One of the great benefits of pursuing a degree in German is the option to study abroad.
Students in the German Department have a variety of opportunities to study abroad: the Education Abroad Program (UCEAP), summer language courses in Berlin (FUBiS) and Munich, and several programs of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The programs supported by Berkeley allow students to keep their financial aid and transfer their course credits from Germany.
A letter from UC Berkeley Study Abroad Advisor for Germany, Renee Camarena.
Whether you’re fluent in German or don’t know a word yet, Berkeley Study Abroad (BSA) has an option to meet your academic needs. Virtually all subjects can be studied in German, and a wide variety can be studied in English, including engineering, other STEM, humanities, and social sciences.
None of the numerous summer options (including the internship option in Berlin) requires prior study of German, and neither does the Free University’s “Berlin European Studies” (FU-BEST) program taught in English in Fall and Spring. Only the “full immersion” options taught in German at Free, Humboldt, or Technical Universities require prior German, and as little as German 2 or 3 can suffice to qualify.
Most of these options are offered by the systemwide UC Education Abroad Program (UCEAP). A summer program for advanced math is a UCB faculty-led program offered by UCB’s Summer Abroad unit.
For all of these programs, any financial aid you receive to study at Cal will go with you to Germany. Courses, units, and grades will transfer automatically to your UCB transcript.
To see all the options offered by Berkeley Study Abroad, use the Explore tool on the BSA homepage http://studyabroad.berkeley.edu/ . Simply choose Germany from the Country menu and click “See Options.” Click on the + and read basic information about each program. Click on the arrow to go to the webpage specific to that program for further details. The grid also includes the application deadline and the link to apply.
Deadlines to apply for summer and fall start as early as November. Deadlines for spring are in April. It’s never too early to start investigating your options.
For all questions about BSA’s programs in Germany, please contact your UC Berkeley Study Abroad Advisor for Germany, Renee Camarena