An affordable Global Degree in Pedagogy

A college education with a learning-by-doing approach, where students get an authentic global degree by traveling in various countries, meeting diverse realities and practicing non-traditional pedagogy from day one, that’s what happens at DNS · The Necessary Teacher Training College.  It is a low cost global degree which has the world as its classroom and a learning community as its base.

by Maksim Ivanov, student at DNS2018

Children know it : The World is Our Classroom

As a child, I would sit in the classroom, looking through the window, knowing that it would be better to learn about nature by playing outside in the beautiful spring weather. I would ponder questions like: Why is it, that the only way to get information into your brain is through systematic testing and sitting in between four walls? Why do we tend to think that abstractly speaking about an object or a place is more beneficial than seeing the object or visiting a place itself? These are questions than normally every child has subconsciously in their head. But here is another one: Why don’t we think the same when we reach college age?

Curiosity and passion for life

So – we must get back to a child’s perspective with the curiosity and passion for life that once made us look outside the window. A global degree is about realizing that sometimes you need to get out of your known habitat, your comfort zone – because that is where real life happens.

Rooms full of books and “educated people” became our personal comfort zone after all the years of attending the traditional school. Once a great German writer and philosopher named Goethe stated: “All theory, dear friend, is gray, but the golden tree of life springs ever green.” The message being: to trust more in experience, rather than theory.

A global degree is needed in our globalized world

Most of today’s universities and colleges concentrate on dogmatic learning, not realizing how much it can bury, or completely erase someone’s potential. Therefore, a global degree is needed for our globalized world, now more than ever.

In a time when the internet is the source of endless bits of information, easily available for millions of people, teachers need to concentrate on motivating their students to learn and to apply the knowledge that they find, in real life.

There is a need for connecting the dots between theory, practice and the reality of our globalized world – and to work together in unity with others, to make that famous difference.

A bachelor degree in pedagogy at DNS

The teacher training course at DNS The Necessary Teacher Training College was one of the first global degrees ever invented. The college started its first course in 1972. At that time students travelled in old buses overland through Europe, Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan to India and beyond.

Times have changes, but as a student at DNS you are set free to get to know the world, to investigate and see things you otherwise would never imagine. “The World Is Our Classroom” is still a revered slogan of ours, 40 years down the line.

Apart from all the travelling, as a student at DNS you will get hands-on experience in living in an intentional community, and valuable experiences in organising events and community work.

Global degree cost

So, what does a global degree cost? Since the college is private and independent, tuition, travelling and living expenses needs to be met paid in full by the students themselves. The tuition fee for the 1st year is 60.000 DKK  (approx. € 8.000). This covers accommodation, food, programme expenses, pocket money, travel expenses to Africa, etc.

No money? No problem.

Most of the people who join DNS don’t have the possibility to pay the tuition fee from their own funds. Therefore, they make use of DNS’ Saving Up Pre-Course, and earn the money they need to pay the tuition.

Financial support · Saving Up

If you are not able to come up with the 60.000 DKK tuition fee by yourself, you will have the chance to join the Saving Up Pre-Course group where you will have the opportunity to earn the money together with your team mates.

You need to be flexible and accept jobs in all kind of areas, but as part of the Saving Up team you have the support of your team mates and together you can find good solutions.

The saving up period is rather long before the program starts, often starting in January and lasting until September. Some people even arrive a year before they start the programme to take on one of the few available positions at DNS.

You can apply to be part of the saving up group on your admission interview and decide about your saving up plan with a DNS teacher on your Preparatory Weekend in Denmark.

Read more here.

Tuition fee for the 2nd and 3rd years

After you have started your education you and your team mates will maintain a so called “common economy”. It means that during the 3 years at DNS the students in a team will earn money together and spend money together.  This means that the tuition fee for the 2nd and 3rd years are covered by the common economy.

We are happy to be able to provide an affordable non-traditional global degree at a private university in Denmark.