High Taxes, Perfect Society - Denmark Past Review

By (Sociology., The University of Texas at Austin) for

DIS Summer in Scandinavia

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
YES! I know some kind of travels to Denmark or some part of Scandinavia are in the future with all the connections I made while abroad. and that is the most rewarding feeling, after falling in love with the country!

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 two courses I took were worlds apart: One was a design + Society class taught by an amazing professor and absolutely changed my educational outlook. The classroom was very intimate and my peers were absolutely amazing and taught me a lot. My second class was Human Trafficking and Prostitution and was taught by a lawyer who taught for extra money and you could tell - she didn't have any interest in the class and taught us her opinions, and the quality of my peers was entirely different. Most people had no interest in the class and simply studied abroad to go out and party every night.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Absolutely loved the program, great location, great facilities, awesome staff. I am surprised the program is not much more prestigious than I an aware of, it was amazing!

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I lived in a Kollegium, with my own room/bathroom and a shared kitchen. It was very hard meeting people since the only common area was the kitchen and since it was summer the people on my floor seemed to come and go. But cookware, silverware, towels, etc. were all nice and it was only a 10 minute bike ride from the city center!

* Food:

The food is very expensive, like everything else in Copenhagen, but there were tons of healthy, cheapish places around DIS and tons of little grocery stores and markets.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

I never once worried about my safety in the city, even throughout the night. It was shockingly safe feeling, and very friendly.

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)

Language

If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • International Students
  • Local Students

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? Any kind of design student, Sociology students, or childcare students would benefit greatly from the program - students who do not value typical American ideals such as materialism and social status, because these things are nonexistent in Denmark.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Design and Society

Course Department:
Instructor: Courtney Coyne-Jensen
Instruction Language: English
Comments: The course was one of the most valuable courses to me in my entire college career. Courtney was beyond amazing and definitely broke all teacher-student barriers, making the class very open and intimate. Not to mention the daily guest speakers, from spheres ranging from architecture to politics, and all very prestigious. Even as a sociology major, this class was beyond extremely valuable to me. The class was very hands-on and completely opposite of those boring, take notes, listen all day classes. The class was structured for everyone to participate - very democratic, and very Danish system of learning.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Human Trafficking and Prostitution in Europe

Course Department:
Instructor: Anne Brandt-Christensen
Instruction Language: English
Comments: This course was much more like a typical American college course - lots of disinterested students, a slightly removed professor, and a powerpoint + take notes format. There was no discussion on the topics until the last two days. The material was interesting and the book we were assigned was amazing, but the class itself was very boring and lacked any kind of passion on the topic.
Credit Transfer Issues: