DIS Copenhagen

Host Provider Application Process

1. You will need to email your IAGE Education Abroad Coordinator with:

   1. • Fall/Spring: your core course preference #1 and a back-up core course preference #2 by the deadline: Feb. 28 for Fall; Sept. 28 for Spring.

      • Summer: your session/course preference(s) by the deadline: Feb. 28 for summer.

2. After receiving this information, the IAGE Coordinator will then nominate you directly to DIS.

3. At that point, DIS will begin emailing you with information, including instructions on how to enroll (or register for elective classes in the case of fall/spring semester students). You do not need to go on to the DIS site and submit an application directly to DIS.

Note: The Illinois deadline for selecting your course(s) is earlier to ensure you get in the course(s) of your choice.

Apply for up to $6,000 per semester! During the summer, awards range from $250-$1,500 depending on program cost and duration. International (non-U.S. citizen) students are welcome to apply. Visit the DIS site - scholarships for more information.

The following are DIS scholarship application deadlines:

• • March 15: Summer 2020

  • April 1: Fall 2021 and Full-Year 2021-2022

  • October 15: Spring 2021

Program Dates

• • Summer Session 1, 2021: May 24-June 11

  • Summer Session 2, 2021: June 13-July 3

  • Summer Session 3, 2021: July 4-July 31

  • Architecture & Design Session, 2021: June 13-July 31

  • Fall 2021: August 21 - December 18

  • Academic Year 2021-22: August 21, 2021 - May 14, 2022

  • Term Dates

Arrival & Orientation

DIS staff greet you at the Copenhagen Airport on the official start date of your program, and you are transported to your housing. The rest of your weekend is spent in your new home, where you get settled, become oriented in your surroundings, familiarize yourself with the Arrival Workshop itinerary, and conclude the day with a welcome dinner with your hosts or people in your housing. DIS holds a mandatory multi-day Arrival Workshop during your first week that prepares you to navigate cross-cultural experiences, get a sense of Copenhagen, meet DIS staff and your classmates. You are also provided support services with obtaining your residence permit.

Further information about arrival and orientation is on the following DIS web pages:

• • Semesters Arrivals Page

  • Summers Arrivals Page

Semester Housing

DIS guarantees housing to all students who request, and pay for, DIS-arranged housing. You have four housing options. All options ensure that you live with English speakers. You are encouraged to maximize your exposure to the local culture and language during the semester.

View the options below to rank your housing option preferences for your Housing Application:

• Homestay (including the Career Connection Homestay)

• Living & Learning Community

• Kollegium

• Residential Community

To learn about how DIS matches you in the best possible housing placement, read about the DIS Housing Placement Process here.

DIS puts a lot of effort into making the right housing match for you. This is why it is extremely important that you provide correct and detailed information on the Housing Application form. The deadline for requesting DIS housing is approximately 1.5-2 months before the term’s official arrival day. See details about applying to housing on each option’s page.

Sign on to Student Registration to find the Housing Application Form Here.

Summer Housing

In some housing sites, DIS students live with other DIS students, and in others, DIS students share the building with local students. You will be placed in a housing site depending on which summer sessions and courses you are enrolled in. DIS guarantees housing to all students who request, and pay for, DIS-arranged housing.

Additionally, DIS works hard to ensure that you have a meaningful stay in your housing. Learn how DIS matches you in the best possible housing placement here: DIS Summer Housing Placement Process.

The deadline for requesting summer housing is approximately 1.5 – 2 months before the arrival date. To apply, provide correct and detailed information on Student Registration.

Find out what is included in each housing option by reading about our comprehensive fee for all DIS housing options.

Further, detailed information about housing is on the following DIS web pages:

• • Semester Housing

  • Summer Housing

Students will fill out a personality and preference questionnaire, which will be used by DIS to assign students to housing.

Note: DIS does not accommodate friend/roommate requests.

Registration

• • DIS will email you with instructions on how to create an account in their system. In this system, you will have many things to take care of, including selecting courses.

  • During the semester, students select one core course and 3-4 elective courses. Core courses involve a study tour to another country as well as excursions in Denmark.

  • During the summer, students take one class per session, with a study tour included in sessions 2 and 3. There is also an option to mix and match in the summer: one session at DIS-Copenhagen and one session at DIS-Stockholm.

