IES Abroad Reviews

Studying in Barcelona was a fantastic experience made all the more better by the community of friends and IES staff that surrounded me. IES provided me the opportunity to see (and build) my first castelle, visit ancient Roman ruins, explore antique cathedrals, volunteer in a children's hospital, and run my very first 15k...in SPAIN! I enjoyed cultural excursions to ancient cities and took in the sights and wonders of local Barcelona city life.

Housing - Let me start by saying I can only speak to my own situation as each student in each program/city/living style has a different one. I will admit that I had a rough homestay experience due to lack of cleanliness in the apartment, but the staff at IES were very willing to help me in whatever way I needed. They respectfully listened to each of my complaints and began immediately to fix the situation. One week I became severely sick, and one of the IES staff made the 30 minute commute over to my homestay on a Saturday to check in on me. This kind of dedication to students is unmatched and I cannot speak highly enough of the amazing character of the IES staff.

Academically, IES prides itself in being rigorous. This rigor comes from a set of requirements that each course has to adhere to, but does not always do so in the most efficient way. For example, having to write 7-12 page essays in most of your classes is not ideal when you wait last minute and have to study for finals. This was a problem many of my study abroad peers fell into.
Most of the professors I had clearly laid out the guidelines for the course they taught. If they didn't, then that professor turned out to not be very organized and the course ended up being exceptionally easy (this happened with one course I took).

Socially, the amount of cultural excursions and day trips in fantastic! Many of my study abroad peers did not take advantage of these opportunities and severely missed out. I would highly recommend signing up for as many as you are interested in (and can afford). Most are well-organized and best to sign up for via IES. Keep in mind, though, that sometimes it could be just as easy (and fun) to get a group of friends and visit a place on your own time and dime.

In all, IES Barcelona is a very well-established program with exceptional staff. There may be a few organizational hiccups within the program (such as outdated course syllabi and excursion info), but these pale in comparison to the wonderful experience you are going to have by taking the effort to make your study abroad experience your own.

I wanted to step out of my comfort zone with studying abroad. For me, that meant choosing a program that would fully immerse me in the Spanish culture and force me to use my Spanish as much as possible. I feel extremely lucky to have chosen to study at IES Abroad Salamanca because it provided me with the opportunities to do both. In my literature class, I got to go on field trips through the city to learn the meaning behind the Renaissance and Baroque architecture. This hands-on learning made me appreciate the beauty of the city while remaining actively engaged in my studies. Having the opportunity to study at the local university along with taking IES classes allowed me to challenge myself by taking courses with local Spanish students and at the same time, take courses with other study abroad students to make me feel more comfortable. The IES staff and mentors are amazingly helpful with any questions and are extremely welcoming. I recommend this program for anyone who really wants a full immersion into Spanish life. I will certainly be returning to Salamanca again!

My study abroad experience in Berlin, Germany was undoubtably the best four months of my life, to say the least. It not only completely changed my life in various ways, but also made me aware of ignorances I was unaware that I had. I also had the opportunity to improve my German language skills. The IES program and administration was a large part of that life changing experience, being extremely helpful and organized with whatever situation presented itself. The staff was always willing to answer questions, and also pushed us to go out and experience the city, even offering suggestions on what to do or where to go. Berlin has something for everyone, after all. The two group trips that we went on as a program were well planned out, and not only included historical and educational exposures to the cities, but also fun and cultural experiences that made the trips unforgettable. The classes were educational not only from the readings and lectures, but from the discussion that challenged all of us to consider historical and cultural factors that we don't get exposed to in the States. There is an incredible amount of history in Berlin, and to be educated on topics from a different lens was probably one of my favorite parts of the entire program. The professors were also extremely helpful and open to discuss almost any topic, and would even offer personal experiences when appropriate. I also learned more from living in Berlin and taking IES German classes than I ever would have taking a semester in the States. Emersion is definitely the best way to learn! You really can't prepare yourself for the study abroad experience, but having an amazing program like IES behind you to help you along the way definitely makes that uncertainty worth it. I could not be any more grateful for the large roll the program played in changing my life forever. I am already looking forward to going back to Berlin - die beste Stadt!!

