Studying Abroad at Maastricht University

I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to study with CES Maastricht within the School of Business and Economics. The School of Business and Economics encourages students to take control of their learning through peer based learning. Within peer based learning, students lead and professors guide the discussion. This set up empowers student to self-discover, control their learning, and decide which areas to further explore. The student led conversations present multiple points of view on issue, because of the multi-national student body at the University. Within this class structure, students also give more formal presentations in groups to practice leading a discussion. It was an amazing experience to work in multi-cultural groups.

Outside of the classroom, Maastricht is amazing place to explore via bike. The town contains many picturesque churches and cafes and the amazing Bonnefantemmuseum. I really enjoyed all of the local events and festivals. While I was studying abroad, Maastricht celebrated Carnival with several parades and intricate costumes. Later on in the semesters, Vrijthof Square was converted into a polo stadium. It was a lot of fun to attend the polo matches for free.

Maastricht is also centrally located which makes it easy to explore Europe. I would regularly bike from the guesthouse dorms across the border to Belgium in about 5 minutes. The town is also very well connected through a bus system. Through the CES Maastricht program, I traveled to Berlin, Ghent, Bruge, Antwerp, and Amsterdam. The CES program planned every aspect of the trip and organized activity geared towards our program. For example, the Business and Economics program visited a BMW manufacture in Berlin to gain a greater understanding of the business.

Overall, studying abroad at Maastricht University was one of the best decisions of my life.