Program Reviews

This has by far been the best semester of college yet! Florence is an incredible city with great food and lots to do. The staff at CET were always helpful with recommending activities and places to eat around the city. All of the classes are very interesting and designed in a way that allows students to engage with city by incorporating field trips and guest speakers. Classes are Monday through Thursday which gave us a lot of opportunities to take weekend trips around Italy and Europe.

As a computer science major, I was very hesitant about enrolling in a program about social issues - something I thought would not add much value to my professional life. Getting to Brazil I could see the staggering inequality as we flew by the seemingly endless horizon of buildings and right over the more disorganized favelas. This scene went along with the reoccurring theme of poverty seen throughout the semester. Visiting multiple NGOs, studying the details, and even just talking to people on the streets and local bakeries, I realized that this experience was definitely beneficial for my computer science career. More specifically, I got inspired to create applications and volunteer in ways geared to help those in need. Doing research for my CET class on the effect of smartphones on the poor, I got exposed to apps that have tremendously helped people in low income areas such as those mapping the streets in the streets in favelas, unrecognized by widely used apps such as Google Maps.

However, don't be worried about this theme of poverty. Although we got up close with it and learned about the effects, it was always in an extremely safe way. I never felt unsafe at any point during my time in worse off areas. We were always accompanied by leaders from the community which advised the community to leave us alone as we were just bringing attention to the issues affecting them. Apart from this, the area that we are housed in is extremely safe and clean. Despite this, you still have to be aware of your surroundings - just like in any other country.

Although the academic and professional aspect was impactful, by far the thing that will stay with me the most is the relationships I created with the locals, especially the Brazilians I lived with and the staff at CET. They were extremely helpful, friendly, and welcoming. Right away we all got super comfortable with each other and helped one another with Portuguese and English. They are truly people I can rely on and am sure I will stay in touch with them for the rest of my life. Some of my fondest memories of the semester are simply hanging out with my roommates just exchanging words, cracking jokes, and laughing at each other. If you truly want a cultural immersion, this is the right program for you - the Brazilian roommates will make sure you meet more locals, eat local foods, see unknown sights, and master the language.

To any future students: 1) be prepared to broaden your perspectives and learn about multiple cultures as you will be exposed to multiple religions, micro communities, and traditions unique to Brazil. 2) Don't be shy about your Portuguese! Everybody here is very understanding and welcoming of foreigners. 3) Make sure you save up some money to travel within Brazil - there are hundreds of incredible beaches you will never get to see anywhere else (Check out Ilha Grande if you can).

All in all, I came in with just 2 bags full of clothes and left with genuine friendships, a fluent grasp of a language, unforgettable experiences, and the warmness of the Brazilian culture. I highly recommend this program to anybody considering it :)

This has been the best semester of my life! CET offers an array of interesting courses. Although the professors don't always speak perfect English, they are usually very helpful and the classes are enjoyable. CET is very helpful preparing you for the journey the semester before you leave and also in integrating you into the culture of Italy once you get there. Not having any classes on Friday was PERFECT because it made traveling so much easier. I was not very well traveled before but now I have been all over Europe! Florence itself is amazing. There are so many awesome restaurants, bars, clubs, and things to do. The food is incredible. If you are into art, this is the perfect city for you! The school work was challenging but not so much that I did not have time to enjoy other experiences. I have learned so much about the world and also myself this semester. Nothing can replace the people I've met and the experiences I've had. I wish I could stay longer!

As I had never traveled out of the country before, I was very concerned about how living abroad would be, from both an academic setting as well as a general adapting to life not in America. But CET was very helpful in all aspects, from ensuring proper equivalencies would be acquired at my home institution, to knowing where to buy groceries. I also loved how they organized trips to places like Cesky Krumlov that I never would have even considered going on my own.

Choosing to study abroad with CET Prague was one of the best choices I've made!

CET itself is a really unique program which offers opportunities that few other programs offer. When talking to my friends on other programs, they could not believe all the opportunities we had with CET. The traveling seminar to Poland, Austria, and Hungary is incredibly unique and one of the best weeks I've ever had. A perfect balance between lectures, planned tours, and activities, and free time. And when there wasn't anything planned, CET gave us the opportunity to visit museums and reimbursed us for our tickets-- they go above and beyond with things like this! Throughout the semester, they also plan several day trips to places like Kutna Hora, Jáchymov, Terezín, etc. Finally, they also gave us the opportunity to attend an opera and sports event (soccer, hockey, etc.) which I have never heard of other programs doing. CET made sure that we had every opportunity to get to know Prague, the Czech Republic, and Central Europe as a whole.

There is a really wide variety of classes offered so you can find ones you would enjoy and I really learned a lot over the course of the semester. Often, my classes included excursions to various areas in Prague which I may not have gone to on my own and added a nice variety so we weren't always just sitting in a classroom.

Finally, the staff in Prague is absolutely incredible! Maggie (the student life coordinator) was always suggesting great places to go and was really helpful in answering all my questions about Prague. You can really tell she cares about the students here. Kim, the director, is very approachable and easy to talk to. The rest of the resident directors are really great and knowledgeable!

