Program Reviews

CET Siena has all the basics you might be looking for: a supportive and incredibly kind teaching and administrative staff, immersive language learning, amazing homestay opportunities, etc. What really made my semester incredible was how everyone in the program went above and beyond what was required to make me feel comfortable and also to help me explore Siena and Europe! The environment was incredibly supportive, and I made amazing friends and learned so much about Italian culture and the language!

The city of Prague is breathtaking and magical--if nothing else, I would have lived there simply for the city. In addition to the city, the transportation and low cost of living made the living experience spectacular. Though cold in the winter, there are a mindblowing amount of cafes around the city that are cozy and trendy.
The professors at FAMU are incredibly talented; they plan for cool trips and workshops with renowned photographers and there are many ways to make the most of all the resources in FAMU--from the high-end scanners and printers to the dark rooms and studios.
The administration is sometimes a little disorganized, particularly with communication to CET and us, but eventually it all works out. The support from the CET side is particularly helpful!
I came back with so much more photo knowledge, especially film photography, and am excited to continue my photographic journey!

CET Beijing Intensive Language program provided me with a wonderful learning experience. The program was certainly intensive. I spent 3-4 hours a day studying, and sometimes the workload was a bit daunting for me. The academic rigor, while intense, was really valuable and was central to my progress. Aside from the academics, CET housed me with a student from Beijing. He was a fundamental part of my experience in Beijing and I have come to know him as a friend. In tandem with academic study, during your time in Beijing it's imperative that you also practice, A LOT. I feel great now and have seen real progress (completed the equivalent of at least one year of study in the span of two months). I now feel comfortable engaging in a number of day to day activities: buying food, navigating public transportation, going clubbing, making friends, and many more. I had a great time in Beijing, and I'm sure you will too.

The CET Intensive Language Program in Beijing Provided me with a wonderful experience. The curriculum certainly felt demanding at times, but the workload facilitated real progress in my fluency of the language. Aside from the academic experience, living in Beijing without restriction was a transformative experience. My roommate was a fundamental part of my time in Beijing. Living and studying with him was great, and he was and is still a valuable friend that I can practice Mandarin with. When I come back to Beijing, It'll be nice to have a friend there. I learned how to navigate public transportation, buy food, make friends, go clubbing, and many other day to day activities all in Chinese! Overall, my experience was an amazing and memorable one. Sure it was daunting and even a little scary at first, but ultimately one of the best times of my life. I can't wait to go back.

Before I left for Shanghai, CET promises the stars, they promised a summer study program at a rigorous university, Chinese language and elective classes taught by highly skilled proffesors, as well as a job internship in the heart of finincial capital of China. As the old saying goes, if something sound too good to be true, it probably is. But just 2 months after the experience, I can safely say that, if anything, CET was underselling the experience. This trip was a tranformative experience for me, as not only did my language skills improve , but I also gained the confidence and affirmation that I could actually use them to live, work , and in China, as well as gaining a global perspective on how a vastly different culture views and engages Work and education related mores and traditions. Studying abroad, and this program in particular, is something I cannot recommend hard enough to anyone/

I had the experience of a lifetime studying in São Paulo, Brazil. The program is designed so that you live off, but near campus with Brazilian students who attend PUC. At PUC, depending on your Portuguese fluency, you will either direct enroll in two courses of your choice or take two courses previously designated by CET. Additionally, at CET's hub, you will take an immersive Portuguese language course and Poverty and Inequality. The CET staff is incredibly involved, fun, and supportive. The staff plan excursions and trips that complement what is being learned in class and fuel the program's fun. Altogether, these elements coalesced into one of the most beautiful and unforgettable experiences of my life. I came from a non-traditional background: my parents are immigrants and I am a first generation student. Study abroad felt like a stretch and leaving what was comfortable was scary, but perhaps more than any other program could have, CET Brazil really touched my soul. I am Afro-Latino and at its heart, Brazil is too. This made adjusting to many of the changes easy because they felt distantly familiar. I immediately connected with my roommate, other Brazilian students, and the CET staff because their hospitality and warmth felt like my family's. From Day 1, the staff was on board to answer all our concerns and questions. My roommates were always willing to take us around and within a week the students on the program had already planned our own excursion. We became a family quickly and I'm still in touch with almost all of the students and staff involved. The professors were similar, particularly the ones for Portuguese and Poverty and Inequality. They were very involved and present and interested in our personal lives. This was instrumental in making the work truly immersive because the coursework was tweaked to fit our experiences in Brazil more meaningful. With these two classes, there were tons of excursions - such as one to an indigenous village and a week-long trip to Bahia, which I really enjoyed, because I got to learn about a unique region of Brazil that is very different from São Paulo. All the courses contextualized what we saw day-to-day, particularly socially (i.e. race, sexuality and gender issue) very well. Finally, there are many fun things to do in São Paulo regarding food and nightlife. Compared to the US, going out is cheap...like $1 Uber cheap. So, I highly recommend this program and actually cannot wait to go back to Brazil and perhaps even pursue a master's degree or job there. Too often we get wrapped up in what America can offer us, but the reality is the whole world is your oyster and you should take advantage of all the traveling you can do because you never know what you'll learn or who you'll meet.

It was a great cross-cultural experience. The students were offered great opportunities to attend awesome excursions with the program.; The staff and the local roommates were definitely supportive of the foreign students for the most part. Although the academics had proven to be rather challenging, it was definitely an effective way of learning a language in a fast pace. One thing that I would recommend on improving is the communication between the local roommates and the foreign roommates. A weekly check-up on both of them could be beneficial.

Studying abroad in Prague was the best decision I have ever made! Originally, I wanted to study abroad in Paris because I am a French major, but changed my mind last minute because I wanted to go somewhere more unique. The culture in Prague is so different, it is hard for me to articulate even now. CET pushed me to do things I never would have on my own. For example, traveling for ten days on the traveling seminar with a large group of people who I had only recently met was one of the most fun and memorable things I have ever done, even though it sounded intimidating at first. I made friends with people I never would have had I gone through a bigger study abroad program, and am still in touch with them now. The love and support I felt from the staff and teachers was also a huge bonus, and not something that students who went elsewhere experienced. CET Prague was the best semester of my life!

The academic rigor of this intensive language program was very high, and there was a lot of interesting and useful content covered in each of our four classes that was supplemented by nightly homework that solidified what we learned each day. All of the teachers were very helpful and approachable whenever I had any questions. And the weekends punctuated each busy week with fun, planned excursions around Harbin, and independently-planned excursions surrounding the region were also encouraged by the staff. All in all, I learned a lot about China and its language this summer.

CET Prague was an outstanding program! Living just outside the center of town enabled us to get to know many different areas of Prague and have a neighborhood that truly felt like home. The public transportation is incredibly easy to use and CET provides you with a pass for the semester, allowing easy access to all of the things the city has to offer. Paddle boating down the Charles, picnicking in Jiriho z Podebrad, and traveling to Poland, Austria, and Budapest on the Traveling Seminar are some of my finest memories from the semester. I would encourage everyone to do CET Prague who loves to learn by experiencing the place where there are living.