DIS - Danish Institute for Study Abroad

The DIS program is incredibly rich in its organization, academics and student-centered approach. The high quality of DIS stems from the involvement of faculty and staff who are deeply committed to quality undergraduate education with a global perspective. The courses seamlessly blend both content and culture. The DIS faculty are simply outstanding; they have a great classroom presence and have great depth within their respective disciplines.

Even though Denmark and the US are both modern Western societies with much in common, it is the differences between the two countries that challenge us to think in new and different ways and to question what we take for granted. So much is to be learned in the company of Danish people, Danish ideas, Danish ways of knowing, Danish ways of discussing, Danish ways of deciding. Perhaps an American's experiences in Denmark reside in what Lev Vygotsky called 'the zone of proximal development,' where we can use what we already know and understand as the starting point for what we had not yet imagined we could learn. In my own field of developmental psychology and education, DIS programs, with integrated core courses and practicum placements, stand out as rigorous and unique opportunities for culturally situated learning about children and childhood.

The DIS provides a great opportunity to see how a vibrant culture has shaped its built environment. The Danish building culture combines elements that are local and historical with those that are global and theoretical. The program at the DIS allows students to not merely see the built artifacts of a foreign country, but to engage in the culture, and understand the processes that led to the current environment. Our students return to the US not just with pictures of beautiful buildings, but with a deep appreciation for Danish life in its many aspects, and for how the built environment is a piece of this whole.

The DIS programs offer students a great variety of study options of high academic quality with a solid and engaging faculty as well as a strong support staff. The study tours are particularly well integrated into the program themes or focus and thus, they are not merely interesting add-on cultural excursions, as is the case with most programs. Today, DIS ranks among the elite program providers.

The Medical Practice and Policy program is truly unique, and provides the type of hands-on and real-world experiences that so many pre-medical students are seeking.

I continue to be impressed with the thoughtful crafting of each DIS program. Each unique program offers a special core curriculum supplemented by focused study tours that provide both breadth and depth of study to facilitate student learning. Because Denmark is a small country, faculty aptly employ their professional and personal connections to provide students with access to people (e.g., government ministers) and institutions (e.g., museums, prisons) to enhance the students' understanding of the subject. DIS offers a substantive comparative learning experience.

There are few programs that incorporate experiential components in to all types of disciplines as effectively as DIS. They are truly the standard to which center-based study programs should be held.