The day that I left my comfortable Ann Arbor bubble for Barcelona was predictably filled with mixed emotions. I hugged my parents goodbye, and armed with a 2015 picture-filled guide to Spain and a jumbo-sized bag of pretzel m & m’s I felt relatively ready.
Arrival in Barcelona was a frenzy of color and smiles- all of my peers were riding out a delusional joy-filled exhaustive state, and Cèsar himself was there to greet us. Then came our first chance to actually use the Spanish that we had been practicing in our classrooms for quite some time: the taxi ride to what would be our home for the next four months. I’d be lying if I said it went particularly smoothly, but luckily enough, my co-passenger and I safely made it to our destination on Gran Vía, directly across from the very classy Bingo Billiards.
The integration into the culture and vibrancy of Barcelona was swift and wonderful- and I can say that IES facilitated all of this with their helpful introductory meetings and fun, free activities, from a cycling tour of the city to a gorgeous Mediterranean lunch overlooking the sea. From all of these engaging, informative, trips, I met many of my peers, and began to forge relationships that would only grow throughout my time there.
Academically, I was able to take fascinating classes and learn from wonderful teachers. From Sports & Society in Spain to Banditry & the Mafias in the Mediterranean- I was able to delve into topics in an environment that was open to questioning and dialogue.
What truly made my experience so magical, however, wasn’t necessarily the incredible museums and beaches and restaurants and castles and nights out. No, it wasn’t the mouth-watering food or breath-taking views (though those certainly did help). No, it was the people that I met. My professors, my peers, my friends. I came into study abroad not knowing what to expect but eager to find out- and what I was met with was more intelligence, kindness, and hilarity then I could have ever hoped for. I realized how you can click with those who you thought you would never click with, how integral just being able to try is, and how each and every person and each and every part of the world has so many wonderful things to offer. IES made this all possible- and I can’t recommend it enough.

IES Vienna is full of dedicated staff and faculty, and I believe that they are at the core of what makes every IES Vienna experience so special. Not only are they there to challenge and teach you in an immersive and exhilarating environment, they care about your well being and enjoyment of the city they call home. Everyone at the IES Vienna center was full of suggestions, tips, and advice about living in Vienna, and often checked in with us to ask how our adventures were going. They were always excited to hear about what we did every weekend, and listened compassionately something went amiss. While I had many wonderful experiences, I must say that if you are trying to find a program, looking for a supportive and welcoming staff should be your top priority, because everyone will craft their own unique study abroad experience, and that is made 100 times easier with a support system like you will find at IES Vienna.

I always imagined studying abroad in a Spanish-speaking country, but Granada exceeded my wildest dreams for a study-abroad experience! Granada is the ideal city for study-abroad: it’s small enough to feel intimate, yet large enough to have a bevy of concerts, bars, and cultural activities. It’s a youthful college town, yet has centuries of rich cultural history –from the Islamic empire to “Los Reyes Catolicos.” That being said, Granada makes for the perfect hands-on classroom –with IES, I took a class on Islamic Art and Architecture where class consisted of weekly visits to the Alhambra. Also, Granada is surprisingly affordable! 2 Euro wine with a free tapa of paella have forever spoiled me for American prices.
IES does a great job coordinating all aspects of the program and catering it to your specific needs/goals. My goal was to fully immerse myself in Spanish. Not only did IES offer courses entirely in Spanish, but they also helped me register in classes at the University of Granada. The Program Director, Javier, is incredibly dynamic and genuinely cares about each student –by the second day of the program, he already knew everyone by name! The IES staff helps immensely with cultural immersion: they connected me with a local hiking club as well as sending out weekly agendas with local cultural activities. The program also included free trips to major sites like Sevilla, Ronda, Cordoba, and Cabo de Gata, which were great bonding experiences and enabled me to get a better sense of Spain as a whole.
One of the most memorable and immersive parts of the experience was my homestay. My host mother was an incredible woman –always cooking delicious Andalusian dishes, asking us about our lives, and trying to find solutions to any challenges that came up. She called me her “niña” and insisted on celebrating my birthday as if I were her own daughter. We still keep in touch over email and Skype, and she sends me photo updates of her adorable new grandson.
After spending a semester in Granada, I can honestly say that it was one of the most positive and powerful experiences of my life. Immersing myself in another culture gave me new perspective on my own culture and daily life. I learned to slow down from the fast-paced American lifestyle, appreciate all the wonderful people in my life, and when something doesn’t go according to plan, just shrug it off with a “no pasa nada” (the Granadino catchphrase). I have definitely become more open-minded, flexible, and independent because of this experience!

