If the level of your exam corresponds to that of a Danish HF (Higher Preparatory Examination) without addition courses, you must supplement it to gain access to the Bachelor's degree programmes of Danish universities.
You can supplement your exam in three ways:
- 1 year of higher education or other supplementary education
- Bridging courses
- GIF – special upper secondary programme for non-Danish speaking students
At the bottom of this page, you can also read about GSK (supplementary examination courses at general upper secondary level) and about competence assessment.
1 year of higher education or other supplementary education
You can apply for admission to university bachelor's programmes and other higher education programmes if you have completed a qualification that is on a level with a Danish HF without addition courses followed by 1 year of higher education abroad or equivalent supplementary education.
A university may also allow you to apply for admission if you have supplemented in another way. It is up to the university's assessment.
In order to be admitted to a particular study programme, you must also meet its specific admission requirements.
Bridging courses
You can supplement your qualification with a package of courses consisting of at least two HF subjects:
- There must be at least 250 hours of instruction and 100 hours of in-depth study time for writing.
- There must be at least 1 A level subject and at least 1 B level subject.
- Subjects at C level do not count.
- The subjects must be passed.
You should ask the university which subjects to pass, so that you can also meet the specific admission requirements for the programme you want to apply for.
Other bridging courses can be taken outside Denmark, e.g., by passing subjects that meet the above requirements. It is the university’s decision whether such courses meet the specific admission requirements. You should therefore seek the university’s guidance about this.
GIF
GIF is a special upper secondary programme for refugees and immigrants. It is a 10-month programme with an emphasis on either humanities (Hum-GIF) or on maths and physics (Mat-GIF). Hum-GIF contains 5 subjects, and Mat-GIF contains 6 subjects. The school can award credit transfer in place of up to 2 subjects.
To be admitted to GIF, you must have a residence permit in Denmark, at least 12 years of schooling including a non-Danish upper secondary qualification. Furthermore, there are requirements concerning your Danish and English proficiency and (for Mat-GIF) your level in Mathematics.
For more information about GIF, please visit UddannelsesGuiden (the Education Guide):
What can GSK be used for?
GSK stands for supplementary examination courses at general upper secondary level. You cannot use GSK subjects to raise your education level in order to gain access to the university's bachelor programmes.
GSK is available to students who already have an exam satisfying the general entry requirements but lack a certain level in one or more subjects to meet specific entry requirements for a higher education programme.
You can take GSK subjects in order to meet any specific admission requirements for Academy Profession or Professional Bachelor's programmes.
If you supplement your qualification so that you gain access to university Bachelor's programmes, you can then take GSK subjects to meet the specific entry requirements for a particular university Bachelor's programme.
Competence assessment
You can apply for competence assessment based on your general upper secondary education subjects, e.g. subjects that are part of your non-Danish upper secondary qualification. The assessment takes place at a VUC (adult education centre) and is conducted in Danish. You will receive a certificate for any subjects and levels that are approved. No grades are given.
A certificate based on competence assessment can form part of a full general upper secondary qualification, i.e. HF with addition courses or STX (Higher General Examination). However, to obtain a Danish HF or STX certificate you must have passed at least 6 subjects with grades.
More information about competence assessment is available at UddannelsesGuiden (the Education Guide):