A full year Copenhagen design adventure Past Review

By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 08/17/2015 to 05/13/2016 with

DIS Copenhagen: Semester

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

I learned how confident of an independent traveler I was. I also learned many new design skills because I had never taken those classes before. Completely worthwhile for academics and life skills.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	The Architecture and Design classes at DIS are far more rigorous than any other core course which I appreciated. The faculty was very well experienced and really pushed the students and brought us into real life experiences.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	Great contact to the program in Copenhagen. Very friendly and helpful staff.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I loved the location and accessibility of to the city but the actual kollegium was not very nice. I was expecting a social environment but nobody on my floor talked or used the shared kitchen which was gross. It was a very anti social environment which is not was I was looking for.
* Food:
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I had great local integration through my visiting family. They were wonderful and I loved hanging out with them especially because my kollegium did not integrate me at all. It is difficult to integrate with the local culture when the entire school program is made up of Americans and some international students and there are no danish integration activities.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	It seemed very accommodating. I needed some medicine and the doctors was right next to where I lived and it took me 10 minutes to find my medicine equivalent and it was a free appointment.
* Safety:	Copenhagen is one of the safest places. I never felt concerned or scared during my entire year and I have walked along at any time of the day.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes I loved how challenging my Graphic Design and Architecture program was and that I really learned. I don't have graphic design at my home university so I would maybe even do another full year of just that.

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 don't come from a wealthy family so all the money I was spending was my own and I had to be very careful with how much I spent. The grocery card from DIS definitely helped.
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?	Use the phone service called Lebara for cheap data. Use the grocery card and do not eat out a lot in Copenhagen because it is crazy expensive. Frozen fruit and vegetables help make your food last. Use the grocery store sale flyers to know what to buy

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	The Danish II class was great and really helped me improve the language. I do wish that we went out more and had to speak to native Danes to really practice.
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?	Intermediate
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	No Danish taken before program but Intermediate Russian is the highest language level in general.
How many hours per day did you use the language?
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants?	Have a visiting family or host family. Force yourself to use it when doing simple things. People will help you. Duolingo

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm Apartment
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Local Students International Students
* 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?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	The study tour trips and core course week The instructors The integration into the danish design field and culture in classes
* What could be improved?	Providing full meal cards or having a dining hall Integrate the DIS students with Danes regularly
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Travel with fewer people and travel by yourself at least once.

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:	Graphic Design
Course Department:	Architecture and Design
Instructor:	Jeanette Hendeliowitz
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This course pushed me to really start to learn graphic design in a useful way. I had to struggle to learn the programs on my own but the teacher was always there to help when I needed. We took field studies to actual top graphic design businesses in Copenhagen which was one of the best aspects. I participated the same as at my home institution and the class was small so we got to hear many opinions and ideas. We had critiques twice a semester.
Credit Transfer Issues:	Not sure yet. It should transfer though. They do not necessarily consider graphic design a liberal arts subject because you take direction from clients but the argument against that is that architecture does too and it is part of liberal arts.

Course Name/Rating:	Watercolor
Course Department:	Any
Instructor:	Sørn Amsnes
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	This was the best course. The teacher was very positive in the critiques and helped each student find their own style even if they had never taken watercolor before. The class was structured well with mostly painting and our work was critiqued at the end.
Credit Transfer Issues:	Transfer yet to be decided. It will be based on the amount of time spent in class and the work completed.