Associations and clubs
Spending two years on a master’s degree programme is a great opportunity to meet fellow students, both international and Danish. Whether you look for activities related to your field of study or go for purely social activities, there is a lot to gain. You can get a nuanced understanding of the Danes and grow your network – which is helpful, in particular if you stay in Denmark and start your career upon graduating from UCPH. And, having fun is a great way to beat loneliness.
If you want to make a change in a political sense, you can contact the student councils at university level (Studenterrådet) as well as faculty or department levels.
On this page, you can get an idea of student associations and clubs at UCPH. Also, this list of organisations and mentor programmes is very helpful.
KSI is the University’s student sports association (‘forening’), offering more than 70 sports teams with levels ranging from beginners to intermediate, experienced and skilled. The club is a non-profit association, so prices are reasonable. In mid-August, you can sign up for the September-to-May season, and it is also possible to join some teams after the season has started. There is a summer season too. In addition to the once-a-week sports teams, you can join hiking, kayaking and skiing tours, which is a good way of exploring Denmark and its neighboring countries. At KSI, the coach will be happy to teach in English, unless otherwise indicated in the sports description.
Some examples of sports are:
Indoors: badminton, basket, yoga, pilates, various dance genres, gymnastics, handball and football.
Outdoors: running, mountain bike, tennis, hiking, beach volley and parkour.
Water: kayak, swimming (both indoor swimming pool and open water), and SUP/stand-up paddleboard.
In KSI’s own words, the ambition is “to create immersion, develop skill sets and obtain better cardio-vascular endurance and, as an added bonus, better health and thereby a possible betterment of your academic achievements due to heightened attentiveness, concentration and stamina”.
Downtown Copenhagen, right next to the Round Tower, is Studenterhuset, which is the place to meet fellow Danish and international students across the University. Drop in and hang out – the atmosphere is ‘hyggelig’ (cosy) with cheap coffee, drinks and snacks and a calendar full of concerts, debates, dancing and other activities, mostly in English. Studenterhuset (‘the student house’) engages plenty of volunteers coming from more than 40 countries. You can volunteer in the kitchen, the bar and café, the Film Club, Sustainable City, Language Café and at the Spring Festival.
Studenterhuset is an independent association affiliated with the University of Copenhagen. A volunteer board consisting of students is in charge of Studenterhuset while a small secretariat of paid staff runs it.
Informal and friendly, Friday bars take place all over the campus areas. They accommodate students who talk or play games while drinking tea, coffee, beer or whatever the volunteers who run the Friday bars provide. Pick your favourite from The great UCPH Friday bar guide by University Post.
Would you like to apply your field of study in a new, innovative context? Do you have an idea for a product or service that is not on the market? Then you might want to visit the UCPH Innovation Hubs, which organise workshops, events, go-home meetings and training sessions for all students at the University. Innovation consultants run the hubs and collaborate with a number of partners from the corporate world.
The hubs also offer free office space, counselling and a network of students looking to inspire each other, partner up and develop their businesses.
Each faculty has its own vibrant student community. Meetings and events are mostly in Danish, but you can reach out even if you don’t speak Danish – your fellow students are likely to switch into English so you can engage in their community too.
Studenterhuset has a list of organisations and mentor programmes where you can search by faculty.
Below is a general description of student life at each faculty, but please keep in mind that these things change quickly. Once you're enrolled at the University, you can find specific information on the intranet, KUnet.
- Humanities: The QA Programme is the backbone of the faculty’s international study environment. The Student Council of the Faculty of Humanities is called HUMrådet.
- Law: The student organisations at Law demonstrate the faculty’s diversity: Casus Clima, Lex Loci, European Law Students’ Association (ELSA), Law Debating Club and more. ELSA is also in charge of the mentor programme for international law students.
- Science (natural sciences): Students meet at the old renovated greenhouse or at the annual party, 'Smedjefesten', at Frederiksberg Campus – or develop ideas at Science Innovation Hub on North Campus. Science on Facebook. (Once you're enrolled, you can join Facebook groups for students at North Campus and Frederiksberg Campus).
- Social Sciences: Run by students for students, Café Kommunen is the centre of social activities to drink coffee, join parties, hang out at Thursday and Friday bars and get new perspectives at academic events. Social activities at Social Sciences on Facebook.
- Theology: The academic association Teologisk Forening invites students and employees to a traditional Christmas Dinner and party with a student Christmas Cabaret. In Summer, the Dean welcomes students and employees to the annual Summer Dinner Party with speeches and songs. Also, the Student Congregation (SMiK) has a range of events for all students at UCPH.
- Health and medical sciences: Students at the faculty engage in a huge variety of clubs and associations – we suggest you contact them directly in order to find out how you can participate.
