Come meet the UCEAP Berlin Study Center staff and hear about about life in Berlin, our programs, our host universities in Berlin, student housing, and UCEAP support on site.

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    Good morning, everyone, and thanks for getting up rather early and joining us for our info session, Berlin Calling:

    UCEAP Study Abroad Programs in the Coolest City in Central Europe. We’re going to turn on our videos just for a second so you know we’re actual people there’s real people here but gonna turn it off again so you can get to enjoy the pretty photos and then turn it on again once we get to the Q&A.

    Your host today. Tanja, that’s me, and Glenn, do you want to say your name yourself. Hi, I’m Glenn Levine-West. I’m the faculty director of the Berlin Programs. Right, and so we’re both from the UCEAP Berlin office. During this presentation, we want to give you information about life in Berlin.

    About our programs, our host universities in Berlin, Student Housing, and also UCEAP support on site. So. Here you see UCEAP staff at the Berlin Study Center. And the study center building. And at the end of the presentation, we won’t do that now.

    But later on, we’ll tell you a bit about what we do at the study center. So in case you aren’t familiar with where Germany or Berlin are you can see that Germany is literally situated in the heart of Europe, close to France, Spain, Italy, the UK, and many other countries.

    It’s a great location for travelling anywhere in Europe. By rail or also through bargain airlines of which there are several. On the Germany map you can see that Berlin is located in the northeast of the country.

    About a 1-hour train ride to the Polish border. Munich would be around 4 to 5 hours by high speed train and around 4 hours If you want to go to Prague, just to give you an idea of scale.

    Now if you ask us how to characterize Berlin, the answer is clearly, Berlin stands for diversity. Diversity in the people and the cultures and languages and the many exciting and really different neighborhoods. The striking mix of urban and green spaces and also in the huge variety of cuisines available.

    Here are some aspects of that diversity. With its 3.7 million inhabitants, Berlin is a large city.

    Berliners originate from nearly 200 different countries. And countless communities make up Berlin’s unique character and also take shape in forms like the large Christopher Street Day and other LGBTQ festivals or Black History Months with its different cultural events.

    We also had students who connected with Berlin’s rather large Latin American community. Since each of its districts has its own kind of centers in different neighborhoods, Berlin doesn’t really always feel like a big city. And then its many parks, rivers, forests and also lakes contribute to this feeling. These green spaces mix

    With the city’s architecture of classical and modern buildings, Nazi and post-modern architecture and street art. And Berlin’s diverse food scene includes the Turkish street food Döner Kebap, which is quite a student favourite, and a large number also of vegetarian and vegan restaurants, and many Asian supermarkets.

    So what students usually say they will miss the most about Berlin is the excellent public transportation system which includes buses, trains, streetcars, and even a few ferries that run through the whole city and really can get you anywhere you want to go

    In this very sprawling city. Your student pass allows you to use the public transportation throughout Berlin and beyond Berlin. 2 of our students took advantage of this and went to the nearby city of Potsdam to visit the famous castle or palace, that’s that picture in the middle there.

    The BVG is the company that runs the public transportation system in Berlin. The ad there says, not even your mommy picks you up at 4 30 in the morning. Which tells you that public transportation runs day and night. Another common and popular mode of transport in Berlin is the bicycle.

    Bikes are literally everywhere because Berlin has a highly developed bicycle lane system. And second-hand and rental bicycles are available easily and at pretty low prices. Now, we have come up with 6 sort of themes that make Berlin a special city and also a unique experience.

    First, Berlin is the center of German politics and the seat of the German parliament. There are also many NGOs as well as foreign embassies in the city.

    One of our excursions during the semester is a visit to a parliament session. Second, for “History and Architecture”, we chose the Brandenburg Gate, an iconic landmark of Berlin and of Germany as a whole,

    A symbol of European history and also of unity and peace. Previous students said that as you walk through the city, you can’t help but run into historical buildings from all eras. Interestingly, the many different architectural styles of East and West Berlin and the scattered remains of the Berlin Wall

    Still show its unique status as a divided city during the Cold War. East and West Berlin are now united in the new architecture of a cosmopolitan city. Third, Berlin is definitely also a city of culture. It has almost 200 museums, dozens of art galleries and exhibitions, theaters, opera houses, orchestras, and sporting events.

