We may grant a dispensation from the master’s degree admission rule if we consider that, due to exceptional circumstances, you are without working capacity in your profession and therefore can no longer use your master's degree in the labour market. For example, if you are a veterinarian and have been diagnosed with fur allergies, or if you are a surgeon and have lost the use of your limbs.

When we consider your application for a dispensation, we look at the substance and scope of your exceptional circumstances for which you must submit documentation.

We also assess the qualifications you have gained through your master's degree programme and decide whether your options to use these qualifications in the labour market have been exhausted. Many higher education programmes provide qualifications and skills that are of such a general nature that they can be used in several different jobs.

If we assess that your job opportunities are not exhausted, your application will be rejected.

We will not regard industry-specific unemployment or a change of interests as exceptional circumstances to warrant a dispensation.

If you have a non-Danish master's degree and are unsure if it corresponds to a Danish master's degree, you can contact the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education. They can assess whether your degree corresponds to a Danish master's degree.

If you have received an assessment of your master's degree from the Agency, you must upload it on the digital application portal together with your application for admission to the University of Copenhagen.

If your non-Danish master's degree corresponds to a Danish master's degree, you are subject to the master's degree admission rule.

If you are a qualified doctor or dentist, you must let us know if you have obtained registration with the Danish Health Authority. If you have an education where you can work in other regulated professions (e.g. lawyer or psychologist), you can read more about the rules for this at the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education.

You must apply for a dispensation at the same time as you apply for admission on the digital application portal.

Fill in this form in which you, among other things, must write a short free text explaining why you cannot use your existing master's degree on the labour market and upload it together with your application for admission.

Moreover, you must upload documentation that confirms what you have written in your free text. This may, for example, be a medical certificate or a medical record that you received when your loss of working capacity was established.