Copenhagen Scholars Study Abroad Program
Program Description & Application Requirements
Deadline Date for 2008/2009 Academic Year Program: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Turn all materials including transcript & references in to:
Lauren Stolper, Director of Study Abroad
Room 319 in the Student Services Center, Mail Code 319-87
The Copenhagen Scholars Program is a study abroad program in which Caltech students study in Copenhagen, Denmark at Copenhagen University (KU or Københavns Universitet) in economics, biology, computer science, mathematics, the biological sciences or the physical sciences, or study at the Danish Technical University (DTU) for engineering and the applied sciences. Students attend during the junior or senior year for the fall semester. Two to five spaces are available each fall.
Language of Instruction: Note that students must take courses in English unless they already speak Danish fluently. In other words, you cannot sign up to take courses taught only in Danish, which is the case for first and second year courses. This is usually not an issue as Caltech juniors and seniors take third, fourth and beginning master’s level courses which can be taught in English if a non-Danish speak takes the class. On the web page describing each course, under language it will indicate if the course is always or can be taught in English. If a course only has a Danish description, it is definitely not taught in English. Courses taught in English have an English course description available.
University of Copenhagen and Danish Technical University Location, History, and Student Body
The University of Copenhagen (KU) is located in the heart of the city of Copenhagen while the Danish Technical University (DTU) is located about 10 miles north of Copenhagen in the town of Lyngby. KU is the oldest university in Denmark and was founded in 1479. DTU is comparatively younger and was founded in 1829. KU has 34,000 students and 65 departments in six faculties: Health Sciences, Humanities, Law, Science, Social Sciences and Theology. The Faculties are located across Copenhagen in three campus areas. DTU has 15 academic departments in the applied and physical sciences and 6000 students. In the 1960’s DTU moved to its new Lyngby campus-all campus buildings are in the modern style.
Students are charged regular Caltech room and board which must be remitted to Caltech by the required due date. Caltech pays September through December room charges to KU or DTU. Each student is given the Caltech dorm fee to pay directly for food costs. Note that students going to the optional Danish language course must pay for their own room and board fees, but will be housed in a KU dormitory, and are usually given the same dorm assignment they will have in the fall. If the room charge for KU exceeds that of Caltech’s, then students will pay a housing supplement due on August 1 prior to the beginning of the KU fall semester.
Student attending KU will live in a student dormitory on the KU campus. Students attending DTU may live in a KU or DTU dorm. As mentioned KU is located in the heart of the city of Copenhagen while DTU is located in the suburb of Lyngby about 6 miles north of Copenhagen. Note that students cannot arrange for their own housing or live with friends or relatives. Students will either be assigned to Grønjord in the southern humanities campus or to a northern campus dorm near the sciences campus such as Egmont Kollegiet, Åboulevarden, or Studentergården. Note that each student has a single, which will have either a hall or private bathroom depending on the dorm assignment. Students cook in the hall kitchens or eat out.
For DTU students choosing to live at KU, note that it takes about 30 to 45 minutes on the new Metro (subway/elevated train) system or by bus to travel to DTU from KU.
There is no board plan at KU or DTU. Each dorm has a well-equipped kitchen on each floor and students often cook, get take-out, or go out to student-oriented restaurants in the area. There are cafeterias on the DTU or KU campus for lunch or breakfast. Students are billed for Caltech board and then given the full board amount in a check prior to departing for Denmark. This ensures that all students will have a basic amount of board money. However, since students are in Copenhagen for about fifteen weeks versus ten at Caltech, the cost of food will be more due to the longer length of the semester and you should budget appropriately for these costs. Financial aid recipients may request additional funds for the room supplement and to cover the additional weeks of board in their financial aid application. Such funds will be awarded based on the individual need level of the student. Due to the additional weeks of the KU/DTU and in order to cover the room cost, in 2007, students were charged a housing supplement of $400. This is very inexpensive considering the fact that you have use of your room through the end of December.
Program participants will take courses in their option or in a related field at either KU or DTU. Those having and Economics option can be admitted into the KU Economics Department and will take all courses in this department. Students may not take courses in the humanities or social sciences with the exception of the Danish language and culture courses described below and the courses taught in English specifically for visiting students. Students whose option is economics may take courses in this department.
A program in human biology will be of special interest to pre-med students and those studying biology that have an interest in human biology. An outline of this course is available online: http://www2.sund.ku.dk/Engelsk/HumBio/program/index1.htm. Note that this course has competitive entry and students should propose an alternate program to follow such as biology.
A language course in beginning Danish is also required for all Caltech students. A course on Danish Culture is required for all students whose main department is at KU. The course is optional for students attending DTU (engineering and applied sciences). For all students taking Danish Culture the required final term paper must be completed prior to leaving KU to get Caltech credit. We do not accept any course for credit solely on the basis of attendance. All KU hosted students must take the Danish Culture course and complete the paper for credit.