    Fourth, Berlin is also famous for its nightlife, so bars, cafes, clubs, festivals and concerts of all kinds. When it comes to going out at night in Berlin, it’s all here. Fifth, Berlin is the city of creative arts and entertainment, which includes music, advertising, design, fashion, software, and video games.

    Artists from around the world flock to Berlin to become part of this vivid cultural life. Berlin is also an important center in the European and German film and TV industry. And it’s home to the famous International Film Festival, Berlinale, as well as many other smaller film festivals.

    And finally, 6, many people come to Berlin to make their innovative visions of a startup company come true. With around 500 new tech startups per year. Berlin is the startup capital of Germany. Now these 6 themes are only some examples, obviously, and there are certainly more that we could have chosen.

    We hope you’re excited to come and explore the city for yourself! Oh no, was I muted? I’m sorry. I did it myself. And we’d like to give you an overview now of our UCAP programs in Berlin. First, our flagship program is what we call the Immersion program.

    Immersion means you study for a semester or a full academic year at one of the 3 partner universities here, which we’ll describe in a bit of detail in a few minutes, together with students from that university or with other international students.

    Some of the most important features of the program are here. Whether or not you speak German, in the fall semester all of our students do an intensive language program, or ILP, before the semester begins.

    In the spring, the ILP is optional, but highly recommended. Most important perhaps is that, although these are immersion programs, there is no language prerequisite.

    While one of your courses will be a language course during the semester, you can take your other courses completely in English if you choose to because all of our host universities offer instruction in many majors taught in English.

    For those with a high enough level of proficiency in German, there are courses in dozens of different majors. Info about which majors work best in English are on the UCEAP website. You can also email us with inquiries about your major.

    In the immersion program, you can take courses in your major or minor, fulfill GE or just electives. And lastly, you can have the richest possible academic experience, so that you can have the richest possible experience,

    UCEAP students can take one class per semester at one of the other UC host universities, UC partner host universities. And while our program does not include a formal internship program, we can provide you with assistance in locating and applying for an internship, one that could potentially also include academic credit.

    Do you want to do this too? Although our main focus. Sorry? Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see that. Yeah, go ahead. Okay, we could just do it synchronously. Okay, although our main focus of this session is on our immersion program,

    We also wanted to share just a bit of info about the other programs that we have. And then you can find further details on the UCAP website.

    So on this slide you can see the summer options that we have. First, the summer global internship program that combines an internship with a company or an institution with seminars on navigating the business world and then also extracurricular events and activities.

    For housing, you can opt for a dorm room in the heart of the city or a homestay that the program arranges for you. Secondly, with Free University’s Berlin Summer Program, you can either focus on studying the German language,

    Take subject courses in English or do a combination of both. This program also includes cultural and social activities. And the program’s housing options also include staying with a host family. And then third, Technical University’s summer program offers English-taught courses from engineering, computer science and other technical fields

    That combine theory and really hands-on experience. Excurricular activities are also a standard component of the program. The Berlin Experience is our newest program option, which will first be offered in fall 2024. It’s located in Kreuzberg, which is probably one of the most coolest, coolest Berlin neighborhoods.

    Short academic blocks allow you to combine subject courses in English from a variety of fields with German language classes if you choose to take them.

    And you’ll take all of these classes alongside other international students mainly from the US. Note that you can also choose to include a customized internship as one of your blocks. There are different term options available and housing includes on-campus dorms or homestays. As with the summer options,

    Cultural activities are an integral component of the program. Okay. My microphone is up. Berlin has 3 large prestigious universities and you see UCEAP has partnerships with all 3 of them.

    The Free University, the Humboldt University, and the Technical university. The Technical University, as the name implies, focuses heavily on the sciences and technical fields. However, as a university, it also has rich course offerings in many other areas. It’s located in the lively neighborhood of Charlottenburg.