Transcripts

• • Transcripts will be sent to Illinois automatically after the end of the program. However, the time for receipt and processing can take a few months. Be patient, and you can track to see when your transcript is received by the Office of the Registrar by when the digital copy is uploaded into your My Study Abroad documents.

DIS has a variety of clubs to join and events to attend to make new friends, further develop your interests, and learn about Danish and European cultures. There is an activities fair at the start of each semester to cover all the available extra-curricular activities.

• Clubs and Activities: Connect with Copenhageners by joining a local organization or activity. Check out the Activities Fair at the start of your semester to discover how to involve yourself; with over 40 organizations attending, you’ll have the opportunity to meet representatives from sports clubs, choirs, LGBTQIA+ groups, religious communities, and more

• Create Space Workshops: From canvas painting to knitting, these workshops provide a space to relax and meet students from both DIS and local universities

• DIS Film Club: Share your enthusiasm and passion for European Cinema with fellow students, young Danes, and DIS faculty

• DIS Sustainable Boutique: An inviting and sustainable space, the boutique offers items donated by past students – everything is free! Volunteer to coordinate and staff the Sustainable Boutique or simply stop by during your semester

• Diverse Identities Social Club: Discuss and reflect on personal experiences surrounding identity, diversity, and intercultural interactions while abroad

• New in Town Meetups: From board game nights to bonfires and community dinners, New in Town meetups provide an opportunity to experience the city with other DIS students while socializing as the locals do

• Outdoor Fitness Training: Join for a mix of running and body weight exercises, free and open to all. All abilities welcome!

• Seminar Nights: Hear from local professionals about current affairs and their local perspectives; students often use this as a networking opportunity to connect with professionals in their fields of interest

• Resources for students of varying identities are available here.

• Resources for students with varying health needs are available here.

The program fees include excursions in Denmark and to one other country, typically in Europe. The excursions are built into your academic coursework, so you will travel with your classmates and instructor and complete assignments that complement your excursions.

• • Semester program study tours

  • Summer program study tours

Getting Around Town

Part of living and studying in Copenhagen means that, just as the Copenhageners do, you commute by bike, bus, train, or metro – or a combination of these. Whether it be to get to classes at DIS, classes held at other institutions, Field Studies, Study Tour departures, or extracurricular activities, you can expect that commuting will be a part of your daily life. Most students have a daily commute that is 30 minutes or longer each way. All students should be prepared to commute up to 70 minutes daily.

Copenhagen’s public transportation is clean, safe, punctual, and efficient. So while the commute may seem intimidating, keep in mind that one million Copenhageners hop on the metro every week, and about 360,000 people daily on the train – so your daily transportation will be similar to the average Copenhagener.

For further information, read here about Student Affairs Contacts & Resources or visit the Youtube channel.

On Academics

Summer

• • I had class every day of the week. Typically for about 4 hours. Sometimes it varied depending on if we had field studies. Field studies were typically longer, and we had some days off for festivals and holidays.

  • I liked the way the classes were set up! My first teacher worked in the community in multiple places and listening to her stories were the best part of the whole experience.

  • I really enjoyed my host institution. All my professors were very knowledgeable about the subjects they taught and had real‐life experience in the subjects. They were always excited to come to class and teach us and I really enjoyed that DIS included field studies.

  • My schedule was Monday through Friday with class time ranging from 9am‐12Noon or somedays 1030am‐2pm with a lunch break. My program focused on one class at a time

Fall/Spring Semester

• • Monday: 10‐11:20 am, 11:40 am ‐ 1 pm, 1:15‐4:30 pm Tuesday: 1 ‐ 5 pm (Studio Core Class) Wednesday: No classes on Wednesdays! This day was left open for field studies for classes and times always varied depending on what events/class outings were planned.

  • It was all very well done. The classes were structured perfectly and I had just the right amount of workload.

  • I had hour and a half classes 4 times a week. I had two classes a day Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Fri, with classes off on Wednesday

On Housing

• • Trust where the survey puts you. Also, be honest when completing the personality questions and such, so you are matched with the best housing and roommates possible.

  • My housing was in an amazing location right at the heart of the city. Compared to many other students, I got lucky with my close accessibility to classes, the city and many other activities. Other students had to use the train multiple times a day to get around while a quick bike ride was my only commute. There were no meals provided but we had a full kitchen on our floor with enough fridge space for everyone. Each floor we had about 7‐8 people, and I shared a room with one other person. Although our housing was a bit on the older side, we were lucky thanks to our location.

