For a city founded 2, 000 years ago, Vienna has aged well. Its neo-Baroque style theaters and imperial palaces are just a facade for a contemporary city that's claimed the number one spot in Mercer's Quality of Living Survey three years in a row (2009-2011). The Viennese are leaders in urban planning, and the city maintains several natural, green spaces that make the perfect spot for afternoon study. You'll also find prominent international organizations, high quality educational systems, not to mention a historical and cultural heritage that will take you a lifetime to peel back.
For CCA students, the urban center of 1.8 million is a city for German language, immersing students in its musical tone, vocabulary and grammar. The all-German curriculum from an intensive language program (required for beginners) to small language and literature courses with other CCA students and a wide variety of electives alongside local students at the University of Vienna provides the historical, political and social context of modern Austria. As preparation for all this, students can enroll in an optional intensive language program at the Goethe Institute in Germany prior to the start of the semester.
Highlights
The CCA program in Vienna is a German language immersion program for students from beginning to advanced levels. A typical course load is 12-18 credit hours. Our academic program is broken down into six areas:
- Optional intensive language preparation at the Goethe Institut in Schwabisch Hall, Germany
- Culture Course required of all students
- Central College Abroad language courses and electives for intermediate level and above
- Intensive language program required for beginners
- Affiliate university electives through the University of Vienna (for high intermediate and above)
- Internships and service-learning available for all students
One of the highlights of studying through Central College Abroad Vienna is the number of cultural activities and excursions that are included as part of your program fee. These excursions, facilitated by the resident director, speak to the cultural learning and understanding you'll gain in your courses. Recent excursions include:
- Visits to famous Vienna sites, the Wien Museum, the Archives of the Austrian Resistance, the Jewish Museum and Parliament
- A tour of Belvedere and Schonbrunn Palaces
- Concerts, theatre and opera performances around Vienna
- A Weekend in Prague, Budapest, Salzburg or Graz
- A day in Bratislava or Austria's Wachau Valley
Term
Fall, Spring, Academic Year
Dates
Fall semester: late September - late January. Spring semester: late February - late June. (These dates do not reflect the one or two-month optional language training sessions at the Goethe Institut prior to the start of the semester.)