IPENG Study Abroad in
Munich, Germany
Technische Universität München
-Craig Stanley

Studying abroad changes you forever.  It not only opens your eyes to new cultures, it also teaches you to look at the world in new ways.  My year in Munich, Germany was the experience of a lifetime.   I studied at the Technical University of Munich at the Garching Campus.  I lived at a place called "Studentenstadt" or "StuSta" (Student City), which is located on the north side of Munich, about fifteen minutes with the subway from the city center, and thirty minutes from school.   Munich, being centrally located in europe, offers great travel possibilities.  The alps are an hour and a half away, and Rome can be reached in one day.

The TUM offers almost all of the major engineering classes that UIUC does.  The format of the classes is quite different, allowing for more freadom of study, and less required homework.   It is very possible to bring back 25-30 credit hours over the course of the year stay.

To top it off, this program is an incredible price.  It is actually cheaper to study in Munich than it is at UIUC, espically for out of state students.

Here are some photos of my incredible experience.

PHOTOS!!!

Just getting to Germany was quite a challange,

Here I am with my bike, skiis, computer, and clothes, ready to start an adventure.

I did eventually make it to my room at Studentenstadt.  This is the cleanest my room ever was.

Most of my days were spent in Garching, which is a suburb of Munich.   This is the location of many of the TUM departments, including the ME department.   Below are pictures of the ME building

It is a beautiful, huge new building with Wireless internet throughout.

Of course, Munich is the greatest city in the world:

Here is my girlfriend and me infront of the Munich city hall (Rathaus) at night

And this is a picture i took showing a 360 degree view of downtown Munich

Of coure there was plenty of time for independent travel.  Here are ways you can spend your free time while living in Europe:

Skiing on Glaciers . . .

Hang gliding in the alps . . .

Seeing Gladiator training flields in Pompei . . .

Biking along the Isar (notice the Illinois Jersey)

Monthly Budget

• Income: 585 Euros (€ ) per month

• Rent is roughly 200 euros (depending on what building you are in) per month.  I was in a single room with sink.  The size is comparable to a UIUC dorm room.  This is extremely inexpensive for Munich.
• Subway Transportation roughly 50€
  Food and other spending money obviously depends on where you eat, and how much.  I seem to use all the scholarship money on this though.
   -See links below for the current exchange rate

Yearly Fees

• Non-Refundable Processing Fee - $350
• UIUC Tuition and General Fee - $1162
• CISI Health Instuance - $264
• Airfare free when participating in International Fellowship
• TUM student fee (Studentenwerksbeitrag) of 35 euros per semester

Lastly, here are a few links that may help in researching the experience:

Euro/Dollar Exchange Rate

www.weather.com - Current weather and forcast in Munich, Germany

www.tum.de - Technische Universitaet München

http://univis.tum.de/ - Course Catalogue at TUM

http://dict.leo.org/?lang=de - German English dictionary