European Studies Program at Freie Universität Berlin

Berlin is like no other city in the world!
Before going to Berlin, I knew about the intense history of the city but it wasn’t until I studied in Berlin for a year was I truly able to understand Berlin, its people, and one of the most unique places in the world. The FU-BEST program only made the experience better. All my courses were extremely relevant to issues in today’s world and so it was really interesting to be able to connect my courses to current events. Most of the professors are really into their topics and so it makes the courses more easy going as interesting discussions arose almost every course. I thought the mandatory German courses were awesome. Most German courses were really fun but also intense enough to where I was able to learn a lot. The staff was super helpful and if we ever had any problems we could go to anyone and they would do as much as possible to help us out. The added weekly get togethers were awesome and it was a great way to get to know more people within the program while exploring new Berlin bars. The week-long excursion was also awesome as we went to interesting cities and were able to explore a lot on our own. For housing, I would highly recommend homestays. Almost everyone I know loved their family and thought it was much better than the apartments.
Berlin itself is such an incredible city. It is filled with endless amounts of art, music, fashion, etc. Anyone is able to find their own little funky niche because Berlin is meant for everyone and anyone. The restaurants in Berlin are all so good and you can eat out without breaking the bank. I think Berlin is the cheapest (big) city in Europe! Definitely don’t be afraid to try new doner places. The bars and clubs are all so unique and constantly playing different kinds of EDM. Though Berlin might seem overwhelming, it is such an amazing city and is filled with the coolest art, the best food, an awesome night life, and people from all over the world open to anything. I can't wait to get back to Berlin!!

Great group of student Assistents and advisors! Much work in the classes but I really improved my German!
Great experience!
The excursions that took place were also very helpful. Constant speaking in Germany really benefited my word choice and listening. Starting the program off with working on grammar and reading skills helped in the long run with writing the papers.
The professors were very kind and open to all questions. Also willing to work on topics that interested the students so that the class would be more fun!

The program was great! The staff was very helpful with everything. The classes were all structured the same which was not the best for some subjects. Beware of the schedule. I did not consider how exhausting going to school all day on Wednesday would be. The classes all offered 2-3 excursions which were fun because it helped us explore the city more. The week long excursion was fun and I got the opportunity to visit cities that I wouldn't have gone to on my own.

I chose to come to Berlin for the entire academic year primarily because I had the space for it in my schedule and FU-BEST's course offerings would allow me to fit two minors into my degree. FU-BEST is set up in a way that allows your study abroad experience to be both experiential and academic; the subject courses offer a good introduction into different fields and are not extremely demanding, thus giving you plenty of space to explore Berlin and Europe. The courses act more as survey courses in order to accommodate a wide variety of academic backgrounds from students, and as such, might not appeal to those who are used to working in-depth in their field. (That being said, the subject courses are a great opportunity to take something outside of one's field and learn more about Germany and Europe while you're at it.)

For those interested in the language component, FU-BEST operates best when you "make the most of it as you will." While I found the Intensive German courses good for learning vocabulary and more refined sentence structures, (non-beginning) students who came to the program without a good preexisting grasp of grammar basics definitely seemed to struggle more. The homestay option was my biggest asset in becoming more comfortable with the language, and I highly recommend it for students looking to improve their German. One of the biggest complaints I heard was students feeling discouraged about practicing their German in the city, but opportunities are certainly there if you look and persist. (:

The program exists in a bit of a (mostly) American bubble because it is not a direct enrollment program, but I appreciated the fact that it is not a school-specific program so that you can meet students from different campuses. In addition, the FU-BEST staff are wonderful to work with and easy to talk to!

If you have the option to go abroad for a year, then definitely consider coming to Berlin. You'll never be bored, and being abroad for two semesters means that you won't feel stressed about fitting everything into one.

FU-BEST was an extremely well-run program, in everything I noticed from start to finish. I am grateful for all the work the program director and staff do to make our experience here the best it can be. My favorite part about the program set-up was probably the week long excursion towards the end of the semester. After so much small-group travel, it was really great to have everything planned out for us for a week while traveling around a few new cities.

I was at Freie Universität in Berlin during the spring semester, I had such good teachers in the classes I took! And I loved to have had the opportunity to go with the other people studying with me to the full week excursion, that was one of my favorite parts of being part of this program. I lived in the apartments and I think they have the perfect size for one person, but they are far from school. I didn't like the long distance that much; but I did get the feeling, when I got back from travels, that I was getting home by getting to my apartment. Fu-Best program is very well organized and has many options of very interesting classes as well as very interesting excursions; and it is in Berlin! I have to say Berlin has definitely become my favorite city in Europe. Living in Berlin is an amazing experience, there are so many things to do, you never stop discovering new interesting and fun places! If you re a student looking for an exchange program in Europe I would really recommend Berlin as destination and Fu-Best is a very good option to do so.

I came across FU-BEST while looking for direct enrollment opportunities on my school’s study abroad website. I was interested in a program that was academically rigorous while also incorporating its environment into the courses to provide a more experiential curriculum. Freie Universitat Berlin’s European Studies Program does just that.

I took two subject courses in addition to intensive German. This program was not my first experience with German but was my first German class. It was a little hard to keep up at first, but my German teacher was absolutely fantastic and brought me up to speed. All courses, subject and language, do excursions throughout Berlin to encourage students to use the city as a resource. This was a great way to get students to see parts of Berlin that they may not experience otherwise, as well as a neat way to make what you are learning about feel more applicable.

Students have several choices for housing—I chose to live in a homestay, which provided me with even more opportunities to connect with the city. There are further opportunities, such as volunteering, language tandems, and additional cultural events that help to facilitate students’ interactions with the city.

My time in Berlin is one I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. It allowed me to grow as a person, make countless new friends, while still being intellectually pushed. First, I'll speak about the program itself, then more about Berlin as a whole. The program was run by a team of incredibly nice and helpful staff who were always looking out for your best interest. Whether it was the first week where they helped us fill out all necessary paper work or the weekly Stammtisch where we got to see each other in an environment outside the class room. They made it all fun. A fantastic experience was the one week long excursion we took (I was in Poland) where we were lead on walking tours and got to truly experience multiple new cities to the core. It allowed for free time and helped everyone get closer and make even more friends than just in the first weeks.

My classes were also fantastic. Eventhough German was my first language, I still had a lot to learn. My grammar and writing improved significantly and I felt very close with my small and fun class. We went on excursions together and got to explore the city as well as learn all the time. My subject courses were also special. I learned a lot and the teachers were fun, smart, and engaging.

The most important part of the experience though comes down to the city itself, Berlin. A place where anyone can feel welcome. There is something for everyone from museums to some of the coolest nightclubs in the world. Exploring Berlin a treat. The people are nice, cool, and creative. The food is delicious, and every part of the city has something new to offer. You will never be bored in Berlin. Another plus for non German speakers is a lot of people speak English! Believe me when I say you do not want to miss out on an opportunity to go to Berlin for a longer period of time and this program is the way to get it done.