AIFS Abroad in Salzburg, Austria: Summer

I studied abroad in Salzburg, Austria this past summer 2025. In comparison to many other program providers, AIFS has a ton of amazing choices for shorter length programs like summer and January term. Summer term was a great option for me because my major requires several important classes during the term on campus. From before departure through my time in Salzburg our program coordinators and instructors were amazing! They were so helpful, easy to work with, and excited to help us build connections and experience Salzburg. My program offered dorm-style housing which was a great way to meet people in program as well as other international students. The Salzburg program had a ton of awesome excursions scheduled for us which ranged from a baking class to taking a weekend trip to Vienna! I improved my language skills by getting involved in a German speaking community, gained more confidence solo traveling, and developed my communication skills by building relationships with some great friends I made and some members of the Salzburg community. I would recommend this program to any students who are looking for a program that has a good balance of structure and free time. I would also recommend this specific program to students in humanities majors. I'm a History Major with a Minor in Art History so I especially enjoyed the Austrian Folk Art and Folk Customs class where we got to visit a bunch of amazing museums!

I expected studying abroad would change my life perspective, and it did. Immersion in the culture opened my world and mind. What I didn’t expect was the immediate forging of friendships that changed love and inclusion as I knew it previously. I experienced collaboration as each of us unguardedly leaned into our strengths to build a diverse and enriched whole. The experience changed my soul. Thank you for the opportunity.

I really enjoyed my time in this study abroad program. There were only ten of us which made making friends easy. Salzburg is a beautiful, historical, and safe city. It was also a great location in Europe -- I was able to easily travel to Munich, Hallstat, Vienna, and Bratislava by bus. Having the opportunity to travel elsewhere while abroad was important to me when I was researching programs. The classes were excellent (German Language & Austrian history / culture). The professors were locals from Salzburg and were incredible knowledgeable and engaging. The classes were all two hours in length, however, so be wary if you struggle with longer classes. The hostel we stayed in was wonderful for the most part but a bit loud at night. It was in a perfect location in the city so of course there are trade offs. Overall the program was well organized and I truly had a fulfilling and expanding experience studying abroad in Salzburg.

Salzburg was an amazing city! I wish I had chosen to study for a full semester or year! We took many weekend trips, and had activities to participate in every week. I wish there had been more classes to choose from. The one I took was easy, and we took many field trips. So glad I decided to go with AIFS!

I can't begin to describe how amazing Austria was. Salzburg is such a beautiful city and AIFS helped us integrate while allowing us to be independent. Nicole, our program advisor, was always available and more than willing to help and our travel guide, Andreas, was informative and ensured every tour was fun. We lived about 20 minutes (by foot) from the university in a hostel on the new side of the city. Our living arrangements were perfect for a summer abroad: I met lots of other international (a few local) students and AIFS did a wonderful job matching roommates. I wanted to study abroad to experience living abroad and improve my German language skills. The 201 class I took was small and interactive with a great teacher; however, I wish the classes would have been conducted more in German. It was very easy to get by speaking English in Salzburg, but if you start speaking German to locals, they typically are more than willing to let you practice German. Overall, I slightly improved my speaking skills, but gained so much more in experience than I could have ever imagined. I can't recommend studying abroad with AIFS enough!

I will never forget my time studying abroad in Salzburg with AIFS. I was able to meet people from all over the US who became some of my closest friends as well as from all over Europe because I lived in the international dorm. I learned so much about Austrian culture from my classes and excursions, and the staff made me feel right at home! Some of my favorite excursions with the program were: -eating at the oldest restaurant in Europe -taking a sleigh ride through the Alps -going to Hallstatt and to the ice caves for a day -weekend in Vienna While there I was also able to volunteer in some English classes at a local high school, meet a wonderful Austrian family through babysitting and tutoring, and enjoy Austrian cuisine and sights. Even just sitting on the bank of the Salzach in the most beautiful city in the world with my friends for hours was amazing. My semester in Salzburg with AIFS was the best 4 months of my life- I've even gone back several times since to see the city and catch up with Ingrid and Nicole. I would recommend this program to anyone!