    The Humboldt University is Berlin’s oldest, its main campus located near the Brandenburg Gate and the government center. It has an urban field to it, spread out over many buildings in the heart of the city. The HU also has a satellite campus in Adlershof,

    Where several majors are located such as the natural sciences, psychology and mathematics, as well as housing managed by the university. The Free University is located in the lush green southwest of Berlin, close to forest trails and lakes, but still easily accessible from anywhere in the city.

    The Freie Uni was founded in the years after World War 2 when the Humboldt University ended up inside the Soviet zone of occupation. Since then it has become one of the leading universities in Germany and in fact throughout Europe.

    The 3 Berlin universities have around 35,000 students each and about 20% of those are international students. The universities offer all common majors, but also some more specialized ones. We listed but a few for you as examples on the slide.

    The size of the university and the large number of departments mean that you have a huge variety of classes to choose from. In addition to fulfilling graduation requirements, previous students enjoyed courses not necessarily offered at home, and also getting a German perspective within their own fields of study.

    Just to mention a few examples from previous students kind of special classes: So there’s a RoboCup class at Technical University where students built their own robots that compete against each other. HU’s linguistics department offers classes on multilingualism or German English translation.

    And previous students have enjoyed taking classes at Free University’s North American and also Latin American interdisciplinary institutes. Language of instruction is German, but more and more departments offer English classes as well. Depending on the field of study, instruction may also be in a different language;

    Latin American Studies, for example, has classes in Spanish. In addition, Free and Humboldt University also offer classes in English or German on Berlin and German topics, specifically designed for international students. These have been very popular with UC students from all fields of study.

    Okay, each university has student cafeterias called Mensa, where you can get a complete meal for very little, about $6 to $9. All Mensas have vegetarian and vegan options, and the TU even has a vegan Mensa. Also, any student can have a meal at any, at one of the universities, not just your own.

    There are international clubs at each of the universities that host events throughout the semester, which is a great way to meet other international students as well as German students. University sports is also a great way to meet other students. In contrast to the US, it is all recreational sports,

    They don’t have teams. And you can do anything from Archery to Zumba; a past student recommended also salsa dancing. Some of the classes are offered in English. In addition to the advising we provide through UCEAP, academic advising is also offered at the department level.

    Additionally, psychological counseling is available for all students as well as advising for students with disabilities, LGBTQ advocacy groups, and more. One thing we love about Berlin is that it’s a genuinely student-friendly city. Possibly surprising for a city its size, Berlin still has pretty affordable rents for students;

    We’ll talk about housing options on the next slide. In addition, you can find inexpensive but high quality groceries, and eating out is also much cheaper. Berlin has many vegetarian and vegan restaurants, and most restaurants have at least some vegetarian and vegan options.

    There’s a dizzying number of flea markets and secondhand stores throughout the city. It’s fun to browse, and it’s actually considered fashionable to get your stuff there. Most people in Berlin speak standard or high German, so you will hopefully find it easy to understand them.

    And then many people also speak English. In fact, we often hear complaints from students who say when they try to practice their German, people speak back to them in English.

    So if you want to practice your German, you’ll need to let people know that. So you may be going abroad on your own, but by design you will be part of many different communities. One, the UCEAP students on the program with you; two, other international students you meet during the pre-semester language

    Program if you decide to go for that option. That is where many previous students met their best friends. 3, German and international students at your host departments and at your host university.

    4, Berliners living in the city with you and then 5, any other groups that you can think of such as sports clubs, you know, if you find your religious congregation that you want to belong to, other activities that will allow you to get in touch with Berliners. Is that on?

    That’s me, that’s me. Sorry. Okay, so for housing, you can choose from the university housing options, or your organize your own housing. Rent ranges from around 300 to $500 for your own room in a student dorm or student village (Studentendorf),

    Or between 800 and $1000 for your own studio apartment that you can find through different ways. For most dorms and student villages, you will always have your own room; there’s no such thing as a shared room in German university housing.

    You will just share the kitchen and the bathroom with other mainly international students. Again, there’s no such thing as a double or even a triple room in German dorms. These options are usually located in residential areas throughout Berlin. Neon Wood that’s shown here is a studio apartment option.

    You have your own room and private kitchen and bathroom. And then there’s some common areas where you can meet other students. 2 of their locations are in very lively parts of Berlin, ones that popular with students. And the same applies to The Fizz that’s located in trendy Kreuzberg.

