Cultural program and field-trips
The FU-BEST program features an elaborate set of learning support and cultural experience activities. Some of these are mandatory, others are optional.
Each semester, all students not only participate in a week-long off-site excursion, but also visit four sites in and around Berlin on selected Fridays as integral and mandatory part of the overall academic program: the Reichstag building (including a session of the German parliament) and/or the Chancellor's Office (Bundeskanzleramt), the site of the former Nazi concentration camp at Sachsenhausen, the former prison complex in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen of East Germany’s state security police (Stasi), and the royal palace Sanssouci as well as the 1945 allied conference site in nearby Potsdam.
In order to enhance participants' German language ability and their interaction with German society, the program not only recommends the selection of a homestay as far as housing is concerned, but also offers the option of a one-on-one “FU Buddy” (see flyer posted on this page), frequent Stammtisch gatherings (see flyer posted on this page), and participation in the events organized by the Freie Universität's International Club (www.internationalerclub.de).
In addition, all participants are invited to select up to three events from a concert, opera, and soccer program, with the tickets made available through the program, in addition to numerous suggestions made by the program staff regarding other cultural opportunities in the city. Program participants also receive a pass for use in all museums associated with the Foundation for State Museums in Berlin (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin).