In Germany I am doing a dual course of study. My company’s program included an eight-week summer session in Berkeley from the start. Much of the organization was carried out by my company in close collaboration with MicroEDU.
Therefore, unfortunately, I cannot go into more detail on some organizational aspects in the experience report. Even if I was not in direct contact with MicroEDU in some aspects, I would like to thank Tanja in particular for the excellent work. In cooperation with my employer, she took a lot of effort off my feet and coordinated them. The know-how and the experience helped a lot. This means that the entire organization ran smoothly before, during and after the summer session.
RESIDE
During the summer school I lived in the International House (“i-House”). This accommodation was chosen by my employer.
The i-House is a student residence hall and is located directly on the campus. I shared a room with another student for the entire eight weeks. The rooms are very small and have old wooden furniture. The room had a loft bed, a few small dressers with drawers, and two desks. There was also a small additional room with shelves for storage. I have to admit that one should be aware of living in a confined space with a stranger for a certain period of time. In my case it went perfectly, we could come to terms with each other.
Another thing to note is the fact that bathrooms are shared with the other residents of a hallway. These are cleaned once a day on working days. One should also be aware of this; for me it was “not as bad as expected”.
To study, I often went to the in-house small library, which, however, gets very full during exam phases. Read more student reviews on Toppharmacyschools.
The food in the i-House was ok. Three meals are served Monday through Friday: breakfast, lunch and dinner. On weekends there is brunch and dinner. The breakfast is very rich. Unfortunately, I was never able to take lunch because of my schedule. According to the name of the house, there are a lot of international dishes, but increasingly geared towards the Asian fellow students. The variety of offers decreased over time.
I would particularly like to highlight the Program Office. This is a small team that aims to network students from different countries and cultures and to offer them an attractive leisure program. For example, they sell cards for baseball games at low prices, organize trips to amusement parks or events that take place in the i-House itself, such as a weekly “Coffee Hour”, during which there is free tea and coffee in the evening and sometimes even under the The motto of a country.
Especially with such activities you have the opportunity to get to know the other roommates. Over time, a community of its own forms among the roommates, which makes life there even more pleasant.
TO STUDY
First of all, I am convinced that the University of California at Berkeley is fundamentally a prestigious university.
For the summer school I chose two courses from a wide range. Unfortunately, I was personally not as satisfied with these as initially hoped.
For course selection, I recommend to take this forum as well as the syllabus about MicroEDU for help.
My first course (8 weeks, 4 credits) was Media Studies. The content was different than expected. Anyone interested in media, film and television and stars and celebrities will be satisfied with the topic.
In addition, the size of the course, with around 115 students, was larger than hoped. In addition to a midterm and final exam in the form of an exam, two assignments had to be written. In addition, almost every lesson had to be read. The contents of the ‘reading’ were taken up in the lecture.
My second course (6 weeks, 3 credits) was Introduction to International Business. Since I had already studied International Management for six semesters in Germany, the content of the course was nothing new. The course was also relatively large with around 100 students. The examination consisted of a midterm and a final exam, each in the form of a seminar paper.
In exchange with others, I learned that the course sizes are often smaller.
On the beautiful university campus, Berkeley offers a variety of well-equipped facilities that can be used for research and learning.
Leisure
As a summer school participant, I was able to use the university’s sports facilities and offers free of charge. There are fitness studios, swimming pools, running tracks, squash fields and the like, each with a different type, equipment and size. In addition, you could take part in a variety of sports courses free of charge. I really liked these options!
There are also some trails in the mountains to go running . At this point it should be mentioned that the San Francisco Marathon takes place in July, for which you should register early if you are interested!
Berkeley has several restaurants and bars. Every Thursday evening the students came together in Pappys, a sports bar. Beer was offered from $ 1 and the cellar was converted into a dance floor.
As a big city, San Francisco certainly has a lot to offer. The city can be reached in about 30 minutes for about $ 8 on the Bart train, and it takes about 45-60 minutes on the free bus.
A negative aspect for me was that both Berkeley and San Francisco are home to many homeless people, some of whom were very pushy, which makes some districts in both cities not recommended for staying alone.
The University of Berkeley, however, certainly does its best to keep students safe as best it can. There are a large number of emergency telephones on campus, buses provided by the university with their own bus routes, and a so-called “Bearwalk” at night. The latter can be contacted to be accompanied on foot at night.
Furthermore, California and the neighboring states undoubtedly have a lot to offer to discover. I was particularly fascinated by the diversity of the states.
CONCLUSION
The entire program with all the modules described above convinced me! It was an incredible time with many unforgettable moments and formative experiences. The eight week period passed very quickly. If I had chosen a different course, I would have liked to have stayed longer. In order to get an impression of studying in another country and to spend the summer with new people, in a different environment and taking some with me, I definitely recommend a summer session. When it comes to organization, MicroEDU is definitely an optimal support that should be used.
