Berlin, Germany

• Program director: Jacob Badin: jcbadin@loyola.edu, 410-617-2123
• School: Freie Universitat Berlin (FU-BEST, the Berlin European Studies Program of Freie Universität Berlin)  
• Course Equivalencies
• Life at FU BEST

Apply to this Program

Background

Berlin is a dynamic and diverse European city rich in culture and history. Its prominence as a relevant historic site, especially in regard to Germany’s more recent past, has made Berlin a vibrant metropolis where remnants of the past visibly mix with bedrocks of modernity.

Freie Universität Berlin is one of Germany's premier institutions of higher education. Founded in 1948 by students, scholars, and scientists with the support of the American allied forces and politicians in Berlin, the university nowadays boasts an enrollment rate of about 32,000 students. Freie Universität Berlin is ranked nationally and internationally among the top research universities in Germany

Choosing When to Study in Berlin

• This is a one-semester program for the fall or the spring semester
• The fall program runs late August-mid-December. The spring program runs early Feb-May *Courses vary depending on semester*

Academics

• Students can study for the fall or spring semester and typically take a total of 5 courses for the semester.
• Prior knowledge of German is not required.
• All students with prior German language, must take an Intensive German language course worth 2 classes. In addition, they must take 2-3 additional courses called content courses at FU-BEST. Content courses are courses in the areas of history, political science, communication, philosophy and other humanities, business (limited), and social science courses.
• Introductory German is offered if you have no previous German language experience.
• Most courses are taught in English.
• There are a limited number of core courses offered and not all majors are accommodated on this program. Check with the Office of International Programs for more detailed course information.

Disclaimer: In case of strikes or unexpected disruption to the academic semester Loyola will work with the host university abroad to provide additional support or other academic arrangements to enable students to complete their coursework in agreement with the rules and regulations of the host university and the laws of the host country.  Loyola University Maryland will not makes any changes to its course, grade, or credit transfer policies following such circumstances.

Benefits

• Roundtrip Airfare
• Local field trips are a part of the program and are connected to some of the FU-BEST courses. Some local field trips are required as part of the course.
• The program provides a week-long trip to one German and European location. Past locations have included Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic and vary from year to year. Please see the semester calendar. 
• Public Transportation Pass tied with your FU-Best student ID card.
• Participants receive a pass for use in all museums associated Foundations for State Museums in Berlin.

Housing

• Housing sponsored by the FU-BEST Program allows students to choose either living in a home stay that includes breakfast and dinner or living in a fully-furnished, single occupancy, studio apartment.
• If you choose the apartment option, you are required to submit credit card information for the security deposit. Apartments are located about 45-60 minutes via public transit to the program site in Lankwitz.
• Homestays are more than apartment housing, it almost guarantees linguistic and social immersion, providing you with unrivalled opportunities at improving your language and intercultural skills. It can also be comforting to be with a family when confronting the often-inevitable moments of homesickness. When you are for some reason physically ill, a host-family can be an important care-giving environment. This option may have a commute of up to one hour. (FU-BEST)
• The Social Hub includes a private room with a private en-suite bathroom and a kitchen shared with other students (not all of them necessarily FU-BEST participants) offers you access to fast internet, a free gym, study rooms, a library as well as chill-out areas. (FU-BEST)
• The Student Village offers private rooms with a shared bathroom/kitchen/communal area. Residents thus live in a kind of communal cluster of up to 6 students (mixed-gender), not all of whom are necessarily FU-BEST participants. (FU-BEST)
• Once your housing selection is made on the application, no changes will be allowed, unless there are exceptional circumstances and FU-BEST will review each case and make a determination whether to grant the request or not.
• Read the link carefully on accommodations. 

Cost/Financial Aid

• Students are eligible for consideration for all forms of federal, state, institutional and private sources of aid, except the Federal Work-Study Program.
• The cost is equivalent to the tuition at Loyola, junior housing at Loyola, plus a program fee.
• Non-EU students will need to purchase a German residency permit and photos when abroad.
• Students’ expenses in Berlin will vary depending on how much they travel, shop, and go out at night. Most students will take advantage of the proximity to other European countries and cheap airline tickets and travel, and that usually accounts for much of their spending.

Insurance

• • Every student studying at FU-BEST will automatically be enrolled in the German insurance package that includes health, accident, and liability insurance.
  • Loyola University Maryland also covers students during the program for emergency medical/evacuation/repatriation services abroad. Students should NOT cancel any domestic insurance coverage while studying abroad.

 

Visa

• U.S. citizens do not need a visa to enter Germany. However, all non-EU participants will be required to apply for a residency permit that extends the customary 3-month limit on stays by visitors; this permit is issued by the Office for Foreign Residents in Berlin; the relevant forms will be completed on site.
• Participants who are not a citizen of an EU member country, the USA or Canada will certainly need a visa to enter Germany and participate in the FU-BEST program. It is the student’s personal responsibility to obtain such a visa, using the admission letter FU-BEST provides via e-mail and adding proof of their ability to pay for their stay in Germany.
• If a visa must be acquired to enter Germany, it is best to apply for it as soon as FU-BEST’s letter of admission has been issued, since the process can take time and it will be impossible to depart for Germany without a visa. The application must be filed at the German Embassy or a German Consulate in the country of study, NOT in one’s home country.

Travel to and from Berlin

• Group flights are arranged for students traveling on the group flight to and from Berlin.
• Flight departures are usually from Newark International Airport in New Jersey or JFK Airport in New York.
• Students fly into Berlin Brandenburg Airport

Citeria for Applying for Studying Abroad

• Students must submit an online application AND a Course Planning form by 11:59 pm on the second Wednesday after Thanksgiving break of their sophomore year to study abroad in the fall or spring term of junior year. 
• Attend a Study Abroad 101 information session.
• Declare a major before applying to the study abroad program.
• Discuss with your major advisor the possible courses you could take abroad and see if there are any potential problems, he/she sees with your plans to study abroad; Students cannot be on disciplinary probation nor have a history of serious disciplinary problems.

Criteria for Acceptance

• The FU-BEST Program requires students to have a 3.00 cumulative GPA for consideration for admission.
• Students who can find courses which fit their Loyola program and allow full-time participation and who are neither on disciplinary probation nor have a history of serious disciplinary problems.
• ROTC candidates can apply as freshman to study abroad in the spring of their sophomore year. 

• An academic interview with the program director at Loyola University Maryland is required.

Applying for Studies at FU-BEST

• After the interview, the Office of International Programs will ask you to apply to the FU-BEST Program in advance of the FU-BEST deadline to have the strongest consideration for admission and course registration.
  • Keep in mind that FU-BEST is strict regarding deadlines and policies.
  • Each student must submit an online application (admission and housing preference), an official transcript, one passport-sized photo, health insurance documentation, and a scanned, signed, and color copy of the inside of your valid passport.

• FU-BEST will review all the admission materials before rendering a decision. Decisions are released shortly after the application period ends.

 

Students must follow extremely specific deadlines regarding the application as courses are given on a first come first serve basis.

Apply to this Program

*Please keep in mind that study abroad information, dates, benefits, and fees are subject to change without notification. You are encouraged to contact the Office of International Programs directly for the most up-to-date information regarding any study abroad programs offered at Loyola.