Admission requirements at UCPH
The University of Copenhagen welcomes applications from students from all over the world with an upper secondary/high school education.
To apply for a bachelor programme at the University of Copenhagen, you must meet specific admission requirements and deadlines.
Be aware, at the University of Copenhagen all bachelor programmes are taught in Danish and require the highest level in Danish or documentation for academic language skills in Danish.
Taught in Danish
The University of Copenhagen only offers bachelor programmes taught in Danish.
Consequently, all applicants with foreign and international examinations need to fulfil Danish language qualifications, which means having academic language skills in Danish.
Please note that the specific admission requirement of Danish A (native language at the highest level) for all the programmes is not the same as the Danish language qualifications.
If you have studied your native language at the highest level, you can obtain Danish language qualifications by passing the ‘Studieprøven i dansk’, which is a nationally recognised test for foreign language speakers administered by numerous language schools in Denmark, e.g. Studieskolen in Copenhagen.
Application deadline
All applicants with foreign or international examinations and diplomas (regardless of nationality) must submit their online application along with necessary documentation before the application deadline on 15 March 12.00. The University does not assess applications received after this deadline.
Hence, you must start filling in the application form and uploading all your documents in due time before the deadline.
Please note, that even though:
- you must apply before the 15 March 12.00
- you have until the 5 July 12.00 to upload and fulfill the admission requirements.
This also applies to new students coming directly from a secondary/high school education.
Exceptions
If you come directly from a secondary/high school education you might have another option:
If you do not receive your results by July 5, you may submit your diplomas until August 15
Please note that this does not apply to applicants who have just completed single-subject courses/supplementary courses.
Qualifying examination
When we receive your application, we assess whether your exam qualifies you for admission, and whether your courses and levels of your exam are equivalent to the Danish upper-secondary-school exam.
Then, we will assess whether you meet the specific admission requirements for the bachelor programmes you apply for.
Please note that for some countries, the upper secondary (high) school education is not enough, and you need to supplement. You can supplement by either one or two years of higher education or two courses: at least one A level subject and at least one B level subject.
The enclosed documents must be official; signed and stamped by the issuing school or institution. If the documents are not in one of the major European languages or in Norwegian or Swedish, they must be accompanied, not substituted, by officially translated and certified copies.
Please see the checklist for documentation
What to do if you do not have a Danish CPR-number or a Danish examination
If you do not have a Danish civil registration number (CPR-number), you have to follow particular guidelines on optagelse.dk; print the signature page, scan it, and send it by e-mail to optagelse@ku.dk before 12.00 on 15 March.
Find more information what to do if you do not hold a Danish examination (in Danish only) You can also find more information on optagelse.dk.
General admission requirement for your country
Please check the general admission requirement for your country:
- I have a student diploma from a Nordic Country (in Danish)
- I have an International Baccalaureate (IB) or European Baccalaureate (EB)
- I have a diploma from an EU/EEA country
- I have a diploma from another country (non-EU/EEA and non-Nordic Countries)
The Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education has general information about foreign qualifications for admission to higher education in Denmark, which is updated every year at the beginning of march.
Therefore, there may be changes shortly before the application deadline. Please note that citizenship is not relevant in relation to the admission rules, but is important in relation to residence permits and tuition fees
Do you meet the specific admission requirements?
All of our bachelor programmes have specific admission requirement, which you need to fulfil.
These are specific subject levels, i.e. Danish A, B and C levels, which correspond to basic, medium and high-level courses. This may be courses that you had in your upper secondary school education, but also during a university degree programme or supplement.
Please note that specific admission requirements may vary from one bachelor programme to another in Denmark – and may differ from one university to another. The requirements described on this website apply to the University of Copenhagen only. If you consider studying at another institution, we advise you to reach out and get information from them.
See the admission requirements for each programme (only in Danish)
What can you do if you do not meet the admission requirements?
If you do not meet the specific admission requirements for the bachelor programme, you can supplement. Please note that all documentation for the admission requirements must be uploaded no later than 5 July at 12:00 in your application at optagelse.dk, the year you wish to apply.
See the checklist of the documentation you need to provide and the specific requirements for all study programmes further down this page.
How to apply through quota 1 or quota 2
To apply for a bachelor programme at The University of Copenhagen, you must have an upper secondary school education (high school). Depending on your secondary high school education, you can apply through quota 1, quota 2 or sometimes both. In both quota 1 and quota 2 you must fulfill the specific admission requirements. Quota 1 is exclusively based on your grade point average, and quota 2 is through a quota 2 admission test and a quota 2 admission interview.
