Picking what kind of program to do can be stressful. CGIS has so many available programs varying in length, location, style, and focus. There are so many factors that come into picking what you want and what is best for you.
My name is Nicole and I just returned from a semester abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, which was my third time participating in a CGIS program. I have also been a CGIS peer advisor for two years now and have seen many program types. They all vary so greatly so I’m going to explain a little bit about the programs I have done so far.
My first program was Italian 230 in Siena, Italy. This program fulfilled my language requirement by combining Italian 231 and 232 in just 6 weeks during the spring. It was a faculty led program which means that it was just (15) Michigan students and a University of Michigan Italian professor instructing. During this program I lived with a host family so that I could be completely immersed in the language. My family did not speak English at all so this did allow me to have lots of practice! Being in a homestay felt a bit daunting at first, but it was a very valuable experience as I was able to learn things about the culture and food that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. I had class 4 days a week for 4 hours a day. It was an intensive course as it was 2 semester's worth of content in less than 2 months, and so tests and assignments were very frequent. But even still, Italy has many unique cities, so I took advantage of being there and traveled to a new city every weekend which was a great experience. And I was still able to explore Siena during the week.
I would consider 6 weeks to be a medium length program. It was my first time ever being abroad and I wasn’t sure how I would like it at first, so that is definitely something to consider when looking at programs. I know that being homesick is very common so if you are worried about that, then a shorter program could be a good thing to look into.
Which brings me to my next program: GCC Reproductive Health in Copenhagen, Denmark. How this program works is that I took a class in the winter semester at Michigan (WGS 220) and then completed a 3 week extension course abroad. Three weeks is the shortest program option, it passes very quickly. But I think it is a good amount of time if you are nervous about being away or think that you could likely get homesick. It would be a good choice for a first program if you intend or hope to do multiple. It’s a great program to ease into being away for longer. But personally I prefer longer programs.
This program placed a strong emphasis on experiential learning, so it consisted of lots of field trips and guest lecturers (to learn more specifics about this program look at my other blog: From Ann Arbor to Copenhagen). This program was also faculty led, so it had 18 Michigan students with a Michigan professor. Being with a Michigan professor can also be great because they teach in a way that you are familiar with from campus. A highlight about faculty led programs is that you are surrounded by people in a very similar situation to you and likely share many commonalities. In this program we also all lived in one apartment building together in the center of the city, between 3 floors. This really allowed us to bond and explore during our limited time there. The upside of an apartment is that you are able to have a lot of independence, you have no curfew and do have to cook for yourself, although the program did treat us to a few meals.
My latest program was the first I did that was not faculty lead but was instead what is called a provider program. There were many course options and I chose to take all courses that fulfilled my BCN major requirements. I really liked being able to take courses from Danish professors because it allowed me to experience a learning style that is very different to the type to which I am accustomed. I also chose to live in a Kollegium which is an apartment with other Americans and local students. I loved this experience because I got to learn a lot about Danish culture from the local students, and about different American universities. To me this felt like the perfect mix between a regular apartment and a homestay, I got to truly experience the local culture while also maintaining independence and getting to be self sufficient. I would always recommend any sort of housing option or extracurriculars that allow you to interact with locals as there is so much more you can learn from them. I also loved being able to remain there for a whole semester because it truly allowed me to interact with the culture and to truly feel like I was living there. And since it was like a regular semester, we were given longer breaks which allowed us plenty of time to travel and so I was able to visit many different countries and cities I’ve never been to before.
So overall there are many different aspects of programs that should be considered, such as length, housing, and academics. I hope that my insights and experiences can help you decide what is good for you, good luck!