  • Shared a room with two girls, one guy had single room attached. apartment style. we all shared a kitchen and bathroom. I loved it. close to canal and metra. lots of coffee shops and grocery store nearby.

  • I was very lucky when it came to my housing arrangements abroad, I had four roommates. Three of them were Danish college students ando one was another American student studying abroad. We lived in a nice apartment and all got along really well. We typically made our own meals or would order a pizza if we wanted to eat something different and we needed a special key to get in so I always felt safe. I also liked that it was a five‐minute walk from the metro and located right above a coffee shop.

  • Be comfortable with living with people who you've never met before, expect to cook for yourself, and do chores.

  • I was placed in a flat in Frederiksberg, Denmark (About 15/20 minutes by metro from the inner city where my classes were). The area is very safe, mostly home to young adults and families with lots of parks and residential neighborhoods. The flat consisted of 4 rooms ‐ 2 single rooms in which two permanent Danish students lived in all year. The remaining two rooms were doubles in which 4 American exchange students shared. The flat had two bathrooms, a large shared kitchen, TV, kitchen table and a corner with a mattress that doubled as a couch. American students were given a $500 stipend card for the whole semester in which they could buy groceries in this prepaid amount in any of the 4 grocery chains listed. Because of the high living expenses in Denmark, my flatmates and I always cooked our own meals instead of eating out. It was wonderful living with two locals who were also students as they helped us greatly in providing recommendations for places around the city, resolving language barriers, and showing us how young people live in Denmark.

  • I lived with two Danish students who were always teaching myself and the three other American flatmates everything about Denmark ‐ from culture, politics, to food and student life. I also participated in the visiting host family program and was matched with a Danish family with whom I met up for dinner and who took to me to local art museums, historic sites, nature parks and more! We also engaged in many conversation comparing Denmark to the United States and to Poland ‐ where my family is from!

  • Try to really emphasize that you want to be placed close to the city center/school. I know a lot of people who had to take trains and busses every day just to get into town and that is so inconvenient. I loved the fact that I could just hop on my bike or walk.

General

• • When first arriving they did a great job offering airport pickup which allowed for stress free move‐in.

  • My favorite part of my program is the free time we were given after class to take a bike ride around Copenhagen and feel the freedom of exploring a new city. My least favorite part was the last week when most of my friends traveled home and I spent a few days alone preparing and packing for the United States.

  • Copenhagen is the best city in Europe! It has a fantastic mix of activities to do, so may restaurants and bars that are unique and friendly to students. It is a great place to stay active and be sure to rent a bike, I don't know what I would do without easy access transportation.

  • Capital One Venture credit card ‐ no international fees.

  • I anticipated spending a lot of money, which I did, but nothing I wasn't expecting. Additionally, I tried to avoid spending money if it wasn't necessary, for example, I would buy groceries to avoid going out to eat and use student discounts when possible.

  • Denmark, in general, is an expensive country, I would make sure program participants are aware of this before choosing to study abroad here. Make goals to make meals at home and take advantage of the discounts offered by your host school.

  • I really enjoyed my classes, I don't think my experience wouldn't have been as good if it hadn't been for the courses I took. I loved going to class every and looked forward to seeing my classmates and professors. I also really enjoyed the subjects I was learning about and this always kept me engaged in class discussions. What I liked the least was feeling like the only minority in all of Denmark, I felt like people stared at me all the time and watched my every move and that made me uncomfortable going places by myself.

  • DIS was GREAT at helping students with everything! They are constantly trying to find new ways to provide support for students. From picking up students from the airport to taking care of all student VISA requirements ‐ DIS made it all so easy! One of the most helpful resources I found was the newsletter that was sent out through email with various local events coming up, and a checklist of things that needed to be completed for the next week or month. It was a great checkin in case I forgot to do certain things and helped me find out about local events.

  • Do not forget your transportation pass!! You can be heavily fined for not having it if you are checked and do not have it. Get a bike! Biking is huge in Denmark ‐ with an average Dane owing at least 3 bikes throughout their life. The bike paths are incredible and it's oftentimes faster to bike somewhere rather than walk or take public transportation. Plus, you also get to explore and see more of the city! Denmark has lots of beautiful green spaces! Visit cities and take day trips outside of Copenhagen ‐ Denmark has lots to offer. It also should not take more than an hour to get to the sea from anywhere in Denmark! Lots of students in the program would leave every weekend to go and visit other countries. However, I would strongly encourage you to stay a few weekends and enjoy Copenhagen. There is always something going on and you'll later regret not sinking all those moments in. Some of the best moments during my time abroad included exploring Copenhagen during the weekend, sitting in parks and having a picnic with friends or even doing homework and people watching in a local cafe. Get involved with the local culture!

