Denmark - University
Denmark has many options for degrees after high school:
- academies of professional education
- college degree
- university degree
Some courses at the university are taught in English, but the vast majority of post-high school degree are in Danish. To enroll in any of these programs you need an upper secondary school diploma or comparable qualifications.
Admission depends on specific requirements set by each course, such as high school diploma in specific subjects and/or attainment of certain grades.
Academies of professional education
Academies of professional higher education offer 2-year programs in fields such as business, technology, and IT. This institutions combine theoretical studies with a practically oriented approach and are usually completed by a 3 months' hands-on project.
Colleges
Specialized colleges and centres for higher education/university colleges offer 3-4 year professional bachelor programs in fields such as business, education, engineering and nursing. Theoretical studies, practical training through work placements and a bachelor project are always part of the program.
Universities
Universities have a commitment to teach and do research at the highest international level. Some universities only cover a specific field, where others are multi-faculty institutions covering many disciplines.
Universities offer Bachelor, Candidatus program (Danish Master's) and PhD programs, in succession: 3-year bachelor programs (BSc/BA) followed by 2-year Candidatus programs (MSc/MA) and 3-year PhD programs.
A bachelor program qualifies for a specific job profile or to continue further studies, and most students continue in a candidatus program.
The Candidatus program must include one or two of the major subjects of the bachelor program, independent research activities and a Master's Thesis (equivalent to 6 months of full time study). The Candidatus programs qualify students for occupational functions and research.
The PhD degree is obtained after 3 years of research, participation in research courses, teaching, completion and public defense of a dissertation.
English Masters
Standard Master degree courses, where the teaching language is English.
* Master Programme in ICT and Learning
* Kurser, Københavns Universietet, Det Farmaceutiske Fakultet
* Master in Leadership and Innovation in Complex Systems, LAICS
* International master in Entrepreneurship, Education and Training, IMEET
* Master of Industrial Drug Development - MIND
* Master in Wind Energy
* Master of International Health, MIH
* Master of Business Administration, MBA-programmet
* Master of Corporate Communication
* Master of Language Administration, MLA
* Master in Problem Based Learning in Engineering and Science, MPBL
(for detail info on a course, click here)
State university in Denmark is free. With over 37,000 students and more than 7,000 employees, the University of Copenhagen is the largest institution of research and education in Denmark. The purpose of the University – to quote the University Statute – is to ’conduct research and provide further education to the highest academic level’.
In the most recent "Academic Ranking of World Universities", conducted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the University of Copenhagen ranks 8th in Europe and 46th in the World.
Admission
Since each individual institution decides whether you are entitled to admission on the basis of your foreign qualification, you should contact the educational institution of your choice
and ask a guidance counselor at the institution about admission requirements, supplementary courses and the possibilities for credit transfer.
If you wish to enroll on an ordinary program of post high school courses, you must apply for admission via the Coordinated Enrolment System (KOT).
KOT is a joint registration system where you can apply for admission to several study programs of higher education listed in order of priority.
To apply for admission you can download the application forms from the admission portal of the Danish Ministry of Education at (click here for the english forms)
Deadline for applications: For admission to most higher education programs, students with foreign qualifications must apply before 15 March, 12:00 noon.
Entry requirements
Your foreign certificate must be comparable to a Danish High School Diploma. For admission to a programme of short-cycle higher education (kort videregående uddannelse/erhvervsakademiuddannelse) it may be sufficient that your foreign certificate is on a level with a relevant Danish vocational qualification.
To find out whether your foreign certificate satisfies entry requirements, click here.
It is up to the educational institution in question to decide whether or not you fulfill the requirements for admission, on the basis of general recommendations from CIRIUS. If necessary, you can ask CIRIUS for an assessment comparing the level of your foreign qualification to a Danish entry qualification. Application guidelines and forms are available on the website: www.ciriusonline.dk/recognition.
Language requirements
For programs taught in Danish, you must be able to document sufficient oral and written proficiency in Danish. A requirement is normally made that you must have passed the Study Test in Danish as a Second Language. For more information click here.
For continuing education courses taught in English click here
Specific entry requirements
Like applicants with Danish qualifications, you must meet the specific entry requirements that apply to each study program. Specific requirements may include the level of the subjects, marks, overall average of marks, work experience or any relevant vocational training.
The educational institution can tell you whether you need to take supplementary courses.
Supplementary courses
If you do not meet the specific entry requirements that apply to the study program for which you wish to apply, you must supplement your entry qualification. Such supplementary courses can be taken at:
higher preparatory (HF) courses
adult education centres (VUC)
upper secondary schools
schools offering two-year upper secondary school leaving certificates
vocational and technical schools (studenterkursus)
the access course of the study programmes in engineering.
You must find out which educational institutions offer the courses that you need to take and enroll on these courses. More information at www.uddannelsesguiden.dk or by contacting one of the regional guidance centres (click here for the website in English)
Supplementary courses must have been completed by the 1st of July of the year in which you apply for admission. It should be noted, however, that some courses are held in July-August.
Studying abroad
Should you find yourself in a position of having to relocate abroad and you have not completed your studies in Denmark, there is the option of continuing abroad. In fact, some programs allow you to complete a study period in another country as part of a Danish program or to complete an entire study program abroad. If interested, check with your Danish educational institution which options are available for your course. Otherwise explore the possibility of completing the course as an online student.
Working abroad
In order to find out how and to what extent your Danish qualification is recognized in another country's labour market, you should contact the relevant authorities in that country. EU or EEA citizens have specific rights in other EU/EEA member states.
