A great chance to learn something new June 10, 2025

By A student (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?

It was definitely worthwhile. I feel like I gained more independence and confidence while navigating studying abroad. Of course, I also learned a lot about Denmark and Copenhagen.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	All my courses were engaging but varied widely on how much work they assigned outside of class each week depending on the subject and professor.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	I appreciate how thorough DIS is at providing their students with the logistic information on studying abroad in Copenhagen.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I was very satisfied with the suite I shared with my roommates. It felt like DIS was thoughtful about who they placed together and took our preferences and accommodations into account.
* Food:	The grocery stipend was very helpful, and lasted longer than I expected.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Because the program is made up of students from American universities, it feels somewhat isolated from the local culture. I know DIS advertises some opportunities to get involved locally, but I think they could lean even more into this.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	I appreciated the instructions DIS provided on how to access healthcare before and after receiving our CPS card. Unfortunately, the time I attempted to contact my doctor, I was unable to get in touch to schedule any appointment.
* Safety:	Copenhagen feels very safe and I had no qualms about being out at night.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes I enjoyed my courses and loved getting to know Copenhagen.

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)	I was able to live mostly on the grocery stipend they provided, but there were other personal expenses (like accessing museums and other cultural events, and travel) that stressed my budget, but that I chose to spend on anyway since I wanted to engage with what the city of Copenhagen had to offer, and see other parts of Europe.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	150
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	Plan out a budget ahead of time.

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
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?	I had never taken Danish.
How many hours per day did you use the language?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm
* 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?	Getting comfortable in a new city Meeting new friends Taking classes not offered at my home college
* What could be improved?	More integration with local culture More orientation activities so that the events can be small groups instead of large groups (50+ people) Professor's expectations for assignments were often confusing, and directions clearly re-used from previous semester with out-of-date information
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I wish I knew that the academic work would be more intense than I anticipated. I had been told the program was not academically rigorous, but in retrospect I think those students may have been less committed to completing their assigned but un-checked homework.

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:	Getting There: Transportation in Urban Europe
Course Department:	Urban Studies
Instructor:	Silvia Dragomir
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The class was challenging and engaging. It was more interactive than many of the courses I've taken at Middlebury, emphasizing a collaborative final project.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I have not transferred the credits yet.

Course Name/Rating:	European Urban Experience: Why Cities Matter
Course Department:	Urban Studies
Instructor:	Regitze Hess
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This class was a great way to get to know the city and its history. We spent most of our class periods out and about, using the urban landscape as fieldwork. The professor was knowledgeable, helpful, and prepared, though the content often leaned more towards architectural history than urban studies.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I have not transferred the credit yet.

Course Name/Rating:	Citizen Science in Climate Change and Biodiversity
Course Department:	Environmental Science, Biology
Instructor:	Astrid Schmidt
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The class made excellent use of all the field studies, bringing students to work on relevant and exciting citizen science projects. The class was heavy on discussion participation and group work, along with written reflections.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I have not transferred the credit yet.

Course Name/Rating:	Danish Language and Culture
Course Department:	Language
Instructor:	Tina Nielsen
Instruction Language:	English, Danish
Comments:	The course was a great balance of cultural engagement and language learning, and did a great job of balancing and connecting both. It was ideal for those like myself, who were excited to better understand Denmark but had limited knowledge of the Danish language.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I have not transferred credits yet.

Course Name/Rating:	Arctic Geopolitics
Course Department:	Political Science, International Relations, Environmental Science
Instructor:	Steen Kjærgaard, Camilla Sørensen
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	The course had a significant amount of readings, but only two major assignments, a video podcast midterm and a short final essay. The readings were helpful for explaining the concepts, but sometimes it felt as if class were redundant. I enjoyed the simulation-type engagements where we would discuss in small groups how different actors might respond to specific situations or how they might feel on certain issues.
Credit Transfer Issues:	I have not transferred the credit yet.