IES Abroad Reviews

My time in Arles was for sure a great highlight of my freshman year summer. The two classes that I took during my time there-Sociology on French Immigration and History of Art- particularly impressed me. Both of my professors were super passionate about what they were teaching and were rather open to discuss with us outside of class time and during meal time. The great variety of arts exhibits and musuems in Arles and around Arles certainly made those courses even more interesting. Specifically, one of our tasks in the Art History class was to visit the Fondation de Van Gogh and analyze the painting that we personally enjoyed the most.

Never having been to Europe before, I was nervous about what I would encounter. I had no idea what to expect and worried about everything from the flight, the classes, the living situation, and even where I would buy my groceries. From the minute I stepped off the plane, the IES abroad staff made everything really easy. They toured us around the city and were always there to provide support and answer any of our questions. I took two classes while in Dublin. One was called Irish Communal Identity where we studied the history of Dublin through human interaction and relations with surrounding countries. My other class was Celtic Mythology where we learned the history of celtic legends and did in depth research about these stories. With regards to the living situation, I lived with four girls who I grew extremely close with. We were all from different schools and still keep in touch; one is even coming to my school to visit me in a few months. Spending six weeks in Ireland was truly an eye opening experience. It was easy to make friends and I found people who shared my same love for exploration and adventure. The memories and friendships I created in Dublin are ones that I will always cherish and never forget. I would tell future students to embrace every moment of being abroad. It went by so quickly and I would love to go back even to just hangout with those same people again. I feel a lot more confident after this experience. I talked to people of different culture and even made friends with some people who I found very different than myself.

I have always wanted to go to Australia and I got the opportuntiy to attend through the IES Abroad Sydney Summer program. This was the first time I traveled by myself and I was nervous but excited to start this exciting journey. Upon arrival, I was greeted by the friendly staff and met the kids in my program. There were only 9 kids in my program which allowed me to create bonds and friendships quicker. The professors were super knowledgeable and fun to learn from. My sports professor took us to rugby games as well as AFL and netball games. It was a cool experience to see how the Australian sports culture differs from American. On top of that, I created a great relationship with the professor and still keep in touch with her. The program also allowed us to go to the Outback and experience what culture is like and how it differs. Had I never done this program, I would never have made the memories and met the friends that I did. I recommend it to anyone looking to study abroad

I know everyone says this, but studying abroad changed my life. I was fortunate enough to spend summer 2018 (June - July) in the IES Abroad “Amsterdam Summer - Society, Culture & Gender in Amsterdam” program. Since I was about 8 months old, I have been travelling, but the Netherlands was never somewhere that happened to be on my radar of travel. Finding an opportunity to live in a city I had never visited and a program a discipline that wholly fascinated me was pure serendipity. While abroad, I took 2 courses: "Sex and Science: Dutch Medicine & intersexuality" and "Art, gender, sexuality in Dutch seventeenth century". These courses were unlike anything I had taken before. As Creative Arts student at Stetson University, I'm required to take arts courses outside of my discipline (Theatre), but I had never taken any courses in Art History, so I was anxious coming into my course, but Dr. Judith Noorman took all of my worries away. Dr. Noorman, or Judith to her students, is an scholar in seventeenth century Dutch art, and she blessed us with her plethora of knowledge. Taking this class was like no other: every other day we would go to a museum and get to present on a piece of our choice as though we were art historians. Being surrounded by art for an entire summer not only made me appreciate paintings in a complex and nuanced manner, but it recharged my creative battery before the school year. “Sex and Science” was a sort of medical ethics course, and what I enjoyed the most about that course is that Professor Van de Berg (Nina) was learning alongside us. As a self-proclaimed “fellow student”, Nina asked us to delve deeper than surface level with our answers and challenged us to consider our responses from not only from our typical perspective as Americans, but also as citizens of the world. Aside from loving the courses, the IES Abroad Amsterdam program offers trips to places such as Zaans Schans, Delft, and even Berlin. Amsterdam is also a in a perfect location for independent travel. With an easily accessible airport and train system, I travelled over the weekends and even had an opportunity to visit a friend’s hometown who was an exchange student at my home university. If you are interested in studying abroad, I recommend going through IES Abroad: the staff members are helpful; the classes are informative, and the experience is unbelievable.

My experience on this trip was amazing. It was my first time being abroad without my parents and for longer than a few weeks. I was able to be completely independent and experience life in a different country. Because of this I gained a lot of self confidence in my ability to handle situations, like traveling, which would have been difficult for me before. My favorite experience during my trip was in Morocco on our last night there. My host family let me and my roommate try on traditional Moroccan dresses and we had a mini photoshoot. This experience made me genuinely feel like I was part of the family. Since being home in Virginia, I miss Nice and all of the people I met, places I visited, and experiences I had while abroad.

I couldn't have chosen a better program to pursue my studies abroad.

Center: The IES Madrid Center staff, particularly Angel, Yolanda, and Elvira, made my experience. Imagine going to a country where nobody speaks your language and where everyone you know is thousands of miles away! Angel immediately put us at ease and made us feel safe and at home. They take such good care of your health and safety; have no fear! At the same time, they coordinate extensive Spanish language learning and immersion opportunities, allowing anyone to come to Madrid and be at least a conversational speaker by the end.