I'll admit that Paris was never one of my top dream destinations, but I fell in love with not only Paris but also French politics and society. I learned so much about not only European and French politics, but also Parisian culture and how it shapes politics and society. The professors encouraged dialogue and gave us the opportunity to read primary sources which seemed overwhelming but has greatly assisted me in making connections and helped in my later classes at my home school. Paris is a beautiful city to learn French and explore history. There is never a dull moment – there is always another cobblestone street to wander, another festival to attend, another museum to explore, another pastry to try. This international city has so much beauty and history that is enchanting! I'm so happy that I was able to spend a semester in Paris and be able to immerse myself in the tradition of the Parisian lifestyle!

I spent two semesters in Santiago, Chile. I honestly had a rough start with culture shock, but I changed host families and built a relationship with my host mom -a relationship I hope will last the rest of my life. I made friends within IES Abroad and with Chileans; I already miss them all!
Chile is the ideal place to study abroad, because it has the best of everything. I got to live in all the conveniences of a modern city, but could travel to the Andes mountains, the Pacific beaches, the driest desert in the world, islands, volcanoes, and of course, Patagonia.
I honestly believe that Chile is way underrated as a tourist destination. There is so much to see, do, and discover there.

I studied abroad in Nagoya for a spring semester through IES Abroad. In short, I would definitely recommend the program to anyone considering study abroad in Japan.

The IES orientation in Inuyama was a great way to brush up on the language and be eased into the different culture in an informative and supportive environment that also allowed me to meet people and make friends before being sent off to Nanzan proper. The two IES representatives were incredibly helpful and genuinely seemed to care about the well-being of each individual in the program. Even if you don't go to Japan, I would recommend working with IES since they provide so much support.

The Center for Japanese Studies at Nanzan was staffed by universally nice and helpful people. The entrance process to determine what level of Japanese class you should be in is very extensive, so you'll most likely be placed in the best level for you. The language instructors were also very nice and supportive, and I thought the packets made for the classes were very helpful (oftentimes better than the textbook). I wish that the other academic courses would be given the same level of consideration as the language classes (the other ones are hit-and-miss as far as quality), but this ultimately is a language-learning program. The Japanese methods of teaching are something to get used to if you come from a Western country, and it can sometimes be frustrating. I have my complaints about it, but they're very subjective complaints, and it's more of a cultural difference than something being overtly negative. For those of you looking for a low-stress school year, though, Japanese universities are famously laid back, and the CJS program is no exception. Around mid-terms or finals you may scramble around to remember your kanji, but, for the most part, you have the leeway to put classes on the back-burner and just enjoy being in the country.

I really love the city of Nagoya. I'm not a city-kid. I would not have survived in Tokyo (good place to visit once, though). If you're someone looking for a huge, bustling city, Nagoya may be a bit too quiet for you. For me, though, it was the perfect size. Sakae and Kanayama have the night life you want. Fushimi has a very interesting science museum even if you can't read the signs. There's a zoo; there's the Boston Museum of Art (free for students, by the way); there's an aquarium; there's a huge park with My Neighbor Totoro references that is constantly holding festivals; there are shopping centers everywhere for any need you could possibly have. You can get manga extremely cheap. There are nooks and crannies with very interesting bars and restaurants and shops. And you still have to take the subway everywhere, so you still feel like you're in a city. I had about a 40 minute commute by subway from my homestay to Nanzan, which was typical from what I saw. You get used to it, though. It's also extremely safe, or I at least felt extremely safe. Walking home late at night from the subway station wasn't in any way unpleasant. I had to go to a clinic twice while abroad -- once for getting sick and the second time after twisting my ankle -- and, even if they don't speak English and you haven't memorized your "trip to the hospital" Japanese vocabulary, I found that the doctors really try their best to help you to the best of their capacity, so don't be afraid of getting medical help if you think you need it either.

