Program Overview
Davidson is partnered with Duke University to send students to Berlin in the fall, spring, or for the full academic year. The program was founded at the Freie Universität of West Berlin in 1988 before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since 1990 the fall semester has taken place at Humboldt Universität in former East Berlin while the spring-summer semester continues to be based at the Freie Universität. Students attend Duke University courses taught by German faculty and by the program’s resident director. Students with sufficient German may take courses in the Berlin universities. The program helps students advance their language skills, deepens their understanding of German culture, and broadens their grasp of the social sciences, art history, and technology in a German and European context.

Academics
The program offers courses at three universities: the fall program is based at the Humboldt Universität in former East Berlin and spring-summer at the Freie Universität in former West Berlin. Engineering courses may be taken at the Technische Universität in the spring. Humboldt was founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin. After World War II, it fell under Soviet administration in the divided city. Numerous students and faculty members left the east for the freedom of West Berlin, where they founded the Freie Universität in 1948. The Freie Universität is today regarded as one of the premier institutions of higher learning in the world. It has a student body of 45,000. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the German government moved quickly to transform Humboldt Universität, which has again become a magnet for students and researchers. More than 30,000 students are now enrolled there. The Technische Universität Berlin traces its origin back to the late 18th century and is today the largest technical university of Germany with a very high percentage of foreign students. It has a student body of 28,000.

Courses and credits:
Note - Davidson course numbers are in parentheses and all courses count towards the German major or minor.

Fall (August - December)
Prerequisites: Good academic standing, no German required
GER 111/212/312: “German Language and Culture” (double credit for GER 198 and 199/298 and 299/381 and 382)

Choose two of the three:                
ART 296: “Berlin Art and Architecture”  (ART 199)
ECO 260: “Economics of the EU” (ECO 199)
POL 295: “Environmental Policy” (POL 199)

Possibility of a fifth course at the Humboldt or the TU in the (German) winter semester Oct.-Feb.

Spring (February - July)
Prerequisites: Good academic standing, no German required
GER 111: ”Introduction to German” (GER 101) or GER 318: “Advanced Intensive German” (GER 383)
GER 352: “Berlin in Literature and Culture” (GER 385)

Choose either GER 354 plus 1 FU/TU course OR 2 FU/TU courses.
GER 354: “Contemporary Art in Berlin” (ART 199)

Spring/Summer for Science Majors (January - July)
Prerequisites: Good academic standing, German 102 required
GER 213: “Intensive Intermediate German” (GER 299) in January (“January Course”)
GER 319: “Advanced Intensive German” (GER 383) to mid-April

Program Highlights
Cultural Events
During the fall and spring-summer programs, students are invited to attend a series of cultural events such as concerts, theaters, and operas at no additional charge. Usually the group attends up to six such events, including one or two operas per semester.

Excursions
One of the most popular aspects of Duke in Berlin is the series of excursions arranged each semester. These trips combine sightseeing and recreation with observations for program courses. In fall, students travel to Dresden and Prague, with their rich architectural heritages and art museums, and discuss political and economic issues with government officials. In spring-summer, students travel to Thuringia, where they visit historic Erfurt, various sites from the Classical Period in Weimar, the Universität Jena, and Buchenwald concentration camp. They then have three days for individual sightseeing. Later, students visit Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union and of NATO. Included at no extra cost on excursions are transportation by bus or train, guided tours, concert or opera visits, accommodation, and a meal stipend to cover all related expenses.

Extracurricular Activities
Access to a wide array of activities such as athletics, music, choir, orchestra, swimming, dance courses, basketball, volleyball, soccer, etc. is guaranteed to participating students at little or no extra cost. Also, students are invited to several social events such as receptions at universities or dinners as well as informal gatherings like “Stammtisch” to promote cultural understanding.

Housing and Meals
Students live with carefully selected German host families. Living with a host family gives students an opportunity to immerse themselves in the local culture. Breakfast is included with the host family stay.  Students are responsible for all other meals.

Admission Requirements
Open to all Davidson students who are in good standing in all areas. For academics, ‘good standing’ is defined in this case as having a 2.5 cumulative GPA or higher (exceptions may be made in certain circumstances). No prior study of German is required.

Application Instructions
This program is administered by Duke Global Education. In addition to opening an application on Davidson's study abroad website, you will also need to open an application on the Duke Global Education website. Please note that you will need to submit all application materials to Duke Global Education by Davidson's study abroad deadline. For assistance with the application process, please contact a Study Abroad Adviser.

Summer only applicants must submit the Summer Partner Provider Program application to Davidson in addition to the Duke application.

Contact Information
Professor Maggie McCarthy
Department of German Studies
mamccarthy@davidson.edu
704-894-2266

Duke Global Education Office
globaled@duke.edu
Phone: 919-684-2174
Website: globaled.duke.edu/programs/berlin_semester

Visa Warning: Passports must be surrendered as part of the visa application process. Since it may take up to 90 days to receive a visa and have your passport returned to you, participating in consecutive study abroad programs in different countries, particularly between summer and fall, may be problematic or impossible.

Davidson College and consulate staffers cannot guarantee that a visa will be granted by a foreign government in any circumstance or in any time frame. International students should meet with the International Student Adviser to discuss their visa status.