CIEE Open Campus Block in Berlin, Germany

Literally everything about CIEE and Berlin specifically have been amazing. Eric, Mitchell, Kristen, and literally everyone else are so friendly and knowledgable, helping with so many problems constantly and setting up events. When you walk through the building and see a staff member they know your name and say hello. The building itself is really nice and clean, and the classes and everything about CIEE really made my personal study abroad as good as I feel it could be. Thanks again!

I would recommend CIEE study abroad because it is an exciting and wholesome experience that you can only experience abroad. The Berlin program was well-organized and everyone working there was extremely friendly and helpful. I really enjoyed most of my courses there and have a better idea now of what I want to pursue. It was the perfect balance of academic work and other activities, such as exploring the city and travelling to other countries.

I would definitely recommend study abroad to a peer. I had an amazing time and learned so much about myself and new cultures. I have grown so much as a person and will always be grateful for that opportunity. The only reason I did not put a 10 is because unfortunately for my major this semester proved to not be very helpful. I will have to do some catching up when I return to school, however for me this program was worth it.

The CIEE student life community, faculty, and staff in Berlin, Germany are undoubtedly some of the most helpful, charismatic, and supportive people I've ever had the opportunity to grow with and learn from.

I think that everyone should take the opportunity to take a CIEE study abroad program if they have the chance, this program helped me open my mind and have a new perspective of the world. I was able to learn new cultures, languages, meet new people from all over the world, and try new foods

I really enjoyed my time at CIEE. The only thing is that I wish we went to more places through the program and I feel like we sometimes paid too much money towards the cafe or the laundry. I wish we had set prices beforehand so we knew how much money we should bring abroad.

I really liked how much CIEE allows you to grow as a student and a person. They give you the opportunity to explore the city and the world. I really like the open block campus program and how it allows you to go to multiple locations.

I felt I had a great experience with CIEE and am very excited for my next block in Rome. I felt the academic part of the program was structured well and I enjoyed my classes. I met some amazing people through the program as well.

I am not one that loves the city nor am I a history buff, so I was nervous coming to Berlin. However, Berlin was a life changing experience and I am now back at my university with plans to live in Germany in the near future! CIEE housed students in the center of Kreuzberg, which is a perfect location for foodies. Living right in the center allowed us students to be immersed in the culture easily. Walking to the grocery store everyday, joining a gym, trying new coffee shops and night life were just a few things I was able to do and feel like I was really living in Germany and not a tourist. Public transportation and the city in general is so easy to navigate even without knowing English. In regards to classes, the professors are brought directly to you in the building that you live in. CIEE enabled me to take on a STEM internship, which was an amazing opportunity to be able to experience abroad and learn more about professionalism abroad. I also took a German History course, so being able to learn and then literally just step outside of the dorm and be exposed to rich history was an eye opening experience. I experience major culture shock at first, but CIEE literally changed my entire experience by simply providing a Survival German course. I was then able to successfully get around the city comfortably and respect the German language. CIEE Open Campus classes are pretty much only two times a week and an additional out-of-classroom experience, which was very beneficial to my learning. With this set up, I was able to travel on the weekends to other European countries, which was a great escape when the city life came to be too much and allowed me to experience many other environments and cultures!!

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I studied abroad thru CIEE in the spring. My experience as a whole was extremely positive. Starting with the classes, the course load was very manageable. The program is split into three blocks with two classes each. I would have three hours of classes everyday from Monday to Thursday, and an occasional Friday class. All of the professors I had were great. They were really passionate about the topics they taught and were always available and understanding. The courses itself were not very hard, so I had a lot of free time which was nice. Everyone on the program was able to travel a lot on weekends because of the light coursework. Most students live in the CIEE dorm. The rooms have a bunk bed, two wardrobes, two desks, a mini fridge, and a microwave. They also have a private bathroom attached to each room. The rooms are usually on the smaller side and don't have a lot of storage, but got the job done. I really liked living with everyone on the program, it made it much easier to meet people and hang out. Each floor also has a lounge and a communal kitchen. The kitchen had a stovetop but no oven. CIEE provides utensils, pots, pans, plates, etc. The dorm is also in a great location. It is right in front of the underground train stop and bus stop. There are a lot of cool bars and clubs in Berlin which weren't too far. The area has a lot of great food. There are a lot of food stands that stay open until the late hours of the night and a street that has a lot of cultural cuisine. I ate a lot of Thai and Nepalese food, which were phenomenal!! I think this program was super unique and created a really cool culture. Since CIEE provides the education, you attend classes with other American students. The classes are in the basement of the dorms and are usually 10-20 students per class. This led to everyone on the program becoming pretty close. There wasn't much interaction with the locals within the program since we were not attending a local university. Although there wasn't much interaction thru the program, people still met locals other ways. Living in the middle of Kreuzberg allows for immersion in the culture. Berlin is a very accessible city. The train network is extensive and most places are pretty walkable. This makes it easy for people on the program to explore the city. CIEE also plans excursions throughout the program. They would plan tours to Tempelhof airport, WWI bunkers, museums, and street graffiti tours to name a few. They also planned a few day trips to other towns like Potsdam, Dresden, and Hamburg. I really enjoyed the excursions. They allowed us to go places I otherwise wouldn't have thought about going to. It also helped people learn more about the culture of Berlin and the history of Germany. Overall, I had an amazing semester in Berlin. Everyone at CIEE was extremely friendly and helpful with anything you needed. I enjoyed living in the such a great location with all of my friends. I felt like I took interesting classes and gained a unique perspective on topics like sustainability. I also got the opportunity to partake in an internship, which was something very unique to CIEE. Berlin has such a different culture than any other city in Europe. The nightlife is great, definitely get used to staying up past sunrise! I had the best time of my life on this program and I cannot recommend it enough!