City: A modern European city, with an exceptional walkability and subway system, where you can learn the second most spoken language in the United States. The diversity of Madrid is exceptional! You can talk to citizens of China, Germany, Syria, and Canada in the same hour. Locationally, the airport enables inexpensive travel seamlessly to the rest of Europe.

Academics: Universidad Carlos III is one of the top Engineering schools in the world. It is challenging, and going through IES means that you'll have a ton of support to help you succeed. IES arranges tutoring sessions for each of your classes, and they're thrilled to give you more if you ask for them! The courses at the center are even better. My intensive Spanish course brought a 100-level Spanish student to fluency, and my Religious History class used the city as a classroom, involving intense study of primary sources at museums and churches throughout the city.

I came into my semester in Granada nervous. I would describe myself as someone who likes routine and familiarity and these 4 months were anything but that. But looking back, going abroad to Granada with IES Abroad was absolutely the best decision I could have made. Although it may sound cheesy and/or unrealistic to some, I can honestly say that since going abroad I can see so much self growth in myself. At the end of the semester, I was so surprised by how hard I found it to say goodbye to the new life I had created. Today Lately I have been finding myself missing so much about my "2nd home". I miss the relaxed "no pasa nada" lifestyle in Granada that was such a refreshing change from my always busy U.S. life. I miss being able to walk anywhere and everywhere. I immensely miss my incredible host mom who not only always made sure my housemate and I were well fed, but also always supported and comfortable. I miss the IES staff and professors who taught me so many new things I would never have been able to learn at my home school, organized amazing activities for us in Granada (ex. cooking classes, wine tastings, open mic nights), planned trips for us ranging in location from nearby Cordoba to Morocco, and most importantly, were always there if we needed anything at all. I miss being able to meet up with my friends for tapas and tinto de verano and maybe gelato from Los Italianos afterwards. I miss studying in the IES center and getting to look up and see the Alhambra above me. Most of all, I miss the person I was able to be in Granada: similar, but also different to the person I am back in the U.S. Both the city of Granada and the IES Abroad program gave me so much, both personally and academically, and I will be forever thankful that I chose to push myself to go far outside of my comfort zone and study in Granada. Although it may have only been 4 months, I know that I will hold this experience close and continue to learn and grow from it for a long time.

Studying abroad is such a unique experience, and I feel like I was able to get the most out of my time by studying through IES. The program staff in Japan were fantastic, and they held regular events to help us explore the local area and culture. These included trips to nearby cultural or historical landmarks, such as the big Buddha statue in Kamakura or the shrines in Asakusa, as well as kabuki theater and a glass-blowing shop where we made our own Japanese-style wind chimes. I definitely recommend participating in as many of these and similar events as you can.
The school I attended, Kanda University of International studies (KUIS) or 神田外語大学, was also special and helped my time in Japan be as amazing as it was. As a foreign language school, everyone at KUIS is required to study English. While the majority of students are of course not yet fluent, this meant that they were overall more comfortable in speaking English and, more importantly, more eager to interact with overseas students and make international friends. I came in with several years of Japanese study already under my belt, and improving my language skills was probably the biggest reason I decided to study in Japan. I was very glad to attend a school where everyone was excited to talk to me and would be more than happy to help me with my Japanese when requested. I was easily able to make many close friends who I still keep in touch with.
In terms of housing options, we could either do homestay or live in a dorm or an apartment. Students were on average probably 45-60 minutes away from the school via train and walking or biking; this commute was a little tiring every day, but that's not too bad for Japan, and you get used to it. I personally lived in the apartments, and I really enjoyed it. It gave me more freedom than the dorms or homestay (I didn't have a curfew, for instance), and it gave me the chance to cook more and explore the local cuisine rather than being on a meal plan in a dorm. I had a single, with two other people (local Japanese people) living in the same apartment, but they mostly kept to themselves so it honestly felt like I was living alone sometimes. This was nice at times, but I had also hoped to be able to talk with them more and become friends. From talking to my other friends living in the apartments, this seemed to be a somewhat common experience.
My main complaint about the program would be the classes; in particular, the three-hour lecture-based classes were often tedious, and I felt like most of the classes didn't cover their topics as deeply as I would have liked. The required Japanese language course was an exception - I improved my language skills a lot, and the teacher was extremely helpful. I wish we had learned a bit more kanji, but the class focused on mostly grammar, vocab, and speaking, which, in my opinion, are probably the most important aspects of learning Japanese. Other classes could be boring at times, but the workload was very manageable and left plenty of time to enjoy the local culture.
Overall, my study abroad experience in Japan was definitely the best time I have ever had in my life, and I would recommend it to anyone.

I am truly grateful for my experience with IES European Union. After years of lecture-based learning, I was thrilled to finally experience something new. My program incorporated travel to several European Union countries, which exposed the students to a wide array of languages and cultures. I was able to live with German roommates, which provided me with such an immersive experience to the German lifestyle. The program taught me, and other students alike, to be independent, adaptable, knowledgable and culturally aware both through travel, and living independently in a new city. Learning occurred outside the classroom in the most spectacular ways, and I am so happy I was able to receive this experience.

There is a reason Amsterdam has a reputation for being a great city. From nightlife to museums to shopping to a combination of modern technology and historic architecture, Amsterdam has it all. Since I grew up in a suburb and go to school in a college town in the United States, I wanted to experience the thrill of a big city, and Amsterdam did just that for me. There is always something to do in Amsterdam, and I wish I had more time to live there and experience everything I missed out on.