Program Reviews

Madrid is the best place you could ever go. The fashion is ridiculous, the people are amazing and the food is to die for. SU Madrid was one of the best decisions I have ever made and I wish I was still there. It's amazing how big of an effect a short period of time can have on your life. I love my host family and we still talk every other week. They are my second family, forever and always and I will be sure to go visit them again. Getting around Europe is so easy. Just really be sure to immerse yourself in culture that you are in and do not act like the stereotypical American that they already have you painted as. Make friends with locals, speak the language and be open to everything. You will fall in love with Madrid and everything this magical city has to offer you. There are not enough words in the English or Spanish language to describe this amazing experience.

I learned more in my semester in Central Europe than I ever thought possible. We went to incredible places, met the most interesting and influential people, and became critical thinkers. Hana and Juliet, the program directors, are probably the smartest women I have ever met and they do everything in their power to make sure that this program meets your needs and interests. I never would have imagined that I would find the best dessert pierogi in small village on the border of Poland and Belarus, just as I never would have imagined the joys of attempting to make your own American Thanksgiving while trying to brave the language barrier. While this program comes with a lot of challenges, both academic and personal, I would not trade this experience for the world. If you have even an inkling of interest in Central Europe, its history, and its current politics, you should go. You won't regret it.

The staff go out of their way to make you comfortable, answer your questions, and find activities/classes that fit your interests. The living situation is ideal - you have a single bedroom in the international student dorms on the Tsinghua campus with your own (western) bathroom as well. There's wifi and good campus cuisine is close by. You can choose to challenge yourself academically through Tsinghua classes in Chinese, through higher levels of Chinese instruction, or through completing independent studies with Tsinghua professors. You can also choose to take a more laid-back route, leaving time for exploration by sticking with the English-only courses taught by Tsinghua professors tailored specifically to you and your peers in the SU Abroad program. I highly recommend attending the pre-semester traveling seminar - it's incredible, both academically and in terms of adventure!

This was an amazing experience for me and the staff that you work with is absolutely amazing. If you're looking for a different experience one that is different from school and from the United states try the Istanbul program with an open mind. I spent time and got to know the best people, people I would've never became friends with without the program. The signature seminar leader is the most intelligent man I know and the program director is the kindest person and almost a second mom. I am a business major and learned so much about politics and the European Union and it was so much more interesting then I expected. Please step out of your comfort zone and give this program a shot!

I went into the SU Abroad Santiago program not knowing anyone in the program and it turned out to be amazing. I went to Ecuador as a part of the 1 month program there and then later to Santiago. The people I went to Chile with are now great friends and I learned and grew as a person in this 6 month experience more than I ever could have anticipated.

In Santiago you can take almost any class that you want and becoming and student at PUC or UChile makes the experience incredibly immersive and rewarding. The Human Rights classes offered to SU students through the SU center are two of the best and most important classes I have ever taken. Classes in all Spanish are initially very challenging but help with language proficiency. Being put in a Chilean University also means that students in the program typically make Chilean and other international friends.

I came into the program with very limited Spanish knowledge. Between classes and the homestay, I gained fluency before the end of the program.

The staff at the SU center are so supportive and amazing. I have never talked to someone from the program that didn't have great things to say about Mauricio and Paula.

Homestay can be difficult, but is an incredible experience for cultural and language immersion. The SU center is sensitive to cultural issues and will help students if they need to change their living situation.

Santiago is an amazing city. It is a great size and has excellent public transport. I was initially intimidated by living in a city but quickly overcame this and loved how much there was to do and how easy it was to get around. Some parts of the city (like any city) are unsafe at times. I rarely felt uncomfortable, even late at night. It is easy to avoid putting yourself in a bad situation by being aware of your surroundings.

Travel within Chile (and South America) is easy and cheap. The program encourages students to travel, and the program includes lots of travel.

This program is an AMAZING experience

Istanbul is an amazing place to visit, but you can't truly understand the city without spending an extended period of time there. The SU Istanbul program begins with a traveling seminar in which you are taught everything you could want to know about the history of the city (and you learn to speak a little bit of Turkish too!). The best part of the seminar is that you are learning about the history of the city while standing inside the historical places you are learning about, such as Hagia Sophia or Topkapi Palace. You continue to learn through the semester about Turkey as a country through a class taught by the program director, and many field trips. These classes and trips allow you to really understand everything going on around you on a daily basis, in a way that most tourists never could.

The day to day life during the program is really what you make of it. You can make yourself extremely busy by taking lots of classes, doing an internship, volunteering, and finding things to do around the city. Istanbul is such a large city that you could spend every day of the semester exploring and never see the whole thing, which is great when you will be there for about 5 months. I had an internship 2 days per week and was able to make some great friends there who really took me under their wings. They helped me continue to learn Turkish and always included me when they went out for lunch or dinner together as an office. For me, my internship was one of the greatest learning experiences for me because I got to spend so much time with Turkish people talking about subjects such as food, politics,religion, sports, and life in general. I suggest that if you do attend this program, you make an effort to get to know as many Turkish people as possible, because they will teach you more than you can imagine.

Interning in Istanbul was one of the most valuable experiences that I had abroad. I was able to work at a culinary arts/cultural center, which was a perfect fit for me as a nutrition major. Perhaps the most important part of the experience was being able to spend time getting to know my Turkish colleagues, who took time out of each day to teach me new things about Turkish culture.

Even if you do not know much about Turkey before going on this program (because I definitely did not), I promise you will learn so much and leave thinking that Turkey is one of the most amazing places in the world! This is a really special program and I think everyone who goes to Istanbul for their semester abroad is really happy with their decision :)

So, let's be honest, going to Ecuador and Chile is nothing like going to Europe. At all. It is 20x better. Sure, you are going to mess up your Spanish, you are going to get lost and you are going to have those days that you miss home. However, more importantly, you are going to have those moments where you are backpacking in Patagonia, visiting a cool hipster neighbor to get coffee or having someone think YOU are Chilean and asking you for directions. Then, you start feeling like you can do anything. This program is fantastic. You create amazing relationships with other SU students, Chileans and students from all over the world; you really solidify your Spanish abilities; and you have the opportunity to embrace any type of adventure that fits who you are. Don't miss the opportunity to live fully immersed in another culture because this is truly the only time in your life you will be able to have an experience quite like this and it no other program at SU can really offer this same level of immersion.

My 6 months in the Santiago program were 6 of the best months of my life. The program offered plenty of opportunities to travel and explore, while also teaching us some very valuable lessons about human rights and life in general.

I attended SUF's masters program in art history that consists of 4 months in Syracuse New York, followed by 12 months in Florence Italy - for sure the better part of the program!!

The masters is really good experience for continuing in grad school or for learning about life in Italy. You get a better exposure than you do in just an undergrad program. We had hands on access to famous artworks and historical archives, the best library access, and produced original research.