Freie Universität Berlin invites applications for its undergraduate FU-BEST (Berlin European Studies) program for Spring 2015 and beyond. It also extends an invitation to any institutions that may wish to join our large community of program partners. Students from a wide range of U.S. institutions have successfully participated in this growing program, which has been positively evaluated by the Forum on Education Abroad. Please see http://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/fubest/about/partner/index.html for details.

• Based on the U.S. academic calendar, FU-BEST offers a strong intensive German language program, covering all levels, as well as an exciting menu of almost 30 content courses taught mostly in English but also in part in German.
• There is no language prerequisite for participation in this program, but all participants are obligated to enroll on-site in German language training at their particular level.
• The content courses cover topics from a variety of disciplines, ranging from political science, history, philosophy, and sociology to music history, architecture, film studies, marketing/management, environmental studies, sociology, and art history.
• Every semester features a week-long off-site excursion (in the case of Spring 2015, the participant group will be divided in two and will travel to Strasbourg/Paris and London, respectively), as well as many local field-trips, cultural events, and related opportunities.
• Participants are housed in homestays or single-occupancy apartments, but may also opt out of these choices if they set up their own housing sufficiently in advance of the program.
• The cost of this program is, by current standards in higher education, quite affordable in our view, enabling a growing number of students to participate. See http://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/fubest/fees/index.html for details.
• Starting with the Spring 2015 semester, the program plans to add two new courses, on film music and on women’s studies (both in transatlantic perspective), to its already broad curriculum. For a listing of courses, please follow this link:http://www.fu-berlin.de/en/sites/fubest/prog/courses/index.html.

The application deadline for participation in the Spring 2015 semester is October 15, and April 1 for the Fall 2015 semester.Please note that we can now also accept application files via e-mail in PDF-format, as long as the files are complete in all respects and contain all necessary signatures on the various pages.

Students may apply directly to FU-BEST (after approval at their home institution) or via their home college/university (especially where an institutional partnership exists).

For full details on courses as well as other features of the program and application materials, please visit www.fubest.org and click on the many links to all the information and documents (including course syllabi).