Overall, I'd recommend this program to anyone!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with CET Siena for the Spring 2018 semester. The people, both staff and other students, made my time in this program absolutely delightful. The program manager, Vicky, was a delight to work with. She helped all of use if we ever needed it, and was always supportive of our wants and needs. Each professor that I had was amazing. They really cared about us as people and about our academics. They were all very engaging in our courses and very approachable. The courses themselves were at a challenging level that I was looking for in a study abroad program. They were challenging enough to make me know that I was still working hard enough and learning many new things. Yet, they were not overwhelming or super stressful, so that I could also enjoy my free time to travel around Italy on the weekends and get to know Siena better during the week. I must say, however, that the other students definitely helped increase the ambivalence of the ambiance that was set up by the staff. I think this is an excellent program for studying abroad, but the other students do make it or break it. I would still recommend this program for anyone interested about learning Italian, specifically Sienese, culture and art. Many if not all courses are also very interactive and many times hands-on.

Florence has been more amazing than I could have ever imagined. Being in a city filled with such a rich culture has enabled me to grow in many ways. CET has definitely been a major factor in this experience. CET allowed me to explore many of the gems of Italy and Florence, and make the most of my academic experience. The staff are some of the most welcoming, charismatic, and knowledgeable people I have encountered during my experience. The professors are well-versed and passionate about their respective fields and challenge us learn more about Italian culture. The staff also were tremendous help in making my adjustment to Florence very comfortable and helping me navigate this city. Thank you CET!

CET Florence is a great program for those wishing to study in Florence. All of the housing is in the center of the city, which is a great way to immerse yourself in the Florence culture. The academics are relatively difficult, and do a good job of exposing you to many aspects of the city and culture of Italy. The program also organizes a few trips and activities for the students, which are not required but are available, which is nice. The staff is very nice and goes out of their way to get to know you, although I think that they could have been more supportive when it comes to absences for cases that should be excused (such as sickness, this is not excused). CET was a great program for me, an art history student, who wanted to learn more about the culture and history of Florence.

This past semester, I studied in the CET program in São Paulo, Brazil. This was my second time out of the United States but the first time living in another country.

Location: São Paulo is a vibrant and colorful city that offers tons of opportunities for fun and education. One thing I appreciated was that I didn't feel out of place in Brazil because of the familiarity of a large city – the only difference being that people speak Portuguese. I will say that if you don't have the initiative to go out and do things and interact then São Paulo can be boring. That being said, I suggest going to Ibirapuera Park (Parque Ibirapuera), its a large park that allows you to escape the city.

Housing: CET provides housing in apartments in the Perdizes sector of São Paulo. The location of the housing is important because it is really close to the CET offices and one of the PUC (host university) campuses. The area is gated and safe, but it is important to note that this area is extremely privileged. If you are a person of color, you will likely not resonate with the area but not unwelcoming. In addition, because CET places us in apartments, they also pair us with Brazilian roommates who also attend PUC. I think this is the greatest benefit to the program because I'm able to learn from peers at anytime and I don't feel a great difference from other college life.

Program: The CET program works in the way that they offer two mandatory classes that you take outside of the host university and the other three depend on your language level. As for me, my university required that all my courses be taken in Portuguese and that my three remaining classes needed to be taken at PUC. In the beginning I was worried that I wouldn't be able to handle this requirement but ultimately it isn't more work than I receive in the US. The Portuguese language that I take is lenient yet comes with a lot of work. We give multiple presentations within the semester and grammar work – in my opinion, while there is a high quantity of work, the more I am forced to speak at a college level I feel as though I am improving at a greater speed than ever before. As for the courses at PUC, they reflect what I would expect from college classes, I think the only difference is that final grades are completely dependent on a couple tests or a final paper with no other influences.

In addition, the program involves multiple excursions to places within in São Paulo and to other cities in Brazil. In the trip to Salvador, Bahia they combined a week of beaches, islands, and cultural exposure which was pretty amazing. I can honestly say now that I have visited some private islands.

Another thing that stems from how the program is set up are the people you interact with. The other people that make up my program are all Americans and they are usually the only people I interact with regularly. I highly recommend trying to make friends with other people at the university so you can have the best experience of living in Brazil. Because this can be difficult, I'm grateful for the Brazilian roommates that are always willing to be friendly.

Ultimately, Brazil is amazing, and I greatly enjoyed my time here!
(A little tip, if you have already decided to come to São Paulo, some things to remember so you won't be missing them: hot sauce, Reese's (thought Paçocas are pretty good), and any special hair products you may need.

My semester abroad was fantastic, and CET was a big part of it. The program offered interesting classes that I could take with my friends, and they also do a good job of offering activities outside the classroom to give students the Florentine experience. I spent a little less than half my weekends in Florence, but I still found things to do while I was here, and being here really made me appreciate the Italian culture. While it might be nerve-racking committing to spending 4 months on the other side of the world, I've had the absolute best time, and I also got the chance to grow personally. Coming to Florence was the best decision I ever made, and I'm thankful I got the chance to cross so many things off my bucket list!