Mobility specification

Country:USA

Institution:University of Connecticut

City:Storrs, Connecticut

Program:Freemover long-term mobility

Activity type:Study

Academic year:2024/2025

MU faculty/department:Faculty of Arts / Department of Czech Language

Study level abroad:Doctoral

🎓Hit the books! How do you rate the university experience?

Does the university offer enough courses in English?they have tons

Was there anything in the teaching methods that surprised you?I was there for a research stay, so I didn't take any courses. But I noticed that some courses take place twice a week but only are 75 minutes long. I think this format could be profitable, especially for seminars with in-class discussions. In that way, not too much time passes between classes and things from the previous class can be picked up more easily. Other courses are 3 hours long with a 15 minute break. I think this might be a bit too long.

Does the university offer international students' programs and activities outside of lectures and seminars to help them integrate more quickly?Unfortunately, I cannot tell really, because I did not come through the International Office of my host university, but arranged my stay independently with the department.

In which areas does the university offer support for students with special needs and strive to be inclusive?Barrier-free access to classrooms and dormitories
I haven’t noticed
Other

Special needs - Other:I didn't notice. But my feeling was that UConn performs quite good with regards supportive measures of this kind. I am pretty sure that there is support for LGBTQ+ students and psychological counseling, but I don't know for sure.

💸Did you have to rob the bank?

Try to take a guess at what your monthly expenditures were:30000 CZK/month

Did you stay in dorms?no

Do you have any tips on how to find private accommodation?I was very lucky. I could take over the room of a colleague who just defended his dissertation and left the place. This was only possible because my the professor who hosted me asked around among the students.
So my recommendation is to try to establish contact with people from the host department and ask if anyone knows of some free room.

What about unexpected expenses? Did anything surprise you?Certain groceries were extremely expensive. Especially in supermarkets that are not discounters.

Do you have any tips on how to save money?If you are going to the US, try to find a discount supermarket like ALDI. Walmart can also be much cheaper than normal supermarkets. If you live in a rural area (as I did) and don't have a car (luckily I could use one) you might want to get an app for grocery delivery. Almost all of my colleagues who didn't have a car used such a grocery delivery service.

🗺 Learn the ropes in a new city

How well did you manage to communicate in English?perfectly

How does public transport work in the city?terrible

And what about transport outside the city?I've seen better

Did you deal with any health issues during your stay?no

🤠Help create the perfect bucket list

What is a must-see in the city?There is no city. Storrs is a very large university campus. If you are not vegan, the UConn Dairy Bar from which you can see the horse barn hill is a must visit. Also the recreation center is very impressive (gym, climbing walls, indoor running track, courts for basket ball, pickle ball, badminton, racquetball, volley ball). If you get the semester plan (also possible pro rata, if you don't stay for a whole semester) it is quite affordable. The next town (17k inhabitants) is called Willimantic. A lot of graduate students live there, some commute by bus.

What are the must-visit trip destinations?New York (2.5h away) or Boston (1.5 hours away) from Hartford.

💅A nugget of wisdom to make the life easier

Did you need to handle a visa?yes

Where can it be arranged?Online (visa waiver)

What is needed?Technically speaking, it did not take a proper visa, but just a "visa waver". Since my trip was shorter than 90 days, I could come through the visa waiver program ESTA. Whether you can travel to the US with ESTA depends on your citizenship.

How long does it take approximately?1 day

How did you get to the place?Plane
Bus
Car

Is there anything to watch out for before the trip?The trickiest part is to get from Hartford to Storrs. And from Storrs to wherever you live. I was very lucky, because a colleague picked me up with his car. But otherwise it would have been very difficult.

Can you pay by card?everywhere

🥳Summary

Whew, what a ride! 😮‍💨 Thanks so much for taking the time to complete our survey and for sharing your unique experience. Just one last thing. 🙏 How would you summarize your trip in one or two sentences?I am very happy with how the trip went. I am very lucky to have had a lot of support.