A great supplement to my experience at Middlebury Past Review

By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/12/2019 to 05/11/2019 with

DIS Copenhagen: Semester

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

The best part of my time in Copenhagen was the environment of design that I got to study and feel connected to. I gained a my understanding of architecture and urban design that will help to supplement my major at Middlebury.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	I both loved and felt challenged by my course at the university of Copenhagen, and electing to participate in the opportunity to take a class there was one of the best decisions I made about studying abroad. I really enjoyed one of my DIS classes, found my urban design studio to be not academically challenging, and was frustrated by my experience of the Danish language and culture course because of my teacher.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	I was able to ask questions when I needed, but didn’t feel like I benefitted from so much administrative oversight.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I really enjoyed living in kollegium style housing. The balance of DIS participants and local students was beneficial to my experience.
* Food:	The food stipend from DIS was very helpful but did not cover all of my grocery expenses during my time there.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I felt very integrated with the local culture, mostly because of my living situation and the time I spent at the university of copenhagen. My Danish language and culture class was frustrating in this respect as well because I felt that I was being taught a very narrow, and not representative, view of the culture of Denmark.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes Yes, I would choose the same program, but I would probably make a few different class and housing selections.

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget? (1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)	It was fairly easy to limit food and weekly expenses to fit in the stipend budget, but Copenhagen is an expensive city, so the cost of doing fun things and exploring the city adds up very quickly.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	about $80 per week

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language	Encouraged in class and when navigating around Copenhagen and Denmark and meeting new people.
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	None
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program?	Beginner
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	n/a
How many hours per day did you use the language?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Apartment
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Local Students Americans
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	Location and access to city of Copenhagen University of Copenhagen classes and access Trips with courses
* What could be improved?	depth of course learning diversity
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I wish that I had known that some of the DIS classes would feel somewhat like continuations of the Middlebury bubble transplanted in Copenhagen

Reasons For Studying Abroad

To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you.	The Academic or Linguist You went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you!

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Danish Language and Culture
Course Department:	Danish
Instructor:	Jacob Cold
Instruction Language:	English/Danish
Comments:	I really enjoyed learning the Danish language while I was in Denmark. The information presented in the cultural learning half of this course was over-generalised, and so I did not feel like there was a lot of substance to what we were learning.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Detailing and Sustainability in Scandinavian Architecture
Course Department:	Architecture
Instructor:	Angela Gigliotti
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This was an awesome class. The information was very interesting, and Angela presented it through various themes and types of learning (site visits, discussion, presentation, etc.)
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Urban Design Foundations Studio
Course Department:	Architecture
Instructor:	Regitze Marianne Hess
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This course was a good experience in design but not challenging enough for me to feel like I was learning. The teacher had never taught the studio before though, and I think that altered the experience.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Philosophy of Gender
Course Department:	Philosophy - University of Copenhagen
Instructor:	René Rosfort
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This was my most challenging and most interesting course. There was a lot of reading, but René was able to bring it together in class in extremely thoughtful ways.
Credit Transfer Issues: