Overseas Study Opportunities
Undergraduate Study-Abroad Programs
- Summer Program in Graz, Austria
- Academic-Year Program in Freiburg, Germany
- Dual B.S. Degree Program in Business in Reutlingen, Germany
- English-Language Summer Program in Berlin
Indiana University sponsors programs abroad for students interested in studying in a German-speaking environment. Participation in these programs is not restricted to German majors or minors; in each case sufficient proficiency in German is required. These programs offer regular Indiana University credit in specific courses. NOTE: Information on academic programs abroad sponsored by institutions other than IU is available from the departmental overseas study adviser and the campus Office of Overseas Study. Students who plan to study abroad under programs not directly sponsored by Indiana University should also consult the IU Office of Admissions and the departmental director of undergraduate studies, concerning credit transferability before making any commitment.
Summer Program in Graz, Austria
This program offers each student three credits in German language, and three credits in Austrian culture. All six credits count toward the major in Germanic Studies, the minor in German, or the minor in Germanic Studies. In Graz, we offer two levels of language proficiency courses in Graz: G396, for students who have completed at least G250 (or the equivalent), and G496, for students who have completed at least G330 (or the equivalent).
For more detailed information, check out the Graz OVST flyer!
Academic-Year Program in Freiburg, Germany
Indiana University, Purdue University, and the University of Massachusetts jointly sponsor an academic-year program at the Universität Freiburg. It is administered by a resident director from the faculty of one of the sponsor institutions. After a five-week orientation program that includes advanced language instruction, students may take regular courses at the university in nearly any field in which they are sufficiently prepared. The program curriculum also includes courses in Deutsch als Fremdsprache at the university and special tutorials for program participants. Prerequisites are junior or senior standing, a cumulative grade point average of approximately 3.0, and fifth semester proficiency in German prior to departure. You must be a student at any Indiana University campus who is making normal academic progress, enrolled in at least one course in Germanic Studies during the Spring semester before departure, and it is recommended that you complete G362 or G363 before the program begins. Students receive full IU credit for their work in Freiburg. Housing is mostly in university dormitories.
For more detailed information, check out the Freiburg OVST flyer!
Dual B.S. Degree Program in Business in Reutlingen, Germany
IU's Kelley School of Business has established a double undergraduate degree program in business with Europäisches Studienprogramm für Betriebswirtschaft (European Study Program in Business Management) in Reutlingen, Germany, widely known in Europe as ESB. The ESB is a top-ranked, American-style German business school affiliated with the Fachhochschule Reutlingen in southwestern Germany. Indiana students now have the opportunity to earn bachelor's degrees from both institutions in 4 years, with 3 semesters of enrollment in German (beginning in the 5th semester, and including a one-year internship).
In order to keep the program accessible to as many interested Indiana undergraduates as possible, IU and the ESB decided not to set a minimum proficiency level in German for entrance. Instead, this flexible program will accommodate virtually any level of proficiency from rudimentary to near-native. The higher the participant's German proficiency at entry, the more extensive and more advanced her/his instruction in German will be at ESB, and the greater the dependency on German in the host firm during the internship placement.
Germanic Studies encourages interested students to develop their German language skills as fully as possible during their first four semesters, which are spent on the Bloomington campus, and to consider the completion of the optional minor in German. For more detailed information, check out the Reutlingen OVST flyer.
English-Language Summer Program in Berlin, Germany
Indiana University offers a four-week English-language summer course in Berlin, taught by IU faculty and tailored to IU students. The city is not merely the setting for the course, but in many ways its key subject. Readings and research assignments—whether about literature, culture, history, or society—come alive in the city. At the same time, the experience of the city itself changes when it is studied intensely. Ideally, then, two things happen in the course: knowledge gleaned from books lifts off the page, while the buildings and streets of the city gain in depth.
All classroom meetings (three times a week, 90 minutes each) take place at the IES Center in the heart of Berlin, a technologically sophisticated space that offers students many amenities (Internet access, printers, library, and helpful staff). But the more important learning happens all over the city, at monuments, in museums, along streets, and in train stations. Besides the many planned outings, students have ample opportunity to explore on their own. Everyone receives a pass allowing unlimited use of the public transit system. Students are lodged in a modern hostel (several to a room) in close proximity to the IES Center.
For more detailed information, check out the Berlin Overseas Study Page!
Office of Overseas Study
Further information and application materials can be obtained from Susan Carty at the Office of International Programs, Franklin Hall 311 (855-9382).
