Berlin, Germany

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.

This is a one-semester program for the fall or the spring semester.

• The fall program runs late-August to mid-December.
• The spring program runs early-Feb to May.

• 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.
• 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.

*All grades from abroad are transferred and calculated into your Loyola GPA; no courses can be taken as pass/fail.

• 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 Czechia 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.

• 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.

*Courses vary depending on semester*

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. 

Loyola financial aid applies and students are eligible for consideration for all forms of federal, state, institutional and private sources of aid except the Federal Work Study Program. Students studying abroad for either a semester or full academic year will forfeit the value of a Federal Work-Study assignment for the semester/s that they go abroad. If the student qualifies for federal work study, they can use the award for the semester they are on campus during their abroad year.

If you receive GI/Veterans benefits, please contact our Registrar’s office as soon as possible before you apply!!

Students/parents pay to Loyola the following charges:

• Loyola Tuition
• Loyola Housing
• Study Abroad Program fee
• International Insurance Premium

Non-EU students will need to purchase a German residency permit and photos when abroad.

Every student studying at FU-BEST will automatically be enrolled in the German insurance package that includes health, accident, and liability insurance.

Medical insurance is provided for all students during the program term by Loyola University Maryland through Chubb Insurance. This insurance coverage includes medical evacuation and repatriation, as well as 24-hour support services for medical issues. This insurance functions as a primary insurance while abroad.

Students are required to submit a copy of their U.S. health insurance card/policy. Please be sure not to cancel your US insurance policy while abroad since the provided insurances only function while on program and outside of the US.

• 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.

• Loyola will arrange and pay for group travel to and from Berlin. Any change to the students booked itinerary is done at their own cost. Loyola does not pay for any flight deviations or tickets changes. Group flights are arranged for students traveling to Berlin.
• Flight departures are usually from Newark International Airport in New Jersey or JFK Airport in New York.
• Students fly into Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

Application Requirements 

Students must submit an online application AND a Course Planning form by 11:59 pm on the first 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

• Minimum cumulative CQPA average of 3.00.
• 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 coordinator at Loyola University Maryland is required.

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.