Office of Study Abroad

Profile: Keying Jiang '24

Major: Economics and IGS

Study Abroad Program: DIS: Study Abroad in Copenhagen, Fall 2022

Reason you chose this program: I chose this program primarily because every DIS core course comes with a short study tour of another city in Denmark and a week-long study tour to other European countries. For example, I was in globalization and European economies. During the semester, we visited a few companies and academic institutions in Aarhus and went to Slovakia and Austria for the long study tour. Also, I heard lots of good things about Denmark from previous students, and it seemed to be a good choice for me.

Favorite classes: My favorite class would definitely be Arctic Geopolitics! I took the class primarily to learn more about geopolitics and IR theories, but it came out that I enjoyed all parts of the course. I especially liked how our instructor Alexander was able to discuss the situation of Arctic indigenous peoples and how that can be affected by powerful states' policies.

We also got the chance to go to the Greenlandic House in Copenhagen and have two Greenlandic representatives as our guest speakers. It was impressive to learn about the history of Denmark-Greenland relations and how it's becoming increasingly important with the exploration of natural resources and sea routes. I also wrote a paper on how the pause of the Arctics Council has been affecting Russian indigenous groups for my final project, and I really enjoyed it.

Housing situation: I was living in a collegium with another American student and two Danish girls. I would say overall our housing situation was quite nice. My collegium was located near the city center and around 15 minutes drive from the DIS student hub. We had a shared common room with a kitchen, dining area and shared bathroom. The laundry room was on the basement floor. And all the furniture was in good condition. I especially liked that students got to live with local Danish students. I really enjoyed chatting and hanging out with my roommates, learning more about Danish culture and how life in Denmark might be similar or different from the U.S.

Fact about Denmark that you think people would be surprised to learn: One fun fact is that Denmark is considered one of the happiest countries in the world. They have the word "hygge" to describe the coziness and comfortable conviviality when being together with people you care about. Another thing that would surprise people from other countries is that Danes generally don't like to address people by their titles. For example, instead of "Professor," you would call your instructor by their first name.