Dates
May 20 - June 15, 2027Subjects
Business, Risk Management, Communication, Art, Museum StudiesDeadlines
Dec. 1: Apply Early & Save $100Feb. 5: Regular Deadline
Program Overview
KIIS Berlin & Barcelona takes full advantage of two diverse and vibrant cities in Germany and Spain. The program begins in Barcelona, a cosmopolitan seaport on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. Walking through this city reveals its Roman past, distinct Gothic Quarter, sublime modernist expansions, and experimental contemporary architecture. The program then moves to Berlin, in the vibrant and centrally located Prenzlauer Berg district. Here students have a unique chance to explore Germany’s thriving art, culture, and history. Classes are divided between formal classwork, field workshops, and guided excursions that provide students direct contact with the cities and their museums, galleries, cafés, and parks.
Note: Studying abroad likely is more physically strenuous than you are used to at home. KIIS study abroad programs typically involve approx. 5-10 miles of walking (approx. 10,000-20,000 steps) or the like in a day, including the possibility of walking, hiking, and climbing stairs in heat and humidity, over elevations at higher altitudes, and over rocky terrain. See Health & Wellness for more information.
Program Director
Photo Gallery
-
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
Courses
All courses are taught in English and are 3 credit hours. You may enroll in 1-2 courses.
What does it mean for a museum to be alive? This intensive four-week field course uses Barcelona and Berlin as living laboratories for that question. In Barcelona, we encounter institutions animated by modernist art, civic identity, and community memory. In Berlin, we confront museums built around absence, trauma, and contested ownership. Moving between them, students develop a critical vocabulary for analysing how museums come alive — or fail to — for different publics, in different politic
The course starts with introduction of U.S. healthcare delivery system and stakeholders’ financial relationships. Armed with this understanding, we will examine healthcare systems of Spain and Germany. Our focuses are business operations of healthcare providers and financial interrelationships among stakeholders of the healthcare systems, respectively.
Using Berlin and Barcelona as living classrooms, this course explores intercultural communication from a critical, experiential perspective. Students will examine how communication is shaped by culture, identity, power, language, and global contexts. Through field observations, cultural interactions, and engagement with public spaces such as museums and monuments, students will analyze differences within and across cultures.
This course explores the relationship between gender and communication across global contexts, with a focus on how gender identities are constructed, performed, and negotiated through interpersonal, cultural, and mediated communication. Using Berlin and Barcelona as living classrooms, students will examine how gender intersects with culture, power, history, and space, and how communication reinforces and challenges gender norms across different cultures.
This course surveys the business operations of the insurance industry and compares current practice in the U.S., Spain, and Germany. We start with classic risk theories and have students prepared with critical thinking tools for examining demand (insured) and supply-side (insurers) observations. The course reviews the demand side and major insurance products, then focuses on the supply side and insurance company operations in managing risks.
All KIIS course credit is awarded by Western Kentucky University. Please speak to your home campus advisor or study abroad office for course equivalencies. Grades will be transferred to your home institution in mid-August after the completion of the program. For more information, visit Transcripts & Grades.
Group Flight
ESTIMATED COST $1,600 - $1,700
The Berlin-Barcelona program does not offer a group flight option. You will purchase your own multi-city roundtrip airfare, USA-Barcelona / Berlin-USA. (The group transfer between Barcelona and Berlin is included in the program.)
You must plan to arrive in Barcelona on May 21. Flights to Spain are typically overnight flights which means you must depart the USA by May 20. The program concludes on June 15 in Berlin. Return flights from Germany to the USA are typically the same day.
Visit Flights and Passports & Visas for more information.
Student Voices
Share your story-
"The KIIS Barcelona and Berlin trip helped me develop a stronger sense of independence and cultural competence! The Art History course I completed on the trip brought us to several fascinating museums in each city, which thoroughly enriched my overall collegiate academic experience." -Leyna Lehenbauer
-
"My time in Berlin was one of the most rewarding parts of my education by allowing me to connect course concepts with everyday experiences while exploring a new country. Engaging with people from different backgrounds reinforced the value of meaningful connection and communication while giving me experiences that will continue to influence both my personal and professional life. I am eternally grateful for this trip!" -Sarah Matlock
-
"Getting to study in Berlin was life changing! Some of the most expressive art you can find, and Doner as far as the eye can see. Especially where oppression and domination is on the rise, it's an important place to go, to reflect on how these systems shake people, I highly recommend visting the Communication Museum, the Berlin Wall Memorial Visitor Center, the Reichstag Building, and the DDR Museum." -Dave Adkins
-
"This opportunity was one of the best experiences of my life so far! I got to learn so much about the art and the history of these cities and meet a great group of people." -Sydney Naber