I am an introvert, so making friends or having a vibrant nightlife were not things that I've found easy doing in the past. But it was surprisingly easy to build a social circle and have things to do on Friday and Saturday nights while I was in Nagoya. My host family was wonderful -- home cooked family dinner every night, trips to museums and zoos, etc. As I said above, the IES orientation was a great way to establish a friend group in a foreign country full of people you've never met.
As a note, Japanese social lives tend to involve bars, alcohol, and lots of karaoke. You will go out for karaoke more in one month in Japan than you've ever thought possible. Drinking isn't a necessary thing, but be warned that it's going to happen around you if you're out late enough. I also taught English (it's incredibly easy to become a tutor if you want to) in my free time, which was a wonderfully rewarding experience. My going away party with my students was one of the happiest moments that I had abroad.

Overall, though there were negative points, as there are with anything, I still love the city and I love the friends I made there. If you have reservations about being a gaijin in such an ethnically homogeneous country: Yes, you do tend to stick out like a sore thumb if you're not on campus with the other study abroad students, sometimes people stare, but I didn't experience anything hostile or mean-spirited for the entire time I was there, and I'm a black woman. So no worries. I definitely want to return to Japan soon.

Ecuador was always a place to visit for me since my family is from there, but it had been a very faint memory as far as the day-to-day life over there. I found the amazing to opportunity to study abroad AND complete my studies in Ecuador through the IES Abroad program. The staff was extremely helpful from the day I flew in to Quito until the sad day I had to say good-bye. Every single person in the IES Abroad Quito office was involved in my program and they were always so helpful and humble to myself and the other students. I had an advantage over the other students, being that I had already visited the country multiple times and being a Spanish speaker, but this didn't stop the staff and administration at IES from teaching me so much more about the country and the people that I hadn't known before. They made sure to give us a tour of Quito prior to classes starting where we learned how to catch the bus, giving us the play by play of all the routes and giving us a sense of direction in the city. Then, the staff accompanied us to Universidad San Francisco and made sure that we were all as comfortable as possible embarking on our first day of school, I felt like it was the first day of pre-school and I had the comfort of my parents there making sure everything was set up perfectly for me to start my year. Academically, the system at USFQ was something far from what I was used to in the states. Everybody, from the dean to the cooks and chefs from the kitchen had a mutual sense of respect toward each other, it was one where everything was "horizontal"; nobody was above anybody and everybody was more of a colleague or peer rather than seen as a boss or a superior. The professors, for that matter, were amazing. Not only did they try to throw all their knowledge on the student, they genuinely had an interest in the students learning and academic journey. Outside of school hours, IES had various trips planned, to the Amazon, the Darwinian islands of Galápagos, and many little towns and beautiful scenic places that will forever leave footprints in my life. The social life needs no mentioning in this country. Everybody is so friendly and welcoming and curious to befriend everyone else. Making friends was definitely NOT a problem in Ecuador, the culture itself allows for a great and spontaneous social life, even at lunch breaks during classes where we would walk across the street to grab some food and enjoy music or the soccer games! IES also offers an internship/service learning program which truly gives the opportunity to fully immerse oneself in the culture and roots through volunteerism. This gave me the amazing opportunity to indulge in something that will not only be beneficial to my future career but it put me smack dab in the middle of the cultural commotion. During my internship at a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization at the university, I met many professors, students, and activists that all worked so well together as a team and showed me the true meaning of solidarity. Not only that, being in that internship taught me a lot more than I could ever read up on: the amazing night biodiversity of the country, the deep sense of culture, the language (slang included), among other things. It gave the experience of being able to give back to a community that opened its arms to me and let me in its doors to feed me, shelter me, and show me what it had to offer. It was with a very heavy heart that I had to leave the country, but an ecuadorian saying stuck to me that can define the experience for me: Me fui a volver... And I will be back because Ecuador is all I need.