    In addition to these housing options listed here, you can also find your own housing through platforms and different agencies. And we will have lots of links and advice for you, including how to find LGBTQ+-friendly housing. Reach out to by us by email if you already like to have more info about this.

    You have probably already gathered that there’s a lot you can do apart from studying in Berlin. It’s all there. Our students often participate in different sports classes and clubs such as bouldering, soccer, or salsa dancing.

    Or they participate in a chess club or the university choir. During summer, you can go swimming at one of Berlin’s many lakes. And starting in the fall season, you can go ice skating at one of Berlin’s skating rings, or you can enjoy many other aspects of Berlin’s cultural life.

    You can also do volunteer work in various fields or become active in different groups and organizations. We will be providing a lot of information to you on what you can do in your spare time.

    But it’s really up to you to take the initiative and explore what the city provides. It’ll make all the difference in the world if you immerse yourself in Berlin and make your own connections. Finally, we wanted to tell you about the UCEAP support from us at the Berlin Study Center.

    As mentioned earlier, we will explain the German university system, help you with your study list, and answer academic questions you have.

    We also support you in administrative matters such as getting your residence permit or registering with the city. And during your time in Berlin, you will have German health insurance, which covers general doctors and specialists, therapy, medication, and even hospital stays.

    We at the study center can help you set up medical appointments. We also have a number of contacts with English speaking doctors, specialists, and therapists. We have lots of tips, advice, and resources for you from getting involved in Berlin through how to get a used bike

    To Berlin insider tips such as the best Christmas markets. We organize events and excursions during the semester, which is a great way to get to know the city and stay in touch with your fellow UCEAP students.

    Previous events included a soccer game at the famous Olympic Stadium, a street art tour, Thanksgiving potluck dinner, which is coming up very soon with our students in fact, an urban gardening project, and attending a session of the German parliament.

    Our previous students have left behind many books and used but useful items such as warm winter clothes that are also yours to take at the study center. And you’re always welcome to stop by for tea, coffee, cookies, and a chat at the study center.

    So. We are very happy to have. Wait, are they? Do we? Oh, we have Rose here. And maybe Tiye will be showing up. We wanted to include in our session some words, some perspectives from one or more of our current students, people in Berlin, and Rose Watson has agreed to join us.

    She’s, Tanja pointed her out in the picture there in the front in the group picture. And, I think we’ll turn it over to Rose. And Tiye has also joined now. Yeah. Hello. Oh, has Tiye joined now? Oh hi, Thank you. We have 2 of our students here.

    So we’ll give the floor to each of them for a few minutes. You know, you can turn your camera on if you want to, so they can also see you. And, and I did want to mention to the students attending, you can type questions you have for us.

    Or for Tiye or Rose in the chat window and then we can address questions you have as well. Okay, who wants to go first, Rose or Tiye? I can go. I didn’t really prepare anything, so I’m just gonna be upfront with that. That’s funny. Yes.

    But I will say. Okay. I’ve had the best time in Berlin. It’s honestly been life changing. I go, my home campus is UCLA and I love LA but it’s very different from Berlin.

    From the personalities, the weather, obviously, the academics here are different as well. Different ways, you know, I have less classes during the week, which is nice because, you know, I have free time to explore the different markets that Tanja was talking about and also, you know, some of these,

    Whatever. But yeah, I am going on a weird tangent here, but basically I love Berlin. It’s been awesome. Have loved getting to know the people here. I did take part in the intensive language program and I really can’t recommend that enough.

    I met so many really cool people, some of my best friends here in those classes. And it has really helped my adjournment.

    I came in at a like a German one level. I only took one German class at UCLA, and I can, you know, order all of my food in German and direct people in German now, and that’s been really rewarding even though it doesn’t really have anything to do with my degree because I’m a math major.

    That’s also been one of my favorite parts, and it’s really motivating for me because I’m super intrigued and excited about maybe doing grad school in Germany. Yeah, there are so many positive things to say about Germany and about Berlin especially, so I could go on.

