Wingy,
Here's what I did at DiS. I was in the Marine Biology program in the Spring of 97. At that time they did not offer the Medical Practice Courses. But I would have probably still taken the Marine Bio, because as a bio major, I was able to transfer two whole courses toward the 9.5 that were required for my major.
Courses at DiS are all 3 semester hours. Most students take five courses. The Marine Bio program places you into two courses: Marine Biology, and Marine Ecology of European Coastal Waters. Denmark is an excellent and unique place to study Marine Bio, since one side of the country boarders the North Sea (marine), while the other is on the Baltic (fresh-water). This creates an area of brackish water, and gives you the opportunity to study both types of habitats.
The courses are taught extremely well (and in English
). They involve labs, dissections, and several trips onboard research vessels (boats) and on beaches taking samples from the water column, sea floor, etc. The Marine Bio students also spend one week on a study tour to either Norway, or to Poland, depending on which semester you are there. I went to Poland, which was very cool. We worked at the Sea Fisheries Institute in Gdansk, went on research vessels, visited a concentration camp, and the largest brick castle in the world which was built in the 12th century!
We also travelled as a group throughout Denmark, where we studied the Marine coast, and visited old Viking towns, burial mounds, and many other cool sites. As I'm sure you can tell, this is a very well organized program, with lots to offer!
The DiS program is 40 years old, and probably the most respected study abroad program in the world. If people tell you stories about studying abroad and how easy the classes are, then they're not talking about DiS. This is a real program, with real courses. You will take hard tests, write research papers, and you WILL LEARN! The program also offers optional study tours to all of the students in the various programs (Humanities, Architecture, Engineering, Business, etc). One is a week long trip to Moscow, Estonia, and St. Petersburg Russia. I took advantage of that and it was amazing! You can't imagine how it feels to stand in Red Square, or walk through Lenin's tomb, or see the State Hermitage museum. They also offer a bicycle tour of an Island in the Baltic (I went to Prague with friends instead). These trips were during the two week Spring Break.
So about the other courses. As I said, Bio is only two courses, leaving you room for up to three more. I only took two because I had enough credits to slack off a bit. The other courses I took were through the humanities program, and they were Danish Language, and Danish Society and Culture. They offer a lot of courses, I'm sure they're listed at their web site if you want to check it out. The language class was very cool. I spoke zero Danish when I got on the plane, by the end of the 6 months, I could hold conversations with Danes! Living with a Danish host family really helps immerse you in the language and culture. And mine were so great, we still keep in touch. Incidentally, DiS also offers the option of living in a dormitory style setting with Danish college students.
Copenhagen is an amazing city. Very beautiful, full of history and castles everywhere, and it has a GREAT night life! Plus the Danes themselves are wonderful, friendly people. And the program affords you lots of time to travel. In addition to the places I already mentioned, I went to Sweden, Norway (ahhh the fjords
), Holland, and Germany. These trips were at my expense, but traveling as a student is very cheap. You get a Eurorail pass, and stay in Hostiles, and eat cheap. The whole semester cost me about what I was paying at my undergrad school (which was private).
So, final thoughts, GO ABROAD!!! It is the best thing you'll ever do for yourself. You will grow as a person, become well-rounded, and you will learn so many things about other cultures, as well as your own. Your mind will be opened wide, and your perspective will forever be changed. You will make life-long friends, and you will spend the rest of your life thinking about how much you were changed by the experience. In a good way, of course!
[This message has been edited by Mango (edited March 29, 2001).]
