European Studies Program at Freie Universität Berlin

The Fu-Best program at Freie Universität in Berlin offers so many great and fun opportunities to get to know Berlin, Germany, and the surrounding countries. The Fu-Best courses were more interesting than my home university's courses! I was very fortunate to travel to Prague through the FU week-long excursion. They organized plenty of tours and activities for us while we explored this historic city! Also, what was really great about FU was that they took care of all of our visas and documents so we never had to worry about being deported. Our public transportation pass was also included so we could ride any U-bahn, S-Bahn, bus or tram wherever and whenever we wanted in Berlin (depending on the hours of the night of course).
Living in a home-stay was absolutely amazing because my host mom and her 3 adult kids really accepted me as part of the family. We spoke in German while they taught me about their culture and traditions! They took me on two Spree river tours! Once for a wedding party and the second for a birthday party! They also knew about the best clubs and hangout spots in Berlin.
I was also able to travel to other countries easily and often because of the EU laws. I traveled to the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Austria, and the Czech republic.
FU is an incredible program and my only regret is that I didn't stay for an entire year!

I have been to Germany a couple times before this program, but having the opportunity to stay in Berlin for a few months made it a unique experience. Berlin is a city unlike any other. The courses at FU-BEST are challenging but well worth the difficulty as the faculty care about the students learning while abroad. I also made lasting friendships with other students in the program and improved my German language skills by taking the intensive course.

FU-BEST is a great program to learn the German Language while living in the amazing city of Berlin. The Home-Stay option was one of the highlights of my trip--I was able to practice my language while being immersed in the lifestyle of a German family. Subject courses allowed me to dive into the history of Berlin and Europe, and made me feel incredibly connected to the city I was living in. I would highly suggest the program, but be aware that in order to meet German students you will have to go out of your way a bit.

FU-BEST offered a comprehensive study abroad program that allowed students to apply what they learned in the classroom to the history of Berlin. The program also provided us plenty of opportunities to explore the city. My favorite part of the program was going to Stammtisch, our weekly social gatherings. I also liked the week long excursions that are a built-in part of the program. We took many day trips so I got to see more of Germany than just Berlin.

I spent my Junior year in Berlin and could not have been happier about my decision to study at FUBEST. While a year away from the US may seem a lot, I'd posit two semesters as the bare minimum time spent in Berlin to start understanding some of the various anxieties or issues currently holding the city's attention; this sort of year is a really (I think) healthy way to imagine transatlantic/world interactions in a honest, truthful light. A lot of the conversations happening in Berlin (immigration, rises in abhorrent Nationalism) are occurring in Berlin and happen in a really engaging way given Berlin's long history of activism/progressivism. Being in Berlin right now is a really great experience.

Berlin itself is a great city. FU-BEST is a good program overall, but like anything has a few flaws. The biggest I'd say came from the housing. It is a student apartment complex relatively far from the city center and took approximately one hour to get to classes and 45 minutes to get to clubs/bars. I liked my professors and the administration was always willing to help out! They are great at organizing group events and Stammtisch was a great tradition in which we would meet at a bar on Thursday nights. The cultural excursions were informative and the city events (I chose a soccer game and an opera) were an awesome experience. Overall, I'd recommend the program to others and suggest they consider doing a homestay.

The German Plus Package was an extremely challenging program with all classes taught in German. While it was challenging, it ensured that all students would leave the semester having reached a level of German proficiency that cannot be attained elsewhere. Taking 3 subject courses in the topics Art, Theater, and Politics, as well as a general writing course, allowed one to learn materials that one could immediately use outside of the classroom when exploring Berlin.

This program is very intense and not for those who are just looking for an easy and relaxed semester abroad. The assignments and readings are challenging, even for those who speak almost fluent German, and it seemed a bit overwhelming at first. It was somewhat frustrating how much time was needed to complete assignments, especially towards the beginning of the program. But it got easier toward the end, and most of the professors were really helpful and understanding. By the end of the program, I felt like my German had improved so much, that it was worth the time spent struggling through essays and readings. It's unbelievably satisfying to look back on the work that you've done throughout the semester, because it really is a huge accomplishment that everything was done in another language! The excursions were great in all of the classes and I think it made my educational experience a lot better. One of the most helpful classes was the academic writing class, which really made the Hausarbeiten a much easier, but it was sometimes a bit too long. (5ish hours on Wednesdays)
Although there was no choice of classes to take, it actually turned out pretty great because I took classes that I never would have normally taken and learned some really cool and interesting new things!
It was nice that the class sizes were so small, which meant we were often helped individually by the professors and also were able to give input into what we wanted to learn.
All in all, Berlin is an amazing city to spend a semester abroad and I think that this program did a pretty good job of teaching us the cultural aspects of Berlin and Germany in general. If you're looking for a rigorous program to improve your German, this is the one for you!