I hope to return to Salamanca one day.

In IES I studied under some of the best professors I've ever had, lived with several amazing international students outside of my program, and really enjoyed Freiburg. Academically, the professors were all unique and were given the flexibility needed to teach our classes based on what best suited us. The courses were done in modules (instead of 5 classes all taken at the same time throughout the semester, we had five 3-week blocks where each class began only when the other completely ended) which I believe allowed for better focus and encouraged us to dive deeper into subjects. The courses also weren't limited to the classroom, and included dozens of excursions both throughout the city and outside of it- the Swiss Alps hiking trip was particularly amazing. I do believe one or two classes needed better organization and communication between professors, especially those where we had multiple professors (which in theory was great as they each had a different expertise), and that the administration could have been more response and proactive in solving these issues. However this was the only issue I found with administration. They were otherwise extremely helpful, great with communcation, and always open to answering questions. Freiburg is great for studen- big enough to always find something new to do, but small enough that it's easy to navigate and get to classes. It has plenty of hiking trails reachable with public transit or even just walking from housing; the smaller "suburbs" outside each have their own feel and cool things to do, and are also easy to reach. The train station in the center of the city can connect you to tons of other German and International cities, and a small airport nearby can get you on a quick flight. The IES Environmental Program schedule doesn't leave a lot of room for long trips, but there are definitely some 4-day weekends you can use to go somewhere further. It also "forced" us to really look into Freiburg during our free time which I was very thankful for by the end of the trip. You'll have many chances to meet german, or international, students- whether through your housing or the required german courses.

Living in the Colegio Mayor Santa Fe provided me with a once in a lifetime look into spanish culture and day to day life. At first I was intimidated by the prospect of living with 70+ 18-22 year old spanish girls who don't speak English or know much about American culture. I was shocked and happy to find them accepting, generous, curious, and funny girls who loved having us there. Living in the middle of my two best friends that I met through the program was another plus! Besides being able to interact with local students, I was really able to interact with the history of the city. Imagine walking down a grand staircase that has probably been around for more than 100 years to a dining room with two long tables. At least 15 girls are all seated in the same area as we receive paella, pasta, or cocido to name a few meals. They ask about your day and fill you into what is new in their lives. On Saturdays we eat outside in the courtyard if the weather was nice while the cooks would chat with everyone and crack jokes. One of my favorite memories was playing on the basketball team which added girls from a different colegio to the team giving me a chance to meet new girls and see what life is like at another colegio. On the final game before christmas break we played against one of the hardest teams we played that season. Our supporters came in droves. We had girls cheering us on and tutoras, or RAs, supporting and being there for us for the biggest win of the season! Overall, living in the Colegio helped me exceed my study abroad cultural and linguistic expectations as it allowed me to interact with girls my own age and learn new words, popular songs, and traditions. I will never forget their kindness and generosity to me, and the memories that I will share with them.