Admission to Danish higher education for holders of foreign qualifications

Do you want to find out about studying for a degree in Denmark on the basis of your foreign qualification?

Learn about the rules:

Admission to undergraduate degree programmes

Do you have a Master's degree?

If you hold a degree equivalent to a Danish Master's degree you can only be admitted to a Danish degree programme if there are vacant study places. This rule does not apply to admission to programmes under the Danish Ministry of Culture and admission to programmes within adult education.

Three types of requirements

You can apply for admission to Bachelor's, Professional Bachelor's, and Academy Profession programmes if you fulfil the following requirements:

General entry requirements
Specific and local entry requirements
Language requirements

1. General entry requirements

Your qualification must be on a level with a Danish upper secondary school leaving certificate in order to give access to higher education programmes in Denmark. However, certificates equivalent to a Danish vocational qualification can give access to Academy Profession programmes (short-cycle professional higher education) and certain Professional Bachelor's programmes.

Find out whether the level of your certificate satisfies the general requirements for entry to higher education

If the information that you want is not available on the page linked to above, you can ask the educational institution where you wish to apply or the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science. If necessary, the Agency can make an assessment of the level of your qualification:

Get an assessment of your non-Danish qualification

2. Specific and local entry requirements

Each individual study programme may have specific entry requirements such as having completed certain upper-secondary subjects at a certain level. Furthermore, the individual educational institution may have local entry requirements such as having obtained a minimum grade point average or passing an entry exam.

You are advised to ask the educational institution where you wish to apply whether you fulfil the entry requirements.

3. Language requirements

Requirements concerning your Danish or English proficiency may apply. For programmes taught in Danish, you must be able to document sufficient oral and written proficiency in Danish. You must meet such requirements by the beginning of the study programme.

Danish language requirements

If the programme is taught in Danish you must be proficient in Danish, both oral and in writing.

Most programmes of higher education require that you have passed the Study Test in Danish as a Second Language (Studieprøven i dansk som andetsprog) or present proof of equivalent Danish proficiency. The educational institution may require that specific parts of the Study Test be passed with certain minimum marks (grades).

To see the specific language requirements please visit the institution's website.

If you are a student from one of the Nordic countries you are normally not required to take a Danish test if you studied Danish, Norwegian or Swedish as part of your entry qualification. It depends on the rules laid down by the institution.

If you need Danish language tuition you can find links at the Study in Denmark website:

Learn Danish – Study in Denmark

English language requirements

If the programme is taught in English you must submit proof of English proficiency equivalent at least to English B level in Denmark. Educational institutions may in some cases require that you take a supplementary test in English.

If you do not have English proficiency at least at B level the educational institution may decide that you must pass a special test in English instead.

Application for admission

If you wish to enroll in a programme of higher education you must apply via the admissions portal Optagelse.dk, except for Master's programmes and adult higher education (see below).

The deadline for applications to most higher education programmes is 15 March, 12:00 noon.

Find out more about how to apply on the Study in Denmark website

Supplementary courses

If you do not meet the entry requirements that apply to the programme that you wish to study, you must supplement your entry qualification.

The supplementary courses must be completed before the start of the study programme or shortly after the start of the study programme depending on the rules of the educational institution.

You must find out which educational institutions offer the courses that you need to take and enroll in these courses.

Learn more about supplementing your qualification

Admission to Master's and adult higher education programmes

If you wish to apply for admission to a Master's (candidatus) programme or an adult education programme (Academy Profession, Diploma or Master degree), please contact the educational institution directly.

A guidance counsellor at the institution or faculty can help you find out whether your educational background is relevant to the programme that you want to study.

Do you have Master's degree?

If you hold a degree equivalent to a Danish Master's degree you can only be admitted to a Danish degree programme if there are vacant study places. This rule does not apply to programmes within adult education and programmes under the Danish Ministry of Culture.

The level of your non-Danish qualification

Entry requirements

Find out about the entry requirements for the programmes that interest you:

Language requirements

For each university programme please find the language requirements on the university's website.

For Academy Profession programmes and Diploma programmes within adult education, there are no formal Danish language requirements. However, it is necessary to speak and read Danish in order to follow the courses.