  • I feel like the Danes were much more advanced than we are. Their technology, transportation and fashion are so far advanced.

  • Denmark is a great place to be for many cultures and backgrounds, my roommate was gay and loved all of the inclusion and culture they have there. I loved meeting new people everyday, and denmark had a lot of students abroad with different histories to connect to.

  • I really enjoyed the biking culture that lives throughout Copenhagen. This is very apparent right as you enter Denmark, driving cars are less popular and everyone navigates the unique city by bike.

  • We went on "study tours" with my program ‐ my main one took me to Western Germany for 3 days and Greece for 6 days. HIGHLIGHT OF THE PROGRAM

  • Study abroad institute ‐ mostly American kids, which sucked, but also made it familiar so not too bad. It's built around these study tours though which are amazing.

  • I liked my professors the most. The least I would say that I couldn't pick who I lived with. Since I couldn't live with friends, it made it difficult to return home late at night by myself.

  • The workload actually challenged me in positive ways. It was a bit less work than being a student at UIUC, as I was taking less classes. However, I was still greatly challenged in other ways. Professors introduced me to new ways of thinking in a cultural perspective. In my design class, I was challenged the most. My professor constantly pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to work in ways I was not used to. He introduced my class to new ways of approaching design and greatly ignited more passion for graphic design and illustration that I am excited to bring back to my graphic design studies at UIUC.

  • The Danish emphasis on work/life balance made me think a lot about what is important in life and how Americans have a tendency to overly prioritize work

On Course recommendations: (Which course(s) that you completed abroad did you find most interesting/meaningful?)

• I took Climate Change and Glaciers for the first session and Strategic Leader for the second session. I thought both courses were very meaningful. I had the opportunity to examine and study glaciers in the classroom and then the next week climb a glacier during a field study.

• We participated in a week long field study to Iceland, taking a bus around the countryside learning about climate change and glaciers. We also took a study tour to Florence, Italy and put our business knowledge to work taking trips to small italian companies.

• Positive psych - loved it and found all of it meaningful

• We had a lot of fieldwork (interview Danish people, experiencing Scottish culture on study tour, meditation center, hiking experience, visiting centers and programs that help children, and much more)

• Psychology of Criminal Behavior: Major requirement (psychology) Neuroscience of Fear: Major requirement ( if I get my neuroscience major approved)

• The class Human Health and Disease: A Clinical Approach was the most interesting and meaningful to me. Since I would like to go to med school in the future, the class was designed like an intro to med school, so I thought it was extremely helpful.

• Women, Art, Identity ‐‐> ARTH 360 Women and the Visual Arts (Art History requirement for Graphic Design major) Watercolor Painting ‐‐> Elective Credit for Graphic Design major Graphic Design Studio ‐‐> Elective Credit or required course credit for Graphic Design major Meaning of Style ‐‐> Potential credit for an elective in Graphic Design

• All of my courses were really interesting in different ways. They introduced me to new perspectives, ways of thinking, critical thinking skills, and sharpened my eye for design. However, the class that most surprised me was Meaning of Style.

• My Holocaust and Genocide class. I learned so much from a totally new perspective. Also I got to go to an actual concentration camp with my class in Hamburg, Germany, That was extremely meaningful to actually be there and learn about it at the same time.

• Marketing and media was my favorite! I also liked strategic communication

• In strategic communication, i completed a research project about sexual health in denmark. We interviewed several teenagers about their experiences with sex education in school.

• Heath Delivery and Prioritization and Healthcare Strategies for At‐Risk Populations

• Meaning of Style

• I found my health courses (Pregnancy birth and infancy in Denmark and Health Delivery and Prioritization) most meaningful. I would say not to take danish language and culture unless you truly want to speak danish, because everyone in Denmark speaks english and doesn't want to bother with you trying to speak danish. My program had many other super interesting classes, I wish I would've taken something else I was interested in now knowing the danish language isn't necessary.