IES EU: The Coolest and Most Integrative Academic Experience Europe Can Offer Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The IES courses were not as rigorous academically as W&M courses; they involved more busy work but I strongly believed it was necessary to make students actually do the readings, which were so necessary for learning. I definitely retained this information very well because all class-based learning was supplemented with field study trips, where we traveled to EU institutions and got the chance to apply our knowledge by talking with very on-the-scene people. One military leader in Berlin talked briefly to us about the NATO strategy in Afghanistan, before he had to leave to present the policy he had just written to the German Parliament (we heard about it before they did!). It was an incredibly unique academic experience, and one which I definitely benefited from.

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing was arranged by the program, with the help of a survey submitted early in the process as to living preferences. I lived with 3 other Americans from my program and 4 Germans...my biggest complaint was living with the Americans, as I wasn't forced to use my German as much and felt somewhat separate from my German flatmates at first. Sheets were provided initially, which was great because I didn't have to bring them or buy them. All kitchen-wear was already there, laundry was easily accessible, and I lived within walking distance of everything I needed. Some other student apartments were farther from the center of the city and those students had to buy tram cards to get to classes or go out at night, which was somewhat annoying, but they chose that as a preference in their survey. There is a late bus operated by the city once the trams stop working for the night which is very cheap.

Food was not included in the program costs and can be somewhat expensive. Most students did their own grocery shopping and made meals for themselves, dietary needs were easily accommodated this way. The Mensa is the university dining hall and is VERY cheap - the food is usually pretty good and there are several choices per day at a range of prices (from 2eu to about 5eu). Eating out at restaurants is usually more expensive, except for Brenessel, which has a special every night from 6 to 7:30 - a huge plate of spaghetti bolognese for 1,80eu (a GREAT deal!). Most people ate a lot of Doeners, which is the German equivalent of fast food, kind of like a gyro - except even if you don't like gyro, you will like doeners. I consider myself a relatively picky eater, and I had NO problem finding food I loved. It's generally healthier than American food.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Besides the built-in field study trips that took us all over Europe, there were ample opportunities for independent weekend travel. The program arranged several hikes and field trips on the side also, the best being our trip to the Swiss Alps, where we could choose to ski or sled (even if you know how to ski, you should sled...like old-school tobogganing, going down a mountain at around 40mph!!). It was the BEST day EVER.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Healthcare was very good, the program administrators were always available to help and make appointments with local doctors. Health insurance was very cheap also. We always felt well taken care of. Freiburg itself is a very safe city compared to most cities...we only had one bad incident, and that student was very drunk and wandered well outside the city limits before he got into serious trouble. Like any city, you always have to be careful, but I felt perfectly safe walking the 20 minutes back to my apartment at 2am by myself.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

My German class was very good, the program evaluates language skills onsite and places you in the class it feels is appropriate. It definitely made me feel more comfortable having for-knowledge of the language, and the instruction there helped enormously, my teacher was wonderful! Almost everyone over there speaks English, so it's certainly not necessary to know German beforehand, and this sometimes made it hard to practice my German with native speakers.

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• Apartment

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• Americans
• Local Students