Great opportunity to explore career possibilities beyond the States June 03, 2023

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I enjoyed all of the courses that I took at DIS. It was helpful to have the opportunity to take elective courses relevant to my major and then be able to explore career paths through the various study tours and field studies that the courses included. I liked being able to experience the course content in the real world in conjunction with the classroom. However, I did think that the teaching abilities of the faculty varied a lot across my classes, also compared to my friends' classes. While most of the faculty were passionate about what they taught, they clearly didn't have the same experience teaching as each other and I found that it hindered my learning in some of the classes.

On-site administration of your program

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I liked my housing arrangement for the most part. I got along well with my roommates at Monten and I liked the area that I lived in. However, I had requested to be in a kollegium and the one that I was placed in did not have the key aspects that of living with Danish students that I had expected. My roommates were both DIS students and we did not live near any Danish students so it was very difficult to meet local students. There were other DIS students living in other kollegiums who had Danish students living with them and were able to build those relationships with local students that I had been told about. This is something I was looking forward to as a part of my semester abroad since I wouldn't be living with a host family so this was a way I was hoping to immerse myself more in the Danish culture. There were too many residents in the kollegium to get to know any of the Danish students living there and the set up of our apartment made it difficult to meet people who also lived in the kollegium. Overall, I was disappointed with my housing arrangement as it was not like how a kollegium was described.

I enjoyed have the opportunity to cook a lot.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Since DIS is its own study abroad program and it is mostly American students who participate, there is not much natural integration into the culture. It is also a very large program with a variety of different types of students. It took a lot of effort to go beyond DIS and integrate into the Danish community. While we were able to learn a little about the culture in our Danish class, it was still difficult to immerse myself and took a lot more effort than I was expecting, especially since the kollegium I was living in felt isolated from the local students.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I appreciated the courses offered at DIS, since most of them are not offered at Middlebury and I enjoyed the design of the field studies and study tours that DIS works into the classes. However, I found it difficult to integrate into the Danish culture being surrounded by so many American DIS students, many of which I did not relate to. The DIS students came from a variety of different backgrounds but many came to party, shop, and travel every weekend. While traveling was one of my favorite parts of the semester, I wish I had more than just a weekend to spend in each place. If I were to study abroad in Copenhagen again, I would have chosen to do it through the University of Copenhagen, and not through DIS.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Copenhagen is a very expensive city. I knew this ahead of time so I was careful where I spent my money. However, most of the activities in the city require you to spend money which resulted in me doing less then other students who were able to afford more. I spent the majority of my money on travel, which I still did less then many other students, and less in Copenhagen.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Danish is a very difficult language to learn and the course that Middlebury requires is only an into course that is optional for many of the DIS students. However, I am glad that I took the course as it did help me navigate the city, even if I only learned a few phrases.

Select all that apply

• Dorm
• Other
• Apartment

Select all that apply

• Americans

Select all that apply

• Americans

• Field studies/study tours
• biking in the city
• traveling

• immersion in Danish culture
• faculty's teaching experience