    Probably questions would help. But, yeah, I’ll turn it over to Tiye. Okay, thank you. Thank you, Rose. That was wonderful. I didn’t, I don’t say prepared wholly, but I did make a list of pros and cons. For like coming to Berlin, maybe the cons shouldn’t be said, but they’re not that bad.

    And I think Rose touched on some of them, but right now what I’m guessing most people who are considering coming to Berlin are thinking of is maybe housing and, you know, finding a place

    To live once you get here. Well, it is a bit of a difficult process at first to find a place. I think it’s, there you will find a place, well, I don’t wanna promise that, but I think that the place you find will almost always be less

    Then what you would pay in California. It was just insane to me that by actually like living in another country for an entire semester

    I saved money than actually being at UCSD and like it was just mind-blowing that the cost for a room and an entire bathroom inside my room was less than $500 where, you know, I spent almost a thousand dollars for a double and, yeah, that was part of the reason why I stayed, but, and, you know, the public transport, I think maybe Glenn or Tanja mentioned this earlier, it’s just amazing that everyone uses public

    Transport here and you can get everywhere. Obviously we walk a little bit or a lot, but it’s, you don’t even really think about it. So, you know, you have like housing that’s a really big cost and the cost of living, food, you know, going out to places,

    Is just nowhere near as expensive as it is in California. And I mean, I’m from California, I love my state, but you just can’t beat like a $5 or less, like, a little Brötchen roll, which is like a little sandwich.

    And you know, in the middle of the day you’re hungry, it’s like a little sandwich, and you know in the middle of the day you’re hungry It’s like a little sandwich and you know in the middle of the day you’re hungry.

    It was just crazy that, you know. I went back [to California] in the middle of the [program], 10 to $16 and I was just, it was it was so disheartening, I would say,

    But my budget, my wallet really hurt. But here, you know, like you groceries for the entire week is, maybe it costs $30.

    You know, a little meal, you can get a little coffee, just really enjoy yourself. And I think that goes into like what Rose is saying about classes, like, you only have, there’s a lot more, I guess, not necessarily trust in those students, but like

    Students are expected to do the work and the homework in the setting on their own time.

    And, so you have more time to kind of, there’s just more of a work life balance to, you know, relax maybe on Sunday or relax on a specific day in the week that you have set out, you do have to be a bit more disciplined and like, how you do your course load and your course work, but I think it’s also really helpful just like building those

    Boundaries within your own schedule. And, it’s, you can’t really go wrong with that. And like both, of course, you know, like meeting new friends. In the program I feel like, maybe one of the cons, I guess.

    That you’re gonna be getting on any study abroad program is that you know you may feel a bit homesick and you know, it’s just natural, like, you’re probably gonna call your friends and family back home, but you can also make a lot of really good friends who you may have even, like, never talked to

    Because, you see, schools are huge or you know, from a different campus like Rose is from UCLA.

    I’m from UCSD. We probably never would have met at least in these last 4 years if we hadn’t done this, and, you know, there’s at least 4 or 5 other people that I can think of that you know some of them I talked really regularly and others like I would love to like meet up with them when I

    Go back and kind of reminisce about our time here in Berlin. Please feel free to call me off at any time or like to put a question in the chat.

    But moving on, I feel like that also goes into another pro is that if you do, you know, make friends in the UCEAP program, students are amongst those, then it kind of lessens the homesickness because, you know, you’re surrounded by a bit of familiarity in terms of like,

    Yeah, they’re also Americans and maybe some of the slang is typical. Or you can talk about, like, the challenges that you’re having in another country or like, oh my gosh, I can’t believe this happened, or, oh my gosh, didn’t realize that in German classrooms you knock at the end of a lecture to, like,

    I guess, like, not as maybe like in US courses you would clap, but here they knock, and you’re like, wow, that was so different.

    But you know, with all the new people that you meet, you can also travel because everywhere is so much more accessible and so much less expensive to get to, you know, flights are cheaper.

    You can go to, you know, if you’re in Germany, you can go to Prague and Austria or Vienna and Budapest all in like 4 or 5 days and spend

    Half the cost that you would if you like did that trip all the way from the States. You can literally go anywhere, almost anywhere in Europe and it’ll just be a lot easier, a lot quicker and, you know, you’ll be making new connections as you go.

