CET Czech Republic

I picked Prague after previously visiting the city and falling in love with the buildings and parks that created a desire for me to go back and keep exploring what the city had to offer. I have no regrets in picking CET Prague. The program helped me understand the amazing history and deepen my cultural understanding of the city and Central Europe. The program requires you to take a beginning Czech language class which seemed daunting at first but helped me feel more connected to the city and show respect to its people (who overall really appreciated when we would try to speak Czech with them). Some of my other favorite classes were "Central European Film" and "Kafka and other Central European Literature". Both classes added in my cultural understanding and proved to be great conversation starters when we met with other lecturers on traveling seminars. Czech food also seemed like it wouldn't be my cup of tea, but I have developed a love for goulash and garlic soup. However, even if you decide that food isn't for you, there are so many different restaurants with a variety of different cuisines to try across the city. I also loved being with people from all across the US, not just from my home institution. This aspect helped me make life long friends that I most likely would have never met if I didn't do the program (and now I have more connections/places to visit in the US). The staff was also extremely supportive and felt like family. They really took the time to get to know you and spend time with you which is not something I have always experienced in previous programs. This was my favorite semester for so many reasons and I owe it all to CET Prague!

If you're reading this review, you're just like me when I was trying to decide between a few study abroad programs. First and foremost, I can 100% assure you that CET Prague is an amazing program.

Prague is by far the most beautiful city in Europe in terms of architecture (for nature I would recommend Croatia). There are so many things to do in Prague from museums and historical sites to an array of restaurants, pubs, and clubs. There are farmers markets, food / wine festivals and so many unique social gatherings throughout the city that I found fascinating.

The CET staff is arguably the best part of the program. I can personally speak for Petra, Martina, and Maggie, which are three people you'll be in contact with the most. They truly cared about my concerns and helped me throughout the semester. Additionally, the housing offered by CET is superb. The apartments are spacious with high ceilings. Some units are nicer than others, but overall I thought all of the apartments were all nice. And I should mention that a housekeeper comes to clean weekly. My roommate and I were also lucky, we shared our apartment with an awesome Czech student.

The professors were generally very nice. I didn't find any of the classes challenging, but that's not to say they weren't interesting. I didn't have to put in a lot of study time, which was nice because that made it possible to travel more. If it's offered, I highly recommend taking Resistance and Dissent taught by Pavla. She one of the most eccentric and interesting professors I've ever taken and her course is really fun. I should note that all of the courses are taught at the CET center, not at a Charles University building. You won't be taking courses with other Czech students, all of your courses will be with other students from the United States. This is purely because all of the classes are offered in English, with the exception of the Czech course. I thought I would prefer to be in a foreign university setting, but I really liked the CET center. I think this might matter to some people, so this might be something to consider.

The travelling opportunities provide by CET are great. I believe there were two traveling seminars. The first travelling seminar you'll visit Krakow, Auschwitz, Brno, and Vienna. The second travelling seminar is in Budapest. In addition to these, CET staff will take you to several cities and towns throughout the Czech Republic. These travelling opportunities, which are provided by CET are unique. Most study abroad programs do not offer travel opportunities like this. I definitely think this is something to consider.

I wanted to write briefly about my experience as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. The aforementioned staff members were extremely open-minded and eager to help each student regardless of one's unique identity. At one point in the semester there was a sponsored meetup for LGBTQ+ students studying at Charles University, which was fun. Prague as a city is quite progressive for LGBTQ+ issues, there is an annual pride parade and there are several gay clubs, which are fun for everyone! The only problem I had was with my Czech teacher at CET. She was obviously ignorant about the LGBTQ+ community as per her comments throughout the semester. I notified staff about her comments and spoke to the teacher directly about attending diversity and inclusion workshops in the future. Although this teacher was not appreciated, she was a small negative in my overall very positive experience. I felt quite comfortable within the CET program and Prague.

After talking with friends about their study abroad experiences, I came to the conclusion that CET Prague is one of the best study abroad programs. The beauty coupled with an abundance of activities for students arguably makes Prague one of the best cities for study abroad. And I cannot say enough positive things about the CET staff. If you're on the fence between CET Prague and another program, I think CET Prague is a place for everyone.

Studying abroad through CET Prague was an invaluable experience. I chose this program because I had heard that Prague was quite affordable as far as EU cities go and BEAUTIFUL. I am pleased to say that its reputation held. CET staff were for the most part very supportive and helpful throughout the semester, making the transition to living and navigating around a new city much less daunting. While in Prague, I studied Central European Studies. I learnt a lot about the history and culture of the region, not just through my classes, but through all the extracurricular activities CET had to offer. Take advantage of them!

Since there are no classes on Fridays, many people traveled on the weekends. I found that with all the things going on in the semester, I was too burnt out to travel every weekend. But if you're someone that can afford and handle the stress of frequent travel and stimulation then there is definitely the opportunity to visit other parts of Europe. I visited Amsterdam one weekend, Munich another, and Paris and Freiburg over fall break. However, I'd recommend either coming early or leaving later than the program dates if you really want to experience Europe at your own pace.

Overall, the experiences I had here and people I met along the way were truly something else. I am happy with my decision to study in Prague through CET and would recommend this program to others.

