Admission requirements

The University of Copenhagen welcomes applications from students from all over the world with an upper secondary/high school education. 

However, it is necessary to document that you have academic language skills in Danish since all bachelor's degree programmes at the University of Copenhagen are taught in Danish solely. Consequently, you need to have (and document) academic language skills in Danish when applying with an international examination.

In order to be eligible for admission to a bachelor’s degree programme, you need to fulfill – or expect to fulfill – the following admission requirements before 5 July. However, new students coming directly from a secondary/high school education are allowed to forward their Diplomas until 15 August. Be aware that this does not apply to applicants who have just completed single subject courses/supplementary courses.

  • Danish language qualifications 
  • General admission requirement including a grade point average equivalent to the Danish 6.0
  • Specific admission

Application deadline

All applicants with foreign or international examinations (regardless of nationality) must submit their online application along with necessary documentation before the application deadline on 15 March 12.00. The University does not assess applications received after this deadline. Hence, you have to start filling in the application form and uploading all your documents in due time before the deadline. 

Click here if you want to know  how to apply

Upper secondary (high) school education

The general admission requirement is that you have accomplished an upper secondary (high) school education.

For some countries, the upper secondary (high) school education is not enough, and you need to supplement. You can supplement by either one or two years of higher education or two courses: at least one A level subject and at least one B level subject.

Please check the general admission requirement for your country:

The Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education has general information about foreign qualifications for admission to higher education in Denmark.

Grade point average

In addition to your upper secondary (high) school education, your grade point average must be equivalent to the Danish 6.0 – or more if you apply through quota 1.

The Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education has general information about foreign qualifications for admission to higher education in Denmark.

Specific admission requirements

All of our degree programmes have specific requirements, which you need to meet. First, you need to document that you have studied certain specific courses at certain levels equivalent to the Danish course levels: A (advanced level), B (intermediate level) and C (elementary level). You must have achieved these levels in the upper secondary (high) school education or during further studies at college, university or as supplementary courses.

We will assess your language skills too. In order to do so, we would like to see documentation that you speak, write and read your native language at the highest level (corresponding to Danish A).

The specific requirements tend to be English B, Mathematics A or B, Chemistry and Physics B, History B or foreign language A or B. Therefore, you must include information and transcripts of levels obtained in the relevant subjects. We also might need to know the number of years studied in upper secondary (high) school or college/university – and in some cases the number of taught hours in the subject.

See the checklist of the documentation you need to provide and the specific requirements for all study programmes (in Danish only).

Please note that specific admission requirements may vary from one study programme to another – and may differ from one university to another. The requirements described on this website apply to the University of Copenhagen only. If you consider studies at another institution, we advise you to reach out and get information from them.

Taught in Danish

All bachelor's degree programmes at the University of Copenhagen are taught in Danish solely. Consequently, you need to have (and document) academic language skills in Danish when applying with an international examination.

How to obtain Danish language qualifications?

You can obtain Danish language qualifications by either:

  • passing 'Studieprøven i dansk'. Please note that this is only a possibility if during your secondary education have studied your native language on the highest level.
  • passing a supplementary course(in Danish only) in Danish A 
  • documenting that you have Danish language qualifications at the highest level (e.g. if you have studied Danish at a university for several years)

Students from the Nordic countries with Danish, Norwegian or Swedish included in their upper secondary school education are not required to pass a Danish language test. However, students from Iceland are required to pass the Danish language test.

Please have a look at the requirements if you hold an International Baccalaureate or European Baccalaureate.

Studieprøven i dansk som andetsprog

You can obtain Danish language qualifications by passing the 'Studieprøven i dansk som andetsprog', if you have studied your native language on the highest level during your secondary education.  Studieprøven i dansk is a nationally recognised test for foreign language speakers administered by numerous language schools in Denmark. In Copenhagen, Studieprøven i dansk is offered by Clavis and UCplus.

The test consists of an oral examination combined with a listening, reading and a written examination and must be passed with at least grade 02 in each of all the 3 examination disciplines. Please note that for Medicine (medicin), Dentistry (odontologi) and Dental Hygienist (tandplejer), you need to pass Studieprøven i dansk with at least grade 7 in each of the three examination disciplines.

Deadline for submitting the certificate is 5 July.

Checklist for applicants with foreign or international exams

Please follow this checklist for documentation when applying for admission to a bachelor’s degree at the University of Copenhagen. You are to upload the documents on optagelse.dk.

  1. Upper secondary school education/high school Diploma: a copy of your original Diploma and a transcript of records (all the courses that you have had at school) issued by the school

  2. If you have studied after secondary school/high school: a copy of your original diploma and a transcript of records (all the courses that you have had at college or university) issued by the educational institutions

  3. Documentation for passed Danish language qualifications: Studieprøven i dansk or Dansk A

  4. If you have taken any supplementary courses in Denmark or abroad: documentation for the course

  5. If necessary, documentation for how many hours you were taught in specific courses or subjects at school 

  6. For citizens in countries outside EU/EEA: documentation of residence permit. If you are a British citizen, you need to supply documentation of your registration of residence in Denmark.

  7. Power of attorney if you wish to give someone written authorization to represent you or act on your behalf regarding your application

Please note: foreign diplomas and transcripts of records have to be translated into Danish or English by a sworn translator, unless they are issued in English, French, German, Swedish or Norwegian.

Tuition fee

If you have a citizenship from a country outside EU/EEA/Scandinavia, you need to pay tuition fees for your studies Unless you have a residence permit which exempts you from paying tuition fees.

If you are British you must have registered residence in Denmark before January 1st 2021 in order to be exempt from paying tuition fees.

Please contact the relevant faculty for information on fees and how to pay.

Scholarships

The University of Copenhagen does not offer financial support or scholarships to foreign students.

For information on scholarships, please contact the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education.

Code of conduct

Guidelines for Offering Danish Higher Education Programmes to International Students (pdf).