Studying abroad is a life change experience at the Ciee team was very accommodating and helpful throughout our journey. However I did not necessarily enjoy online classes and wish there were more in person classes

I thought the program was amazing. The staff was engaged and made the transition into Europe very easy. I love all the events the school panned and the location. I would highly tell my peers and friends to attend this program. I would say however I wish we got more involved in the German culture and not just be around American students all the time. I would of live to go to a German school as a field trip or be able to meet German students from around the community. I also think we should have more get to know you games and events during orientation. I would have liked to get to know more people because at the start of our program. The program overall has been amazing and I really enjoyed the experience. I think CIEE should plan more events for the students at the start of the program so we are able to bond with each other in the start of the program.

I would likely recommend the program because it is organized nicely in terms of class excursions and study tours, so I know that any student that does CIEE Study Abroad program will enjoy that their time abroad is worthwhile. I will not recommend the program to students that want an authentic exchange student experience because in this program I did not feel like I was exposed to the German culture as much, in terms of talking to Germans in German, having classes taught by Germans, and having to navigate living in Germany. I think CIEE does a great job for serving American students, but I think that it does not create an authentic exchange environment where I did not feel too sheltered and too much in the American bubble

I have been extremely satisfied with my experience thus far with CIEE Study Abroad. I have found all of my classes to be very thought provoking and the experiences to be very well worth my while. I have already had a friend of a friend reach out to me from my home university, and I could not stop my hands from typing about how much I love Berlin. Furthermore, I wrote to her about how much this program had to do with that. I think the one thing that kind of was a little bit of a damper was that there were so many kids from Elon here. I was hoping to get away a little from the culture there. Granted, I did not know all of them before coming here, so it has been nice getting to know them. Silver lining!

CIEE Study Abroad offered me one of the most enriching and exciting experiences of my entire life. The classes and excursions were interesting and beneficial to my education. Also, I liked the block schedule because it allowed us to change up our routines every 6 weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed the co-curricular travel that CIEE planned for us, as it allowed everyone in the program to travel together. I do wish CIEE offered more time for students to travel independently. Additionally, I felt the classes were a bit long and therefore hard to pay attention to at times.

CIEE proved to be a professional service as they made certain students had access to their necessities. I had to make an appointment with a doctor during my time here, for instance, and the process, which I had no idea where to begin with, became simple once I spoke with an RA, who was quick to tell me where to go, who to see, and what to bring with me. Additional to this, there are always RAs and other staff members with a variety of specialties that are there to make the living and academic experience for the student efficient and fun.

I would recommend to any friend or colleague for this opportunity to expand a student's horizons and to see the world. CIEE allows the comfort of living in on a campus where everything is located nearby and makes living easier day-to-day. For classes, it may not be for all as they are accelerated. A lot of reading and few short essays to be written. The excursions is a plus as it's like a mini-vacation to see more of your home country and what surrounds it. It's a great experience and does go fast so do as much as you can while you're abroad.

CIEE allows a student to grow as a professional and individual on many different levels. The levels are not clear as they are unique to each student. This program allows students to live in a country or countries and explore the inner city of where they are living and more. Yes, you get to travel, but it is much more than just visiting and seeing, but lets you self-grow and expand in the different arrays of culture and diversity.​

CIEE was a great home university to live and study at in a brand new city. They provided students with help coming to a brand new city as well as activities in the community throughout the week that were free to students. It was in the best location possible in Berlin and very close to a public transit stop. Living in the same building as our classes was also a luxury cutting out travel time to and from class.

There is a good balance between academics and out of the classroom activities like excursions and study tours. CIEE staff members are always ready and willing to help. I'm glad that I'm able to take courses that I can get credit for. One thing I would say is that I wish there were more Germans/locals somehow integrated into the program for better immersion and language practice opportunities.