    And like Rose said, I feel like learning German or like learning a new language is such an added skill set. Rose and I were at the same level when we first came here and we’ve taken a lot of like the ILP or language courses during the semester together and

    I’m taking class in Germany right now and I never thought that I would have been able to do that last year, and it’s just something that I feel like I definitely wanna add to later on in my life, whether I’m in a job or

    You know, it’s kind of, I’m going how you come here and then literally like every person around you, everyone, but like the majority of people around you know not just 2 languages but 3, 4, or even 5 languages, and you’re just there like, oh, well, you know, I really know English.

    It’s just, it’s just, you know, a really good opportunity to, open, you know, get out of your comfort zone and open up possibilities for, you know, jobs that are on in your life, schools, master programs.

    By learning another language and actually understanding, like, how another country functions on a day-to-day basis and how, well, you know, they treat their citizens, and maybe the work-life balance and, you know, you can just kind of imagine yourself, like,

    Being somewhere else. Not that you wouldn’t go back to the States, but I don’t know, just doing something that you might not have even considered before, because now at least you’ve had this, like, little foothold in a country after setting about there.

    And I think that’s kind of all, you know, pros and cons built up into it, but most of all pros, you know, housing, cost of living, friends, travel. I think you’ve got it all. So that’s kind of my spiel. Absolutely. Okay.

    Thanks so much, Tiye. And thank you also, Rose, and we should mention, both of them initially only came for spring and then liked it so much that they decided to stay on for fall so that should also count for something, right?

    Please stick around so students can ask questions in a few minutes, and we’ll just move on to the next, and, I believe. second or last slides just really briefly, we wanted to explain the advantages of the UCEAP programs and then also the next steps in the application process.

    So. Our programs are designed specifically for UC students. And while you’re on UCEAP, you remain enrolled at your UC campus. Which basically means you do not need to take a leave of absence during your study abroad program. And also very important, you see, financial aid goes abroad with you.

    Additionally, you are also guaranteed that all the courses you take abroad will receive direct UC credit, not transfer credit. Okay. We hope that this presentation has provided you with a starting point on your study abroad journey, and we encourage you to explore the UCEAP Germany webpages

    For detailed information about our programs, finances, health and safety, and more. And you should visit and or make an appointment with the staff in your campus education abroad center or study abroad center as well as the UCEAP how to apply section

    Of the Berlin program page website for information on the steps of the application and the deadlines. Contact information for campus offices is also available on the About UCEAP page. You can start now an application by selecting Apply Now

    On the UCEAP website. And feel free to contact us, you know, if you have questions, our email addresses are on the next slide and we’d love to hear from you. We want to thank you for attending this session. I want to thank Tiye and Rose as well.

    In fact, I think they did such a nice job of it, we’ll let them do the webinar next time. Because they really offered a lot of valuable insights and information. We’ll have some Q&A now so you can put your questions in the chat.

    And we’ll try and address any that you have now at this time. Okay. You’re muted, Tanja. Yeah. I guess we covered it all, right? So. I did wanna mention. That I mean you said, like, you know we get credit, you see, credit for all of our classes, but

    For me in terms of, like, being that kind of major, I did not think that I would find as many classes in Berlin that would almost be really close if not the exact same thing that I would be taught at UCSD, especially, like, a machine learning major or specialization.

    That’s like almost half of it will not have a machine learning major or specialization.

    That’s like almost half of it will not have courses, but it’s a lot of courses at TU, which I feel like is great, you know, just that the Berlin program has like, you know, the Tech university you can choose or Free University or Humboldt. And I’m not 100% sure with Free or Humboldt, but I feel like they cover the other,

    You know, particular majors. Yes, our experience is that students almost always find the classes they need when they’re here, especially if they’re coming into it a little creatively and flexibly, especially for those looking to take courses just in English.

    Obviously they have to be a little creative and flexible, but it works. We very seldom have students who don’t get what they need or want. Awesome. Okay. Thank you to Justin as well for putting this together and. We will be making this recording available to the campuses as well. Done. And OkayHeyOkay

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