Gå til indhold

About the list of recognised higher education institutions

The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science has set up and maintains this database of Danish recognised higher education institutions.

The database is primarily aimed at recognition authorities, educational institutions and other professional users.

If you are looking for information about current learning opportunities and educational institutions, please visit these websites:

The database includes existing institutions and institutions that have existed as recognised higher education institutions in the period 2000 to the present. The criteria are described below.

Every effort is made to ensure accuracy, but no responsibility can be taken for errors or omissions.

In case of doubt or if you have questions concerning degrees awarded before 2000, please contact the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science.


Purpose of the database

Many changes have occurred in the Danish institutional landscape over the years, including mergers and name changes. Therefore, it may be difficult to find information about the educational institution that issued a diploma some years ago.

The database aims to make it easier for foreign recognition authorities, educational institutions etc. to obtain information about the status of both existing and former Danish higher education institutions. In so doing, the database is intended to support the recognition of Danish higher education qualifications abroad in accordance with the Lisbon Recognition Convention:

"Each Party shall make adequate provisions for the development, maintenance and provision of […] a list of recognized institutions (public and private) belonging to its higher education system, indicating their powers to award different types of qualifications and the requirements for gaining access to each type of institution and programme […]” (Article VIII.2)


Criteria for including institutions in the database

The database covers all institutions that are or have been part of the Danish higher education system in the sense of the Lisbon Recognition Convention, except institutions that ceased to operate as such before 2000 and institutions belonging to the defence, police and other authorities with programmes aimed at government services.

With these exceptions, an institution is included if it is or has been publicly recognized as a higher education institution in at least one of the following ways:

  • The institution or education at the institution is or was accredited under the Danish accreditation legislation for higher education.
    Find out about accreditation in Denmark – Danish Accreditation Institution 
  • The institution is or was defined as a higher education institution by law.
  • The institution is or was defined as a higher education institution by the relevant ministry.
  • The institution has been or had been approved by the relevant ministry to provide one or more higher education programmes, i.e. study programmes offered on the basis of legislation, under public supervision, and with entry requirements including at least a general upper secondary qualification or a complete vocational education and training qualification.

Departments and campuses

The database provides information about the degree awarding institutions, not about their departments or campuses.


Types of qualifications awarded

Under each institution, the database shows the institution type(s) to which it belongs or belonged, with a link to the description of the institution type(s) concerned as guidance. This gives general, but not necessarily exhaustive, information about the institutions' powers to award different types of qualifications.

Some institutions are or have been approved to provide programmes of other types in addition to those usually belonging to the institution type. For example, there are university colleges which also offer Academy Profession programmes.

For institution types where a mix of higher education and non-higher education is or was offered attention is paid to this fact in the institution-type description. This applies, for example, to vocational colleges before the establishment of independent academies of professional higher education (business academies).


Access requirements

The general requirement for access to most first cycle programmes is an upper secondary school leaving certificate.

For Academy Profession (i.e. short cycle) programmes access is also possible on the basis of a relevant vocational education and training certificate supplemented by certain general upper secondary subjects.

A number of programmes in art, performing arts, design, etc., require the applicants to demonstrate their artistic skills instead of or in addition to a formal educational requirement.

Master's degree programmes can be entered on the basis of a relevant Bachelor's degree.

For PhD programmes the standard entry requirement is a Master's degree.

Specific entry requirements for existing programmes can be found through these websites:

For an overview of the qualification structure of Danish higher education, please visit this page:

 

Document Actions

last modified February 27, 2023