Spring 2023: Berlin, Germany

Join the Spring 2023 Viterbi WRIT 340 Spring Break Abroad Program

Viterbi students participating in this program can make progress towards their engineering degree by taking WRIT 340 in the Spring 2023 semester and traveling abroad with the program during spring break. Through the abroad experience and the course students will examine the Grand Challenges and gain a global perspective on engineering.  
Program abroad dates: March 10-20, 2023

Spring 2023: Berlin, Germany

Make progress toward your engineering degree while also exploring Germany and its rich culture

Activities include: City Walking Tour, Company Site Visit, BMW Motorcycle Factory Tour and so much more

Evaluate and compare a variety of engineering concepts to those in the US

Take WRIT 340 taught by a Viterbi faculty

Timeline

  • Applications Open: October 6, 2022
  • Fall 2022 Viterbi Study Abroad Information Session: August 25, 2022

  • Application Due: October 16, 2022 (11:59pm PST)
  • Decisions Sent: Late October- Early November
  • Acceptance Confirmation Due: Late October- Early November
  • Enrollment Deposit Due: Late October-Early November
  • Mandatory Online Orientation: January 2023
  • Program Fee Due: January 2023
  • Mandatory Arrival and Orientation: March 10, 2023
  • Mandatory Check Out of Housing: March 20, 2023

Application

Apply Here

Eligible Applicants

  • Current sophomore and junior level students are eligible to apply for the Maymester program. Current freshman, sophomore and junior level students are eligible to apply for the Fall Lead program. 
  • Viterbi students in good academic standing
  • All Viterbi majors are welcome to apply
  • Active passport that does not expire until 6 months after program re-entry

2023 Program Information

Spring 2023 WRIT 340

This special version of WRIT 340, Advanced Communication for Engineers, will examine the Grand Challenges of Engineering from a global perspective and explore the multi-faceted relationships between Cities, Citizens, and Engineering.  

Students in this program will take WRIT 340 during the spring semester at USC. During spring break students will go abroad to Berlin, Germany.   Although the Grand Challenges of Engineering were developed by the (American) National Academy of Engineering, engineers worldwide agree with their urgency.  To that end, Global Grand Challenges Summits have been held not only in the United States, but also in China and the United Kingdom.  Spending spring break abroad underscores the international cooperation needed to successfully meet these Challenges.

The spring break portion of the class may require students to miss one-three days of classes on campus due to travel.

The USC WRIT 340 course will be taught abroad and on campus by Dr. Harly Ramsey. The WRIT 340 course will be taken as a letter grade and will be taken for credit towards your degree.

*Please note: There will be two sections of the course. The majority of the class will be taught on campus at USC in Spring 2023. The section options for students are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00-3:20p or Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-4:50p.

Course Syllabus

Spring 2023 Group Excursions & Activities

The program aims to explore Berlin through engineering-related group activities and cultural experiences all included in the program cost. All activities are subject to change.  

  • City Walking Tour – explore Berlin’s city center and establish a foundation for future excursions 
  • Company Site Visit – visit a local company that tackles one of the 14 engineering challenges 
  • BMW Motorcycle Factory Tour 
  • Futurium Tour – explore the ‘House of Futures’ and examine different perspectives on tackling major world problems. Exhibit includes interactive examples of artificial intelligence, ecological architecture, and advanced robots 
  • University Visit – visit one of Berlin’s prized universities and explore their science and engineering campus 
  • Berliner Unterwelten WWII Bunker Tour – dive deep into German engineering from WWII 
  • Berlin Airport Tour/Workshop – examine one of Berlin’s three airports 
  • Berlin Wall Memorial Tour – visit the site of the Berlin Wall and examine the impressive, yet dark engineering marvel 




Location

Students will take courses at CIEE Berlin for the spring break portion of the program. Student’s accommodations will be in the CIEE Berlin residence halls or similar accommodations nearby.

Housing & Travel Arrangements

You will be responsible for booking your own flight to and from Berlin. You will need to be in the host city at the specific check-in day in order to check-in to the arranged housing.

Housing for the Berlin program will be in a Berlin residence hall. Accommodations include refrigerators and communal kitchens with pay-per-use onsite washing and drying machines. 

Expected Costs

This program will be run in the fall semester as a Fall Lead and in the spring semester as a Maymester or Spring Break Abroad. For the Fall Lead and Maymester/Spring Break Abroad programs the unit cost of the WRIT 340 course will be part of the student’s fall or spring semester. Additional students’ costs include: 

  • TBA program cost (includes housing, and included activities) 
  • Student round trip airline ticket
  • A welcome dinner and farewell dinner will be provided. Students will be responsible for all other meals.  

A $200 deposit will be required for accepted students. This deposit will go towards the total program cost.

FAQs

Published on February 4th, 2021

Last updated on November 14th, 2022