The CET Prague program could not have been better tailored to my academic interests. As a History and Political Science major on my home campus, I was constantly amazed at the political and historical significance of everything around me. On the first day of class for Refugees, Minorities, and Migrations, our professor took us on a walking tour around Prague. All within walking distance of the CET Center were significant landmarks, monuments, and sites. I was especially fascinated because Central Europe had been so neglected in my historical education.
In addition to the myriad of historical sites to take in around Prague, CET took us on a traveling seminar around Central Europe, where we visted Krakow, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Brno, Mikulov, Vienna, and Budapest. Easily the best part of the program, the traveling seminar balances lectures with educational outings and free time to explore.
Additionally, I can't speak highly enough of the CET staff - our resident director and student life coordinator both made the program amazing for everybody.

I loved my semester abroad. Prague was a beautiful city, and CET did a great job of having classes that taught you about the history and people of the place you were living in. Most of the professors were excellent and knowledgeable, and incorporated cultural and interactive components into their lectures. The course load was interesting but not so heavy as to prevent us from exploring the city and learning by doing. The staff members were PHENOMENAL and made me feel safe, cared for, and helped introduce us to different aspects of Prague we might not have otherwise discovered. I also had an amazing Czech buddy as a roommate: we became great friends and she helped us adjust to the new experiences and was also just an incredible person to talk to. I also bonded with my flatmates and fellow students in my building, and we had a great time trying out new restaurants, visiting museums and points of interest, and even traveling outside of the country together. CET's traveling seminars were also and unbelievable opportunity to visit many other countries along with the program, which was great because it provided some structured learning and also gave us the freedom to explore on our own. While no abroad experience is perfect, CET gave me a chance to learn by doing, make new friends, and adapt to a new cultural atmosphere and I am so glad to have had this experience.

I will start off by saying CET does a great job with organizing events and trying to get students to feel at home in Prague. The Berlin trip was awesome and so was the trip to Cesky Krumlov. I was on the FAMU side of CET. The program at FAMU is slightly flawed, but it’s a great experience. It was amazing being surrounded by people who also had a passion for film. The program doesn’t feel like college or school whatsoever. The schedule is all over the place and can take some time to get used to. The screenwriting class and directing class are entirely pitching for most of the semester. I was very disappointed with directing class, nothing was taught about directing styles or techniques. It’s important to know coming in that if you have an idea for a film that you are passionate about, do it. Some professors will try to push their own ideas on you and make your film their own. Listen to what they have to say because some of their advice is amazing but ultimately go with what you think is best. Some of the professors are awesome. Editing class was very helpful and insightful. The cinematography class was very informative. Storyboarding class is way too short, there should be more of those classes. The electives at FAMU are a hit or miss, some are great, some aren’t. The key is to just test them out before choosing. The lighting seminar is one of the most fun and helpful parts of the program. That is when you get hands on the camera and lighting equipment for the first time. Unfortunately, that is the only time you get to see the camera before shooting. In my opinion, much more time should be spent on preparation for the shoot instead of pitching/screenwriting. The best part of the program by far was production. I highly recommend getting on multiple sets to get as much experience as possible. Being on set is ultimately what the whole program is about. The program provides you the resources to go out and make a film. The best way to learn filmmaking is to get hands-on experience. This program gives you that. I believe that although there are flaws, the set experience you get is invaluable. I met great people here who have taught me a lot as well. I am very happy with what I have learned and would recommend this program to anyone interested in filmmaking.

Prague is a beautiful European city, and I am incredibly grateful that I got to spend four months studying at one of the oldest film schools in the country. CET provided me with an amazing apartment that was close in proximity to a lot of places. In all, I can honestly say that I enjoyed my time here, and learned many things about myself and international filmmaking.

However, there were some things that left me feeling out of sorts. There were times where communication was lacking from the advisors to the students, and it left the majority of us feeling lost. It was very disorganized, and students did not feel as though they were being listened to, and it was unsettling. Better communication and organization would have helped.

While I would ultimately recommend this program to others looking for international filmmaking experience, I think it's important for them to understand what they are getting themselves into.

It's tough to describe this experience on a 1-10 scale. While there were many aspects of this program that I really loved, there were many parts of the program that were very frustrating. Overall, I'm glad that I chose this program and I hope that one day I can return to Prague. I also think that the program has a lot of room for improvement, but compared to other study abroad programs I think that they are the best option for those interested in practical film production.

FAMU is a very unique film school and the professors are very talented filmmakers. I don't think the general core classes were the most productive way to learn with these professors, but I felt that they all made time to meet with us individually several times throughout the semester and those meetings were when I learned the most. I enjoyed my FAMU electives a lot and the general arts community in Prague. I also really enjoyed the optional Kutna Hora trip, and found some personal time to explore Cesky Raj (which I really recommend!).

I wouldn't recommend this program to everybody, but I am glad that I did it and I think that some people could really enjoy what this program has to offer. I also think it was a very valuable character-building experience that I don't think I would've gotten anywhere else. I personally chose to study abroad not just for the cultural experience but also because I wanted to learn film production. While there are many other programs that offer a much more consistent experience (particularly with academics and scheduling) this is the only program I know that provides an accurate experience of what film school and the filmmaking process can look like.