Maastricht: Culture, Nightlife, and located in the heart of Western Europe! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Workload- The work load at Univ. College Maastricht was heavily based on reading rather than actual homework assignments. On average, for each of your classes, a student would probably have approximately 100-150 pages they are expected to read a week. Grading system- The system is based on a scale of 1-10 with a score of 10 being nearly impossible to get. Lowest score to pass is 5.5. Teaching methods- The curriculum is entirely different as it is heavily based on learning from discussion with your peers. The system is called the Problem Based Learning system or PBL and is set up like a discussion section of a class but with little contribution from the class coordinator (tutor). Differences between American educational system- Very few lectures. The lectures were 2 hours long rather than 50 mins. Very few homework assignments, just a lot of reading. And the school is on a semester system, but the semester is split into two separate periods. In each period, each student is required to enroll in 2 courses plus an optional course based on a particular skill.

On-site administration of your program

During the first two weeks upon arrival, we had Dutch Culture and Language class in which there were multiple tours of the city, free meals (which technically you pay in your program fees), and trips to nearby cities of Delft, Amsterdam, and Brussels. These were all supervised by usually 3 people, 1 being the Dutch Culture and Language coordinator and the other two being a couple who attend and work for the university. Also, upon arrival in Maastricht, the program sets up somebody to pick you up from the train station and takes a bus with you to the Guesthouse where you will be staying.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The Guesthouse in which I and other students that studied abroad the same term I did was overall satisfactory. The guesthouse shared the same building as several other medical facilities, as if it was a joint dormitory/hospital. There are two buildings that was offered to the students of Maastricht University: The C-Building (communal kitchens and common rooms) and the P-building (private kitchens in each room). The guesthouse is patrolled by security guards 24/7 and seemed very safe. However, the security guards were quite quick to shut down any gathering of over 20 people, especially in the C-building. We were provided with linens (pillow, sheet, and comforter) in the rooms. And in the P-building private kitchens, you were provided with a mini fridge, stop-top, and sink. In regards to the location of places in the city, the guesthouse is about a 8-10 minute bike ride to UCM or SBE (the business school) and about 5-7 minute bike ride to other popular places such as the Vrijtof, Markt Square, the self-proclaimed "Bar Street". The guesthouse is also about a 2-3 minute bike ride to the nearest shopping center that includes grocery stores and a department store.

The food choices available were not the greatest, but also not the worst. The Netherlands does not exactly have its own sort of cuisine so the majority of food available to students on a budget were Doner Kebab places (which seem to be all over the city and the rest of Europe), popular American fast food chains such as Mcdonalds, KFC, Burger King, Dominoes, and Subway, and local bakeries/sandwich shops. The other restaurants around the Vrijtof and the Markt square are quite expensive. Two restaurant recommendations near the faculties of school I would suggest would be the Italian restaurant "Donatello's" for on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesday they have a 3 course meal special for only 10 euros. And also, the sandwich shops "Deli Belge" and "Something Good" near the university faculties are delicious.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

-The city of Maastricht held some really fun events/festivals during my stay there. These events usually take place in the city centres Vrijtof and the Markt square. - I attended the Tuna Festival in September, which was a Spanish and Portuguese music/culture festival. - In November, on 11/11/11 at 11:11 am, the city holds a large festival for the beginning of Carnival Season, which is a Catholic tradition as Maastricht is located in the southern portion of the Netherlands, which is considered the more Catholic region of the country. During this celebration, people dress up as people normally would for events similar to Mardi Gras and drink lots of beer. The true Carnival festival, however, is a 3-day celebration in February. - In December, the Vrijtof is transformed into a Christmas market and is filled with Christmas cheer, delicious foods, shops with a variety of soverniers, and all the Gluhwein (hot wine) you could ask for. It also has a Ferris Wheel and an ice skating rink. Besides all these city events, there are a ton of events that organizations affiliated with the school that promote meeting and mingling with the many other international students in the city also. These events include a wide variety of parties and other events such as the Cantus which is a must-attend-event. In addition to this, the UCEAP program was enrolled in a Dutch Culture and Language class for the first two weeks of arriving in the country. In this course, we had a week of culture lectures every morning from Monday-Friday and the next week consisted of language classes every morning from Monday-Friday. Some of the lectures were very interesting and some were quite dry, but the bright side to this is that you and your group of other UC students travel to the cities of Delft and Amsterdam in the Netherlands and also the city of Brussels in Belgium to visit the headquarters of the European Union.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Never once did I feel unsafe in the city. But try your best to walk around in groups. And for female groups, try to include at least one or two males just to ensure 100% safety.

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

Select all that apply

• Dorm

Select all that apply

• International Students
• Americans

• The city of Maastricht
• The ease of traveling to nearby major cities
• The country of the Netherlands as a whole

• The schooling (the PBL system was not ideal for a Science major as myself).
• Money seems to diminish between essentials, going out, and traveling quite quickly.
• I had tons of fun staying at the guesthouse, but the rooms are mediocre and the security guards can get old after awhile.