An experience of extremes at 78°N Past Review

By A student (Middlebury College) - abroad from 07/10/2019 to 12/05/2019 with

The University Centre of Svalbard: Longyearbyen - Direct Enrollment and Exchange

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

I learned to identify the vast majority of the macroscopic things living on Svalbard including plants, invertebrates, birds and, of course foxes and reindeer. The opportunity to live in and study in the arctic was rare and unique - not something I could have done if I hadn't gone or likely will have an opportunity to do again - and for that reason it was worthwhile.

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.	The arctic biology program at UNIS is a unique opportunity to intensively study field-based arctic biology. The professors are at the forefront of arctic science and care deeply about teaching. UNIS is a Centre for Excellence in Arctic Biology and the influence of the centre is clear in the continued dedication to improve education across the biology department. The education involves significant opportunities for field based investigation, research design, implementation and write up, development of statistical skills and the ability to work in groups. The workload was lighter than I was used to at Middlebury, but I felt like I learned things that I would not have been able to at Middlebury.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?
* Food:	Food is very expensive as everything has to be shipped in. That said I was surprised by the variety available.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	Longyearbyen is a small town of just over 2000 people. The ever changing UNIS student body is an important part of the community. As a student I participated in the local sports league alongside adult residents and high school students.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?
* Safety:
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	Yes Yes. UNIS allowed me to live in a place that I would not have otherwise either lived in or likely even visited; it provided academic opportunities that were valuable to my specific areas of interest and that I would not have been able to find at Middlebury; and it through me into a community full of students from all over Europe who were also away from home and invested in created community and making friendships.

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 spent $300 to $400 a month on food and $500 on rent. The cost of living is quite high in Norway.
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	See above

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component?	No

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university?	Direct Enrollment

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Dorm
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	International Students
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	International Students
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?	Living in the high arctic Unique academic opportunities that I could not have had if I had stayed home Being part of an international community of students who were all away from our home universities
* What could be improved?	The academics were not as rigorous as Middlebury. While I was there for 5 months and had class for 2-6 hours everyday, I did not learn as much content as I would have in an equivalent amount of time if I were at Middlebury.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	Study abroad is a valuable and challenging experience; however, unless you are studying a language and with perhaps a very few exceptions, it will be less valuable from a purely academic experience than a semester at Middlebury. I believe deeply that it is still valuable and that there is a lot more to learning and growing than academics.

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:	Introduction to Svalbard's Flora and Fauna
Course Department:	Arctic Biology
Instructor:	Simone Lange
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	We spent almost everyday of this course outside taking advantage of UNIS's unique arctic location to learn to identify plants, birds and invertebrates.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Arctic Population Ecology
Course Department:	Arctic Biology
Instructor:	Mads Forchhammer
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:	Fascinating and Mads is a wonderful story teller. He is however rather disorganized and I did not feel that the time was used as efficiently as I was used to.
Credit Transfer Issues:

Course Name/Rating:	Terrestrial Arctic Biology
Course Department:	Arctic Biology
Instructor:	Pernille Bronken Eidesen
Instruction Language:	English
Comments:
Credit Transfer Issues: