About the Program
Hunter College students receive substantial financial support to spend either one semester or one academic year studying in Karlsruhe. Please consult Prof. Nicolai for details. This scholarship opportunity is sponsored by the Baden-Wuerttemberg Foundation.
See below for stories and photos from Hunter students who studied in Karlsruhe.
This comes to us from Macaulay Honors student Sean Crisp, who studied in Karlsruhe in 2018:
“The experience exceeded all of my expectations and I cannot recommend it highly enough. During my 6-month stay in Karlsruhe, my level of German increased more than it had during years of study in the US. The intensive language course offered before the start of the semester shored up my knowledge of German grammar and included a large speaking component, but my speaking ability improved most quickly during conversations outside class with roommates in the dorm or interactions at shops or bars. Before I went to Germany, I was practically incapable of actually speaking German in conversation for fear of making mistakes. After a few weeks in Germany, this fear dissipated, and I was able to speak more confidently and quickly, and the number of mistakes I inevitably made decreased over the duration of the stay. The funny thing about this process was that it actually required very little effort on my part, since I was surrounded by German at all times. I developed an instinctual feel for the language during conversation which helped me respond in German more quickly, but when I was really unable to come up with a word or construction, the vast majority of the people I met were extremely understanding and offered a word or rephrased the conversation in terms I could understand. Before I went, I was afraid of embarrassing myself in social situations due to my limited ability to speak German, but this fear was totally unfounded, since practically every German I met was thrilled that I was actually trying to speak the language instead of relying on English, and was happy to speak with me at my level.
The Pädagogische Hochschule offers so many resources to make the stay more enjoyable, most notably the international club, which makes it easy for students to make friends with other students studying abroad from places like Ireland, Russia and Hong Kong. This group of students functioned as a great support network, since all of us were in the same situation trying to learn German. The Pädagogische Hochschule also offers all kinds of assistance with scholarship and dormitory paperwork, bank accounts, a tandem partner program, and even offers a course on how to deal with culture shock, which I experienced to a rather acute degree but quickly overcame thanks to the great support network in place. After studying for a semester in Karlsruhe, my German is far better, I have lifelong friends both within Germany and across the world whom I met in the international club, and I feel much better able to deal with situations in unknown environments outside my comfort zone. And best of all, I had an absolutely brilliant time achieving that.”
Alumnus Robert Bloom says of his stay in Karlsruhe:
“Die Fächerstadt is an extraordinary city and the perfect place to study German. Karlsruhe takes you away from the well-worn tourist routes and gives you front-row seats to the real Germany. Unlike Berlin and Munich, where you will struggle to convince locals to speak with you in German, Karlsruhe offers the elusive true immersion that is essential to becoming an expert on all things German. Despite falling off the radar of most foreigners, the city has no shortage of entertainment, with pretty much every type of food you could ever want, unique museums like the ZKM, and no shortage of nightlife. The proximity to Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Strasbourg, and Switzerland offers a lot of great opportunities for weekend trips. I was uncertain whether I would like Karlsruhe before I went for a semester, and at the end, I wished I had stayed for a full year!”