August Intensive language program: Students selected for the program may elect to participate in an intensive 3 week Danish language course for the first 3 weeks of August. The course meets in the mornings for about 3 hours. The afternoons are free to get to know the city. There is no fee to take this course for students continuing studies during the fall semester, but participants must pay a room charge, which is about $400 to $500 depending on the exchange rate and also pay for food and local transportation. About half of each year’s participants have elected to take beginning Danish during the summer. These students take the next level of Danish in the fall or repeat beginning Danish if recommended by their language instructor. Caltech does not grant credit for the summer course.
Note that a course equivalent to ACM 95 is given at DTU. The course is Complex Analysis, course number 01141. Students can take this course in lieu of the first term of ACM 95. The course covers: analytic functions, exponential functions, trigonometric and hyperbolic functions and their inverses, multi-valuable functions, Cauchy-Riemann equations, Cauchy’s integral theorem and integral formulas. Also covered are the fundamental theorem of algebra, harmonic functions, power series, Laurent series, residue calculus with applications and conformal mappings. The course URL is: http://www2.mat.dtu.dk/education/01141 and also be taken by students whose main student is taught at KU, e.g., geology students.
Remember that you must choose courses from the science or engineering department in your major field of study except in cases where there is a natural relationship, e.g. physics and astronomy or geology and geophysics, or mathematics and physics.
If you need a course to fulfill a Caltech requirement and it is in a closely related field, e.g., an engineering student who needs a physics course this will be permitted, but you should specify this in your course list. When taking classes from multiple departments you can run into scheduling conflicts.
Note that students whose option is economics at Caltech may take economics courses. Also note that you may take the program in Human Biology if appropriate to your major or career goals. Note that the Human Biology program begins around August 1 of each year.
In all subjects students can take courses from the Master’s level curriculum. You can mix the B.A. and M.A. courses depending on class times or select all of your courses from one level. Note that the M.A. level courses are fairly equivalent to the CIT senior year in terms of level as Danish students do three years for a B.A. and two additional years for an M.A., one year on coursework and one spent primarily on a thesis.
Students will receive a minimum of 36 units. Often students will receive more units than 36 units. You can get option or general credit for your coursework at KU or DTU. You will get humanities credit for the Danish Language semester course, but not the summer course. You get humanities credit for the Danish Culture course if taken for credit and the required essay is submitted. You cannot get credit for this course based solely on attendance.
Note that your grades on the 13-point grading scale of Denmark will not transfer. Your classes will show up as pass or fail and will not affect your grade point. However, we do not give credit for failed courses or marks that are not satisfactory, i.e., grades of 5 or below are failing marks.
Semester Dates and Academic Structure
Copenhagen University
The KU semester runs from ~September 1, 2008 through January 31, 2009 (tentatively). NOTE THAT CALTECH STUDENTS ATTEND ONLY THROUGH THE END OF LECTURES IN MID-DECEMBER. Copenhagen University has gone to a new block system in the sciences and mathematics that divides the semester into two 9-week teaching blocks. Note that Economics is still on the old September through January system of one continuous semester. Caltech students take exams at the end of Block 1 for science courses. Exams are taken in December for the required Danish Language and Culture courses and all Economics courses.
Number of Courses/Units
In the sciences, computer sciences, or mathematics at KU, students choose 15 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) points in their option or a related field, e.g., physics and math. Due to the structure of the new block system, students choose either ONE 15 ECTS point course, which will receive 18 Caltech units or TWO 7.5 ECTS point courses, which will receive 9 Caltech units each. Students in the sciences, etc. will also take a 7.5 ECTS point course in Danish Language and a 7.5 ECTS point course in Danish Culture. To prevent time conflicts the 15 ECTS point courses are taught in designated time periods. The 7.5 ECTS point courses are scheduled in one of three “Schema Groups” designated as A, B, or C. If electing to take the two 7.5 ECTS point courses they must be chosen from two of the Schema Groups below as students cannot choose two 7.5 ECTS point courses taught in the same Schema Group. The 15 ECTS point courses can be taught at any time, since students can only choose one of these courses. Note that the Danish Language and Culture Courses will not conflict with either the 15 or 7.5 ECTS point courses in the sciences.
Go to http://www.sis.ku.dk/(click on the British flag for English) for further information on the Block System course offerings.
A: Monday afternoon and Thursday
B: Tuesday and Friday before noon
C: Monday before noon and Wednesday
Economics students will take Danish Language and Culture for 9 Caltech units each. In Economics students may choose two or three courses taking a minimum of 15 ECTS units, i.e., 18 Caltech units. With the agreement of the DTU Economics Department, Econ/BEM students may be able to take one course from the Copenhagen Business School (DBS). Go to http://www.cbs.dk and http://uk.cbs.dk/cbs_international.
