Top Ten Reasons to Study Abroad  

 Faculty-led, world-focused

Penn State faculty-led programs offer students the guidance of trusted faculty, with the freedom to explore the world. Our faculty will create the ideal itinerary for you.

• See Europe and earn credits in international business.
• Experience other cultures and meet students from around the globe.
• Gain lasting memories and friendships.
• See historic sites that you've only read about.

The European Union (EU) is the world's largest economic market, exporter, and recipient of foreign investment. Among its twenty-seven member countries, Denmark stands out as one of its most international in orientation. The country has been renowned since the Viking period, more than a thousand years ago, for its external orientation and, more recently, as home to the "happiest people in the world." For such a small country, Denmark is home to many well-known companies, including the toy-maker LEGO, the Carlsberg Brewery, the Danske Bank in finance, the porcelain-maker Royal Copenhagen, Maersk in shipping, and Scandinavian Airlines. Bordering Germany and only ten miles from Sweden, Denmark is an excellent location from which to explore Scandinavia and northern Europe.

Institutionally, the program will be based at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS). The global perspective of this highly rated, world-class institution is immediately apparent from the diversity of its student enrollment, its close relationship with affiliate businesses that have a global presence, and the diversity of the faculty. The program will consist of two courses. The first, I B 499 Europe and the Global Economy, will be taught by a Penn State Smeal College of Business professor. The course will examine Europe's global links in trade, finance, and business; the strategies of leading European companies; and the role of the EU in shaping the global business environment. The course will be discussion-based and may include guest speakers and company visits. The second course will be taught by CBS faculty; there will be three course options, from which the students will select one. In these CBS courses and in housing, the Penn State students will be mixed with students from across Europe and around the world.

The program will be based in Copenhagen, but throughout the program the students will visit a variety of cultural sites in Denmark and the Nordic region. These excursions may include curriculum-relevant sites such as Kronborg Castle, the site of inspiration for Shakespeare's Hamlet (providing a rich history of trade-related issues in the Nordic region); Roskilde (a key site of a Danish Viking community that explored and transacted with the global economy in the first millennium); several excellent museums; and company visits.