Study Abroad

The SMU-in-Germany program offers a five-week faculty-led program with offerings in German, economics and music in the city of Berlin. Berlin is not only the capital city of the largest economy in Europe, but also boasts a vibrant contemporary culture.  It has for centuries been an important political and cultural center, and as such, is a place where past meets present, from palaces of Prussian kings and the remnants of the Berlin wall, to great museums, symphony orchestras, and opera companies, to trendy bohemian neighborhoods and a bustling local arts and music scene embodying the spirit of young Germans.

The academic program caters to students looking to complete their language requirement in German as well as majors and minors in music, economics, or German. For their coursework students choose between a focus on language, economics, or music history along with an exploration of German culture. Students in Track 1 complete six credits of beginning German. Track 2 features a course in intermediate microeconomics and a course in German cultural history, while the courses in Track 3 consist of music history and German cultural history.

Students on the intensive language track will gain a true immersion experience by participating in home stays and engaging in daily language instruction. As part of the study of German cultural and musical history, students will not only tour major museums in Berlin but also travel to the nearby cities of Weimar, Leipzig, and Dresden. Those in the music course will have opportunities to attend concerts in world-class performance spaces as well as visit sites where great German composers such as a Bach, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Wagner lived and worked. Economics students will receive a tour of a state-of-the-art BMW factory. All students will also have the ample time to explore on their own.

The SMU faculty are not only highly qualified in their fields, but are all fluent German speakers with extensive experience living in Germany. They are excited to accompany you to Berlin, where you will have the chance to delve into the living history of one of the world’s most exciting global capitals.