Bellevue College is offering a study abroad opportunity spring quarter of 2016. Selected students will spend 11 weeks in Berlin and enroll in 15 credits to include the mandatory German Life and Culture course.
While students will have classes Monday through Thursday. Every Friday and the weekends will be left to explore the city of Berlin. In order for students to apply for the program they must fill out applications for both Bellevue College as well as the Washington Community College Consortium. Both applications can be found on the Bellevue College study abroad website.
The students will turn in their paperwork to Li Liu, communications study faculty as well as study abroad coordinator at Bellevue College.
“Most importantly we ask for faculty reference letters, we want to know how you will be able to do academically while traveling to a non-English speaking environment,” Liu said. “We also ask students to write a personal essay to explain why they chose Berlin in particular.”
In addition to the applications and personal essay, students must have a GPA of at least 2.5 to be selected for the study abroad program. While in Berlin, students have access to different guided tours that are included in the fee, such as a boat tour along the River Spree along the Berlin wall and a tour of the East Side Gallery, a 1.3 km long section of the Berlin Wall that is an international memorial for freedom. Students also receive tickets to a sporting event, the Mauer Museum, a brewery tour, a visit to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and many more.
Students who qualify for financial aid are allowed to use loans or grants to pay for study abroad. Grants may be used for tuition, program fees or personal expenses. In addition, there are many scholarship resources available to students. The Education Resources Institute, Gilman International Scholarship and study abroad funding from the Institute for International Education are some to note.
Berlin is one of many countries in which Bellevue College offers study abroad programs.
This past year Bellevue College sent students to China, Costa Rica and Barcelona, Spain. Some upcoming study abroad opportunities include Australia and New Zealand for the winter 2016 quarter, which is hosted with Green River Community College and Japan for fall 2015 also hosted with Green River Community College.
Liu explained how study abroad could be a very rewarding experience:
“Students usually make friends very easily with each other because there is that bond of being in a new country with each other, and of course it is very beneficial to see how people live their lives differently and similarly to our own. Different meaning that students learn that it’s okay to be different and do things differently.”
For more information on the study abroad program, contact Li Liu or visit the Bellevue College study abroad website.