Germany: Lüneburg - German Language, European and Sustainability Studies

I always wanted to go to Germany since most of my family is German. I had the summer of a lifetime abroad and would study abroad through USAC again. I did an apartment and it was awesome. I wish it was more dorm style since we were all pretty spread out throughout the city and it was sometimes hard to hang out with friends when the buses were not running. Make sure to get a bike! The USAC advisers were awesome (Vero and Lenart). Travel as much as you can while you are over there!

I did the yearlong program in Lüneburg and it was easily the best year of my life so far. The classes were straight forward and the staff was always willing to support you and aid you in your studies. Classes run from Monday to Thursday with exams on Fridays about every two weeks, so there are many opportunities to travel on the weekends if you plan accordingly. I had the opportunity to participate in an internship at a local high school or Gymnasium and observe English as a foreign language class. This gave me the opportunity to not only help the teachers in class, but also to expose German students to American English, the culture, and to help them understand current events in America. I also had the opportunity to get a language partner and that experience was really beneficial in helping my ability to express myself fluently, my understanding of the culture, and of course getting the opportunity to make a new friend. My housing situation was wonderful, I lived in a shared apartment with German students, who were really fun, and I was able to make German friends through them. Lüneburg is such a beautiful, unique town, unlike any German town I've ever been too. All in all, my experience in Lüneburg was spectacular and I have no regrets about my decision to study here.

I totally fell in love with Germany through this program. The way the courses are organized is very straight-forward and engaging, the professors care about your success as a student, the language classes are very in-depth and challenging, the community in Luneburg is very friendly and are patient if your German isn't great, and my homestay was fantastic! Overall, terrific experience and I got to see most of Europe during my time throughout this program.
I would highly recommend this to anyone even remotely interested in studying in Europe.

I studied abroad with USAC during Fall 2016. I was in Lüneburg, a small town about thirty minutes outside of Hamburg, for four months and I learned more about myself and my culture during that time than I ever expected to. In my opinion Lüneburg was the perfect city to study in. It was small enough that you weren't surrounded by tourists and people who were going to be speaking English, but close enough to a big city that it was easy to travel around and find the resources that you needed.
I stayed with a host family that quickly became like a real family. Choosing this housing option made my experience better than I could have ever hoped. It really gave me the opportunity to fully immerse myself in the language and the culture. USAC offered multiple different housing options, though, so if this hadn't been the best choice for me it would have been easy to find a new situation.
The classes were awesome! I did the language intensive program, so I took four semesters worth of German classes in the timespan of one semester helping me finish my minor. It might sound scary, but it wasn't! The teachers are very good and very understanding and you can even go study without any prior German language experience!
USAC also provided multiple excursions to other parts of Germany so that we could branch out and see the rest of the country. Even when they didn't have USAC sanctioned events, there was multiple three-day weekends that you could use to go all around. I was able to visit Spain, Copenhagen, Munich, Italy, Amsterdam, and London during my program which was an unbelievable opportunity.
Overall the support and opportunities that USAC gave me made this the best possible experience. I highly recommend studying through USAC if you want a program with a lot of support and options. Now it's time to plan my trip back to Germany!

We took a weekend into Berlin for a couple days. We stayed in a really nice hostel and were close the public transportation. This weekend was so much fun. Everyday felt like we were in a new city. Berlin was so awesome and beautiful and much to offer to everyone. I loved how USAC gave us a range of things to see an experience while we there for such a short period of time. It was definitely one of my top weekends. We even went to a beautiful concert inside the Berlin Dome! An experience I will never ever forget.

Lüneburg is the perfect city for study abroad - small and local, but with a huge population of international students. Every Wednesday night my friends and I went downtown to the pubs for karaoke, a döner, and a beer. I felt safe enough to walk or bike back every night.

The town is absolutely beautiful- cobblestone streets, decorated rooftops and three huge cathedrals. They have a farmers market with meats, cheeses and fruit every weekend, and bookstores, bakeries, or restaurants on every corner. A short train ride away is Hamburg, and the student ticket we get as part of the USAC program makes travelling to the bigger city (and all of Lower Saxony) free.

The courses USAC offered were a bit insulated from the main school, but still offered a good chance to learn German. I also took a course on Germany under the Third Reich, which had field trips to several locations of note around Lüneburg and gave me a new perspective on the war and German culture.

I absolutely recommend this program to anyone interested in learning German, living somewhere beautiful, or just wanting an adventure. You won't regret it.

This was such great program and I would do it again if I could. Lueneburg as a little town in the state of Niedersachsen. Even though it is a smaller city, there is always something to do. And if you prefer big cities, Hamburg is a thirty minute train ride away. And the best thing is that it is free! You are given a student transportation card that lets you ride regional trains and buses for free! So you're able to spend a day in Bremen, Hannover, and many more without spending money on transportation.

The German tracks are intensive but not too time consuming. Typically you go to class Monday - Thursday and have tests on Friday morning about every other week.

Housing really depends on what section of the city you get. There are dorms next to the University, near the city center (30 min walk to campus) and some that are far (William-Watt-Straße is one that I remember).

Luneburg is the cutest little medieval town! It's one of the safest cities I've ever lived in. The classes are great and there are tons of opportunities to speak to Germans to improve your skills. I never had a class in German before going and by the time I left I was carrying on long winded conversations with the locals. One of the best parts is as a student you get free train travel anywhere in the state. I went somewhere new every weekend for free.

I had my passport stolen in Belgium and the staff was so helpful and supportive. I had to go to the US embassy in Berlin to get a new one and they set up everything for me.

Christmas in Germany is so so so fun! If you're only going for a semester, I definitely recommend the fall one!