Freie Universitaet Berlin’s International Summer and Winter University FUBiS Welcomes Largest Cohort
On Sunday, Freie Universität Berlin welcomed students from over 30 countries to the start of the third International Summer and Winter University (FUBiS) of 2023. The four-week program offers its 310 participants 33 courses, including German language classes and other academic subjects. Most of the students are from the United States, South Korea, and China, as well as different European countries. The current term runs through August 19.
FUBiS students can choose from 18 classes this term on topics ranging from European politics and economics to sustainability, history, architecture, philosophy, as well as from 15 German language classes for all different skill levels. FUBiS also cooperates with the Utrecht Summer School to offer international summer classes on European history and art history. For these classes the students also travel to Italy and the Netherlands.
Freie Universität Berlin awards credits according to the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) for all FUBiS courses. The academic program also includes a variety of cultural activities and field trips, such as a boat trip on the Spree River and a tour of the Reichstag building. The individual courses also offer program participants additional field trips on specific subjects related to the course topic. In addition to other services, the program offers specialized mental health support, for example, in dealing with homesickness or culture shock. The services include opportunities to share experiences in group settings and individual psychological counseling to ensure the best possible care for international students with diverse backgrounds.
The FUBiS Summer University was held for the first time in 1998, and a winter term was added in 2007. FUBiS offers summer and winter programs lasting three to six weeks that are made up of German language classes and a wide range of academic courses primarily conducted in English. In past years, FUBiS has regularly welcomed around 600 students from 40 countries to Freie Universität Berlin.
The academic quality of FUBiS was awarded certification through the US American Quality Improvement Program (QUIP) yet again in 2018. It remains the only summer and winter university in Germany to have successfully completed the QUIP evaluation. The goal of FUBiS is to help create a global community of empowered individuals who will actively shape a better world of tomorrow; thus, future issues and the inclusion of the United Nations’ “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs) play an increasingly important role within its curriculum as well as in the management of the program.