A Typical Semester at DIS
The first week is dedicated to getting students adjusted to life in Copenhagen and to talk to them about what to expect of the coming semester. Students are met at the airport and brought to a meet up point where they are picked up by their future Host Family, roommate or Social & Residential Advisors. Throughout the week, students take part in a crash-course in Danish, a Copenhagen discovery event and take part in an Immersion Fair and other cultural and social events.
Classes
Most classes meet twice a week for one and a half hours. Wednesdays are left free so students can go on academic field studies or to explore the city on their own. The workload should be similar to that at the home university. Expect a midterm before the travel break and a final exam or paper at the end of the semester. Note that the Architecture & Design schedule differs somewhat from the other programs.
Study Tours
During the first half of the semester, students will participate in two program-integrated study tours. The first one is a three-day tour of Denmark and/or the neighboring parts of Sweden and Germany, and the second one is a six-day trip to a European destination. The tours are closely integrated with the core course, and the program during the tours includes academic activities, visits to important cultural and historical sites, plus socializing and fun. The tours are led by faculty and program staff. From fall 2012, long study tours will take place during two different weeks, depending on the program.
Two-Week Travel Break, Optional Study Tours and Outdoor Adventure Trips
Over the semester students can go on a number of optional study tours, adventure trips and day trips – ranging from Turkey and Greenland to a bike trip to the Danish island of Bornholm or rock climbing in Sweden. In the second half of the semester there is a two-week travel break. From fall 2012, two travel break periods will take place, with each student getting one of these breaks, depending on the program. Here you can either travel completely on your own or with friends, or you can join the many optional study tours and outdoor adventure trips offered by DIS. There is, of course, always the opportunity of doing both by going on a one-week DIS-arranged tour and then doing a week of independent travel. Remember, optional study tours come with a one-credit course in the first half of the semester so that you travel fully prepared!
Classes Resume
After the break, classes continue with field studies and papers, before the semester is rounded with a Concluding Ceremony and a party. If a student is staying for the full year, the break between the end of fall semester and the beginning of spring semester is free to travel in Europe or go home for Christmas. Some students arrange to spend Christmas with their Danish families, then travel.
Social and Cultural Programs
During the semester, there will be a number of social events such as a Christmas luncheon, a big spring picnic, informal get-togethers and parties that bring DIS students, faculty, staff, DIS Buddies, Danish roommates and host families together for some Danish "hygge". DIS will also arrange guided tours to Frederiksborg Castle, Legoland, and other places of interest. Students are encouraged to take part in the many student clubs and immersion opportunities at DIS.
