Education Abroad Program

The Education Abroad Program at UC Berkeley (UCEAP) offers students the opportunity to study abroad while keeping their financial aid and being able to automatically transfer their courses and grades back to Berkeley. Studying in Germany is one of the least expensive UCEAP programs in Western Europe, and students can apply for additional scholarships.

Students can choose to study abroad for a full year, for just one semester (spring semester being the better option), or during the summer. This letter from German Study Abroad Program Adviser Scott McElhinney provides more information about UCEAP. Please also check the Berkeley Study Abroad website for all the details and an application checklist. Contact Scott McElhinney if you have further questions.

Studying Abroad for a Semester or a Full Year

If you are interested in studying a full semester in Germany, consider the Berlin European Studies Program (BEST) at the Freie Universität Berlin. The program offers courses taught in English about Germany and the European Union, and no prior German is required (no competency higher than German 3 is allowed). Applications are due in early December for fall and early April for spring.

Studying a semester or year abroad in Germany is also possible outside of the BEST program  at Freie Universität Berlin, as well as at Technische Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. All fall and year-long immersion options have an early January application deadline. All spring options have an early April application deadline. For all of these immersion options, junior status (56 units including AP) and a GPA of 2.85 overall and in German language courses are required.

Studying Abroad during the Summer

The UCEAP/FUBiS program at the Freie Universität International Summer University in Berlin allows students with any level of German (from none to advanced) to enroll in one or two language and subject matter courses. For more information, please see the FUBiS and UCEAP websites. This option is open to sophomores through graduate students with a GPA of 2.8. The application deadline is in early February.

Students attending FUBiS individually or through UCEAP are eligible to apply for a Max Kade Travel Stipend of $1000 in support of their travel, made possible by generous support from the Max Kade Foundation. Applications are due to Nadia Samadi (Undergraduate Services) at the end of February each year. Please contact Nadia for the application form.

Another summer study abroad option in Germany is UCEAP’s Engineering for Sustainability Program at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich. Students take project-based engineering courses that include lab experiments and simulations, and participants visit global companies headquartered in Munich. Courses are geared toward mechanical, automotive, electrical, industrial, and environmental engineering, as well as entrepreneurship and German language. Open to juniors and seniors, this option requires no prior German. Interested students should have a minimum 2.85 GPA. The application deadline is in early January.