This time of the year in Copenhagen, you can find people wearing shirts that spell ‘DIS’ scurrying around the airport and various landmarks around the city. What’s going on? Well, these are guides from The Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS), a study abroad program between North America and Denmark that’s been running for 66 years, since 1959.

DIS began as a non-profit, humanitarian project in the wake of the 2nd World War to encourage cross-border and international understanding through giving international students the opportunity to study abroad in Denmark, not unlike, say, Erasmus. That is a mission DIS continues to this very day, hosting hundreds of students from North America every year. Ranking #2 on the World Happiness Report, Denmark maintains an impeccable image as a model nation. So naturally, many people are curious to know more about Denmark. North Americans are particularly curious to see the Scandinavian Alternative, given the political tension in the US and wider North America in recent years. So DIS is as relevant a program today as ever, offering an insider view into Scandinavia.

Three past DIS participants spoke to Last Week in Denmark about the impact the DIS program had on them and what it taught them about life in Denmark!

Kostas

Kostas, hailing from the University of Arkansas, found the DIS program very accommodating for people who want to explore new cultures. Most Americans are not used to going abroad, compared to Europeans who have cross-cultural mobility through the EU. Not to mention language and cultural barriers that can make things seem very intimidating. Fortunately DIS staff were super helpful in making Kostas and his friends feel at home in Copenhagen, supporting them with visa applications, appointments, welcoming at the airport, registering for healthcare and of course housing! Students can stay with either a Danish family -usually in the suburbs- or at a collegium (i.e. dormitory). Kostas chose a collegium and looks back at his memories with his good friend Viktor fondly.

Kostas noticed that it was not only the welcome; actually everything was incredibly organized and meticulous. Classes and schedules were well-planned and quite strict, contrasting sharply with his experience at UoA. Studying at DIS made Kostas feel micro-managed, compared to the self-motivated environment at the UoA. It also felt as if community and shared experiences were much more important, compared to the individualistic, 1 in a 1000 experience students faced in the US. Everyone would do the same thing, at the same time. The mandatory attendance and strict house rules could sometimes feel like baby-sitting- but there was something enjoyable about feeling so secure and everything being orderly.

However, Kostas did raise some complaints. For one thing, admissions were very competitive. And to the lucky few admitted to the program, $30k is a big fee. On the bright side, the program fee is all-inclusive so it includes tuition and housing as well as travel and similar expenses. In fact trips were a very big part of the program; as a business student, Kostas had the opportunity  to visit Danish companies like Carlsberg, Jysk, Maersk, SAS and learn about their focus on sustainability, organization and accounting (taxes). Having been able  to talk with Danes and really immerse himself in the culture and work-life, Kostas feels that students get what they pay for.

Alissa

For Alissa, from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. DIS provided a very unique and enriching experience. At the time, Alissa was studying Psychology and looking for study abroad programs where she could specialize in Neuroscience. DIS’ neuroscience offering was a good fit for her academic interests. The extensive support for international students, including assistance with housing, insurance and overall adjustment to the new environment was very welcome. Alissa ended up taking courses in a few other subjects, including Danish language and culture!

Alissa’s lectures were at the DIS campus in Copenhagen, close to Tivoli. Back at Haverford, Alissa found the workload very stressful as everything was individualistic and partnering was seen as cheating. Things were very different on the DIS campus: group projects were common and the study environment always encouraged cooperation as opposed to competition. Gone were the multi-choice pen-and-paper exams from home, instead evaluations were based on discussions and oral presentations. In a word, Alissa summed it as ‘experiential’ learning. Not only were assignments very different, but learning outside of lectures was also very important.

When thinking about her time in Copenhagen, Alissa notes that there was a huge variety in how Danes engaged with the students. She felt like some people were neutral or even a bit negative and loud towards the DIS students, who they viewed as ‘tourists’ that came and went. Worse, there could be some xenophobia towards PoC (people of color) students at the bars. Even so Alissa believes that DIS was able to create healthy encounters between Danes and Internationals through taking certain steps. For example, the housing options with host families and collegiums ensured DIS students would get to live together with the local Danes and become part of each other’s lives. Alissa thinks this was a low stress and safe way for Americans to interact with Danes and other Internationals, even for the most nervous students.  She also especially remembers her ‘visiting host family’. Although Alissa chose to stay in a collegium, the family that volunteered to house her still met with her and they kept in touch, she says they were always there to help her if she needed anything. All in all, Alissa thought it was nice interacting with a less individualistic, less capitalistic society and challenging some of the stereotypes held in America. Even today, years after her time at DIS, she is considering finding a job in Copenhagen with the hope of resettling amidst the chaos in the US.

Zach

It wasn’t Zach’s first time in Europe; he had been to Germany before. However, flying from the Syracuse University in New York to Scandinavia was certainly a bigger leap. Zach was unsure of what to expect, but pleasantly surprised to see how super-inclusive DIS was. Zach went to Denmark knowing nobody but found himself some lifelong friends!

Zach thinks the DIS program helped him grow a lot as a person. In general, DIS was a lot more hands-on and interactive. And that orderliness carried on outside of the lectures as well. DIS offered a very inclusive environment: people could start random conversations as strangers and 20 minutes later they would be sitting at the same lunch table, chatting casually as if they had always known each other. Compared to the environment at the UoC, the way people behaved was very different. When he was playing basketball with the students at DTU he felt like they were young professionals in their sophistication. There was hardly any chaos, no shouting and definitely no loud music.

The one thing Zach could never really get used to was calling his lecturers by their first name. No Mr. or Ms! Zach fondly remembers how he used to have drinks with ‘Daniel’, one of his lecturers. Denmark seemingly has a way of making everything much more casual. Zach also enjoyed that the DIS program offered various trips to cities like Aarhus, and Esbjerg in Denmark and further away in Talinn and Helsinki where he made unforgettable memories…

And you?

If any of these stories sound interesting, maybe you should consider referring a friend to study in Denmark with DIS. DIS is not just for the US, it’s for applicants across all North America. In addition to Copenhagen, DIS now also offers the option to study a semester in Stockholm, Sweden.

The deadline for the Fall 2025 semester is open until April 1st! Check the admissions website if you are interested.