Low-Risk, High-Reward Study Abroad Experience June 10, 2025

By Alex G (Middlebury College) - abroad from 01/11/2025 to 05/10/2025 with

DIS Copenhagen: Semester

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

I think living abroad is valuable no matter where you are and what program you are affiliated with, but DIS is special because of how much they do to make your experience memorable. They take you on two trips, provide housing and a grocery stipend, have Wednesdays devoted to experiential learning field trips, and intentionally focus on immersion in Danish culture. You are with a lot of American students, but (particularly if you live in a Kollegium or with a host family) also have the opportunity to get to know Danes.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	Fantastic experiential learning program, but not very rigorous/challenging (ie. rarely made you think deeply), emphasis is more on the abroad experience than the academics
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	DIS is so big that they really know what they are doing
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	Kind of a small room, you get used to taking metro everywhere
* Food:	Provide $600 stipend for groceries for the semester, also when they take you for meals (travel weeks, other miscellaneous field studies, etc.) they are usually quite nice
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	you are required to get a Danish CPR card which gives you free healthcare
* Safety:	Extremely safe, never felt uncomfortable/scared even late at night
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes

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)	Copenhagen is expensive (similar to Boston/NYC/California), but traveling was definitely the biggest expense
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	250
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	plan travel more than a month ahead of time

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	No
How much did the program encourage you to use the language? 0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Apartment
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Americans
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?	0

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	study tours and field studies experiential learning city of Copenhagen
* What could be improved?	academic rigor even more interaction with Danes
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Be prepared to make friends with all types of new people: there are American students from small liberal arts colleges, big state universities, and specialized arts schools; and then there are Danes to meet too!

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:
Instructor:	Camilla Kirchoff
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Was required to take this class but really enjoyed it. Super passionate professor and learned a ton about Danish society, and can speak a little Danish now!
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Arctic Geopolitics
Course Department:
Instructor:	Alexander Hviid
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Learned so much about the Arctic, incredibly relevant/timely course, large emphasis on Danish-Greenlandic-American dynamics as well as traditional topics, super experiential learning
Credit Transfer Issues: