The Office for Study Abroad will run the inaugural year of a two-course economics program in partnership with the Danish Institute for Study Abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark during the Summer 2016 term, the University announced in an email on Tuesday. The program will run for five and a half weeks from early July through the middle of August.

The program is the latest development in a long-standing partnership between DIS, a non-profit institute founded in 1959, and Brandeis University.

The University sends a large number of students to participate in their programs relative to other external abroad opportunities. Assistant Director of Brandeis-Led Study Abroad Programs Candace Matta indicated that DIS was “a really good fit” to form this academic partnership based on the long-standing relationship.

The two courses offered are an intermediate microeconomics course taught by Prof. Kathryn Graddy (ECON) and a behavioral economics course led by a DIS instructor.

Matta indicated that Graddy’s course “is currently over-subscribed, and there’s often a waiting list,” so the program seemed like a good opportunity to offer the course again in the summer.

Regarding the inclusion of the behavioral economics course, Graddy said it “seemed like a really nice course for them to put on” because of the prevalence of this field of study in Europe and because Brandeis does not offer any behavioral economics courses in its curriculum. Future versions of the program may include different courses depending on the expertise and interests of the professors teaching them.

Brandeis faculty members designed the program to appeal to economics majors and minors whose particular course load presents a challenge for transferring credits. According to Graddy, the program was developed to encourage study abroad for economics majors, who might not otherwise. “In the arts and in the languages, there’s a real push to go abroad. ... Since there’s not this specific course-based need to go abroad, people don’t do it,” she said.

Unlike many courses taken abroad, the two classes will appear as graded classes on student transcripts, as opposed to pass/fail transfer credits.

An experiential learning component will enhance classroom coursework with visits to relevant sites around the city as well as guest speakers. Additionally, there will be an introductory language component.

In addition to the general study abroad requirements, students must meet the prerequisite of either a B+ in ECON 2a or a passing grade in ECON 10a and must satisfy the introductory calculus requirement for students to qualify for the program.

An informational event about the program will be held on Nov. 3 in the Alumni Conference room of the International Business School.