Established when Germany was still divided by a wall, Duke in Berlin has provided students with a truly immersive study abroad experience for nearly 40 years. Administered by the Global Education Office (GEO) and sponsored by German Studies, the program is available during both fall and spring semesters as well as the summer — with options to stay in the city anywhere from one semester to a year.
Together with the team at GEO, Andrea Larson, Duke in Berlin’s academic director, ensures students are well-prepared before departure, equipping them with everything needed for study abroad. When they arrive in Berlin, they are welcomed by resident director Tin Wegel, who provides on-the-ground support and guidance throughout the program.
“Our students can go abroad knowing they are fully taken care of while experiencing another culture and progressing in their degrees,” Larson shares. “They don’t have to worry about all the legwork, like securing resident permits, housing and travel insurance. We help the students take care of it all; they literally just have to show up.”
Classes in the fall semester are “Duke-in” courses taught by adjunct instructors. By comparison, most classes in the spring are held at either the Free University of Berlin or, for qualified engineering students, the Technical University of Berlin. Semester courses fulfill Duke requirements, and while knowing German isn’t mandatory, students who need instruction take German 101A and 102A, which also count toward their language requirement. Wegel stresses that students from across campus, and often not German majors, take part in Duke in Berlin with great success.
“The Fall 2024 cohort had 15 students, and eight of them had no prior German,” she shares. “Students come to us from all over Duke — Pratt, the Med School, Economics, Computer Science — there really isn’t a ‘typical’ Duke in Berlin student.”
Course offerings not only reflect that multidisciplinary makeup but also integrate experiential learning within a distinctly European, if not German, context. Classroom learning becomes part of their daily experiences, and students don’t just study these lessons, they live them.
As an example, Wegel turns to the fundamental differences between attitudes and policies around sustainability in the United States and Germany. “For our students, seeing how many people commute by bike in Berlin or use our public transportation system is eye-opening. They see that sustainability is possible because they’ve experienced it.”
Traditionally, students have been housed in homestays where they live with vetted Berliners. Beginning in Fall 2025, the program will offer another option: co-living apartments where students have a private bedroom but share a kitchen and living area with classmates.
“We understand that not everyone wants to live with a family,” Wegel says. “While part of the allure of Duke in Berlin has been these congruent homestays, student trends have been shifting toward living in less residential and more ‘urban’ housing.”
With cohort sizes typically under 20 students, Duke in Berlin offers a boutique, study-abroad experience, allowing students to form close connections with their professors and each other. Two weekend group trips are planned each semester, and Wegel often organizes excursions within the city or outings into nature.
Living in Germany’s capital also comes with access to an extensive transportation network connecting Berlin to the rest of Europe, and Duke students make the most of opportunities to explore. “Our students travel ferociously, but I think that’s wonderful,” says Wegel. “It’s part of the idea of being young and experiencing Europe — and living abroad.”
For alumna Grace Sorensen, her time abroad with Duke in Berlin was an opportunity to venture outside of her STEM studies. Majoring in Biology and German with a minor in Chemistry, Sorensen chose to focus on humanities courses, with her favorite being Berlin: Architecture, Art and the City.
“Studying the art and history of the city was completely unique because I was actually living in Berlin and could experience everything first-hand,” she says. “I loved how my humanities classes challenged me to use a different part of my brain and explore topics entirely new to me.”
A Fulbright Scholar, Sorensen is currently conducting immunology research with the Gene Center in Munich. She credits her immersive experiences in Berlin with broadening her perspectives and helping her to reflect on different ways of thinking about the world and her place within it.
"Duke in Berlin is a unique moment when students experience themselves outside their own culture,” Larson says. “Stepping beyond a familiar framework allows them to reflect on themselves and on how they engage with the world — that perspective is invaluable."