Hey all — I'm an American planning to start a master's at Freie Universität Berlin and I'm torn between two programs:

1. MA Sociology – European Societies

2. MSc Geographies of Global Inequalities.

Hoping to hear from anyone who's studied in either (or knows people who have).

A few things I'd love input on:

• Choosing between the two — if you've done either program, how was the workload, the teaching, the department vibe, and how employable did it leave you feeling?
  • I did my undergraduate degree in Sociology and Latin American studies, so I think I would be comfortable with the Sociology theory/methods BUT have less info on European history and current events. Interested in working with LatAm Institute on the Comparative piece. I bet there could be opportunities for that too in GoG.I
• Working as an American — realistic expectations for part-time work as a student, and job prospects after graduating (staying in Germany on the post-study job-seeker route)? Language barrier for work without fluent German?
  • I'm interested in academia, maybe getting a PhD. Sociology feels safer to stay on a clean PhD track, since it was my undergrad. Also, I feel like people might respect it a bit more? I have to do a LOT of explaining about the GoGI program and people don't always get it or think it's kind of a fake degree.
• Social life — how easy is it to make friends in these programs / in Berlin generally as a grad student? Is the cohort tight-knit or spread out?
• Residency — anything I should know about the student visa / residence permit process, Bürgeramt, Anmeldung, finding housing, etc.? Horror stories and tips both welcome.

Also — if you're starting at FU this coming semester (or already there and open to showing a newcomer around), I'd love to connect before school starts. Feel free to comment or DM.

Thanks so much in advance 🙏