My European Union Program Experience

I enrolled in the European Union program in Freiburg to gain a better understanding of European culture through the Political Science and International Relations lens and have the ability to visit famous European cities that were also relevant with our studies.
As a Business major, it would seem that my studies were not exactly compatible with my major. However, I was able to fulfill some of my major requirements while still being able to take some Political Science and International Relations classes that I thought were very interesting and could diversify my academic background.
The semester when I studied, the Fall of 2016, could not have been a better time to study abroad. With Brexit and very similar elections occurring in nearly every major European state coupled with the US elections, the subject matter was relevant to everybody and we had plenty of material to discuss in class and when we visited the different bureaucratic cities.
The relevance of the material we study in class were extremely relevant with the current events and that was vital for me as there was the study aspect in my study abroad and also in practice, as I was able to combine the two together and gain a better understanding for European political culture.
As this program is geared towards Political Science and International Relations majors, there were times where I felt I was out of my element, as I did not possess the foundational knowledge of the subject matter we would study. However, it was still very beneficial for me to study different subjects as a Liberal Arts student.
The program did a fantastic job of balancing class work with our travels, as the professors had a great understanding of our time constraints as our schedule had us outside Freiburg almost every two weeks.
With my college tuition and the study program expense being equal, it was fantastic to be able to visit these cities without paying more out of pocket.
Freiburg is also a vibrant, university-driven town to be in, and in close proximity to France, Switzerland, and other European states.