Classes are taught in English by faculty with experience teaching American students. Specific course syllabi are available through the International Programs Office. The semester begins with a one-week field trip from Brussels, Belguim to Salzburg, Austria. Sites for the field trip include Cologne, Bonn, Heildelberg, and Nuremberg. Students are interviewed during the field trip for placement in German and for housing preferences.
All students live with Austrian families during the semester.
Co-curricular activities include additional field trips and special seminars. Tuesday afternoons are usually devoted to field trips in the Salzburg and Munich area supporting different classes. Field trips include museums, local government offices and businesses. Seminar speakers may include politicians, international journalists, artists, and scholars from a variety of different countries. Students engage in two weeks of independent study and travel in the middle of the semester.