How to obtain Danish language qualifications?
Studieprøven i dansk som andetsprog
You can obtain Danish language qualifications by passing 'Studieprøven i dansk som andetsprog', if you have studied your native language at the highest level during your secondary education.
Where to get the test?
The test is nationally recognised for foreign language speakers, administered by language schools in Denmark.
In Copenhagen, it is offered by UCplus and Speak School of Danish.
The test consists of an oral examination, a listening, reading and a written examination and must be passed with at least grade 02 in each of all the 3 examination disciplines.
Please note that for the following degrees you need to pass Studieprøven i ‘dansk som andet sprog’ with at least grade 7 in each of the 3 examination disciplines:
You can obtain Danish language qualifications by either:
- passing 'Studieprøven i dansk'.
Please note that this is only a possibility if during your secondary education have studied your native language at the highest level. - passing a supplementary upper course in Danish A (in Danish only).
If you can document, that you have Danish language qualifications at the highest level (e.g. if you have studied Danish at a university for several years) you can apply for us to consider, if these can fulfill the Danish Language qualifications. Please note that it is only concerning education activities. E.g. that you are bilingual with Danish and have spoken it at home, or on vacations in Denmark, cannot be considered to fulfill the Danish Language qualifications. The deadline for this is 15 March.
Students from the Nordic countries with Danish, Norwegian or Swedish included in their upper secondary school education are not required to pass a Danish language test. However, students from Iceland are required to pass the Danish language test.Learn more about ‘Studieprøven i dansk'
Late diplomas
Some certificates or diplomas are not issued before the closing date for registration, 5 July. Do you expect to complete your admission qualification before 5 July, but receive your certificate or diploma after this date? In that case, you must submit, together with your application form before 12.00 at 15 March, a letter from the school confirming that they will examine you before 5 July but will receive your documentation later than 5 July. This letter must also include information about the subjects and level of subjects you follow.
In this case, you have to upload your final certificate immediately after it has been issued - and on 15 August at the latest. For obvious reasons, applicants will not be informed whether or not they have been offered admission until they have submitted their official examination results and we have had time to evaluate it.
Do you have a master's degree?
If you have already completed a master's degree, you may only receive admission to a bachelor’s or master's degree programme if there is a vacant slot in the programme, when the admission is over. Vacant standby slots do not count as vacant slots.
If you are offered admission before you complete your master's degree but complete it after you are offered admission to Copenhagen University, you will not be allowed to start your studies unless there is a vacant slot at the bachelor programme in question.
Applicants with a completed master's degree applying for a bachelor's degree with vacant slots will be prioritized by grade average from their high school education.
Checklist for applicants with foreign or international exams
Deadline for submitting the certificate is 15 March if you have already graduated or 5 July if you graduate in 2025.
Please follow this checklist for documentation when applying for admission to a bachelor’s degree at the University of Copenhagen. You must upload the documents on optagelse.dk.
- Upper secondary school education/high school Diploma: a copy of your original Diploma and a transcript of records (all the courses that you have had at school) issued by the school
- If you have studied after secondary school/high school: a copy of your original diploma and a transcript of records (all the courses that you have had at college or university) issued by the educational institutions
- Documentation for passed Danish language qualifications: ‘Studieprøven i dansk som andetsprog’ or Dansk A
- If you have taken any supplementary courses in Denmark or abroad: documentation for the course
- If necessary, documentation for how many hours you were taught in specific courses or subjects at school
- For citizens in countries outside EU/EEA Including citizens from Great Britain: documentation of residence permit.
- Power of attorney if you wish to give someone written authorization to represent you or act on your behalf regarding your application.
Tuition fee, scholarships and code of conduct
Tuition fee
If you have a citizenship from a country outside EU/EEA/Scandinavia, you need to pay tuition fees for your studies,unless you have a residence permit which exempts you from paying tuition fees.
If you have British citizenship you must have registered residence in Denmark before January 1st 2021 in order to be exempt from paying tuition fees.
Please contact the relevant faculty for information on fees and how to pay.
Scholarships
The University of Copenhagen does not offer financial support or scholarships to foreign students.
For information on scholarships, please contact the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education.
Code of conduct
See guidelines for Offering Danish Higher Education Programmes to International Students