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Study abroad program details

Admission

  • Students who wish to study in Germany must be in good standing at Brown or their home institution. They must have completed the equivalent of five semesters of German language before commencing study at the university in Germany. Students, who have only three semesters of college German, may enroll in an intensive course (GRMN0450) in Berlin prior to the regular orientation in order to meet the language requirement.
  • Applications are available from the Office of International Programs and are due at the beginning of October for study in the second semester. Study in the fall semester only is not possible due to the German academic calendar. For more information please contact Jane_Sokolosky@brown.edu.

Intensive Intermediate German

For students who have only reached an intermediate level of German, Brown offers an intensive upper-intermediate course on site in Berlin in February. This course falls under the auspices of Brown’s Summer Studies and is billed at their tuition rates. Contact Jane_Sokolosky@brown.edu.

Transfer Credit

For a full semester’s worth of credit at Brown, students studying in Germany are expected to complete 4 courses for evaluation each semester.  The orientation language program does not count for credit.  Since German professors are not always expected to evaluate each student in their course, Brown program students must be sure to arrange in advance for four Scheine per semester in the courses they take for credit.  The maximum credit that students may transfer from study abroad is four Brown credits per semester (eight per year).

Housing

  • In Berlin, students find housing in apartments of their choosing. Students may choose to rent on their own or in shared housing. Apartments are available in close proximity to the university and in desirable neighborhoods. Students receive a monthly stipend toward housing.
  • In Tübingen, students are housed in university dorms. They share suites with German and international students.

On-site Coordinator

The on-site coordinator is responsible for coordinating the program in Germany. Your first contact with the on-site coordinator will be upon arriving in Germany, where you will be picked up and brought to the orientation program. This invaluable resource helps students with all organizational matters related to registering at the university. Throughout the semester, the coordinator arranges for monthly meetings, the “exchange” weekends between Berlin and Tübingen, and one longer group excursion. In addition to these meetings the on-site coordinator keeps in contact with students through cell phones issued to students as part of the program. In Berlin, the on-site coordinator also organizes the language/orientation program and is usually one of the instructors. He also assists students in finding housing.

Orientation in Berlin

Students participate in a four-week long orientation/language program run by the on-site coordinator and taught by qualified instructors. Courses focus on preparing students for academic life at the Humboldt University. Students are placed into language courses according to skill level. Time is spent out of class, familiarizing students with the university and exploring the city.

Orientation in Tübingen

Students enroll in a language/orientation course offered by the Foreign Student Office at the University. The curriculum covers language instruction as well as an introduction to the German university system. Emphasis is placed on preparing students to fully participate in classes at the university. Students spend the first two weeks of the program at the University before journeying to Blaubeuren, a conference center located in the scenic hills outside of Tübingen.