This is not guaranteed and would be finalized if a student were accepted into the Copenhagen Scholars Program. CBS has a traditional semester schedule that parallels the KU Economics Department schedule.
Danish Technical University
The DTU semester runs from Monday, September 1 to Friday December 19, 2008 (tentative dates-includes exam period). The end of lectures is followed by a weeklong final examination period. Caltech students take all required final exams during the exam period. Engineering students should note that DTU is located about 6 miles from KU in the town of Lyngby. It can easily be reached by public transportation or by cycling to campus. Go to http://www.dtu.dk/English/education/Academic_Calendar.aspx to access the academic calendar.
DTU Courses and Timetable:
DTU courses are taught on a semester system, but the academic week is organized by teaching block times. Most classes meet once a week for several hours. All students at DTU must take the fall Danish language course and may do so at DTU or KU. If a student wishes to take the Danish Culture Course then they will choose 15 ECTS points at DTU or 20 ECTS points if the student does not wish to take Danish Culture. A 10 ECTS point course is equal to 12 Caltech units and a 5 ECTS point course is equal to 9 Caltech units. A 5 ECTS point course is equivalent to about 60% of the workload of a 10 ECTS point course. Therefore, you are advised to take at least one 10 ECTS point course to make up your 15 to 20 ECTS points at DTU.
When reading the DTU course catalog, you should keep the timetable of DTU in mind, so that you don't choose courses that are being taught at the same time. The course catalog URl is: http://www.kurser.dtu.dk/search/search.asp?menulanguage=en-gb&coursecode=&txtCourseNumber=&txtSearchKeyword=&lstDepartment=&lstLanguage=&lstTeachingPeriod=&lstEducation=&lstCourseType=&chkOpenUniversity
Timetable at DTU: The week is divided into 10 modules. A 5-point ECTS course covers one group, e.g. 1A, while a 10-point ETCS course covers 2 groups, e.g. 1A and 1B. You can only take one course in timetable group 1, one course in timetable group 2 and so on. (e.g, Class schedule E3 = E3A+E3B). Also remember to check if the courses are taught in the right semester: E = autumn semester and F = spring semester. Caltech students can only take autumn courses.
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Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
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8-12 |
1A |
3A |
5A |
2B |
4B |
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12-13 |
Pause |
Pause |
Pause |
Pause |
Pause |
|
13-17 |
2A |
4A |
5B |
1B |
3B |
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18-21 |
|
|
|
|
|
The timetable is the same for both autumn and spring. Under the schedule in the course description there might be written E or F. E means autumn (efterår) and F means spring (forår).
If in the course catalogue a course is said to take place in E3, then this means that the course is being taught during autumn in BOTH module 3A AND 3B. That would be Tuesday from 8-12 and Friday 13-17. F3 then of course means that the course is being taught in spring in both module 3A and 3B. If in the course catalogue a course is said to take place in E3A, then this means that the course is being taught during autumn ONLY in module 3A and NOT 3B. This would be Tuesday from 8-12.
OCTOBER SEMESTER BREAK
Note that in mid-October, all students have a 9-day vacation week, which consists of two weekends and five weekdays. This is a great time to travel in Europe. The dates for 2008 are tentatively Saturday, October 11 through Sunday, October 19.
ECTS Point System Overview
Note that at DTU:
5 ECTS point courses are awarded 9 units of Caltech credit
10 ECTS point courses are awarded 15 units of Caltech credit
Note that at KU:
7.5 ECTS point courses are awarded 9 units of Caltech credit
15 ECTS point courses are awarded 18 units of Caltech credit
The 8 ECTS language course is awarded 9 units.
The 14 ECTS Danish Culture Course is awarded only 9 units- the only work for this course is reading, attending some very pleasant field trips, and doing a single essay at the end.
Course time for Danish Language and Culture Courses:
Engineering students going to DTU may elect to take their Danish language course at either KU or DTU. Students in the physical sciences or mathematics will take the Danish course at KU. The culture course is only taught at the KU campus and meets on Thursdays from 1 to 3 or 4 p.m. Field trips can take place on weekends. The language course meets in the late afternoon or evenings for 2 1/2 hours twice a week.
For more information on the language and culture courses go to: http://www.ku.dk/international/english/
Note that when you copy course descriptions from web pages; please adjust the spacing so that the descriptions are single-spaced.
For the University of Copenhagen go to http://www.ku.dk.
Click on In English. For KU click on International Students, then click on Courses and Academic Information under General Information.
Click on In English. Click on Read More under Education. Click on Prospective Exchange Students. This will bring you to an excellent page that has a great deal of information and links to sites such as the course catalog.