Master of Science (MSc) in Economics

About the programme

The climate crisis, the covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have made it clear that society needs good economists who can find solutions to contemporary problems associated with inflation, the green transition, energy supply, international trade and much more. Study economics if you want to deeply understand society and take part in decision making at the macro- and microeconomic levels.

What makes the programme at UCPH unique?

The economics programme at the University of Copenhagen offers an exceptionally rich and varied menu of elective courses taught in English, covering the vast majority of field in economics. The Department of Economics excels internationally in terms of economic research and we therefore build our courses on a strong foundation of cutting-edge research. In some courses, we also bring in industry experts.

Who studies this programme?

Studying economics requires a strong analytical mind and an interest in maths and social issues. Applicants must have a Bacelor’s degree in Economics or a related degree with significant economics content. You can read more about application and admission further down the page.

Admission and application

To apply for admission to this master's degree programme, you must have completed a qualifying bachelor’s degree or a similar Danish or international degree programme which is assessed to be relevant. Apply for admission via the application portal.

Below, you can read more about admission requirements and which documents to upload in the application portal. 

Academic admission requirements

Here you'll find the different academic requirements depending on which qualifying degree you hold.

Academic admission requirements

If you hold one of the degrees listed below and hold documentary proof that you meet any and all language requirements, you are considered to meet all academic admission requirements and have direct access to apply to the master’s degree programme in Economics.

  • BSc in Economics from the University of Copenhagen
  • BSc in Economics from University of Southern Denmark - Socio-Economics
  • BSc in Economics from Aarhus University
  • BSc in Economics, Aalborg University
  • BSc in Computer Science-Economics from the University of Copenhagen
  • BSc in Mathematics-Economics from the University of Copenhagen
  • BSc in Mathematics-Economics from Aarhus University

Other applicants from universities in Denmark or abroad may be admitted based on a specific, individual, academic assessment provided that they are able to document knowledge, expertise and skills corresponding to the bachelor programme in Economics at the University of Copenhagen.

This assessment will be based on the following requirements:

  • The programme must be on the same level as the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics at the University of Copenhagen
  • Microeconomics (a minimum of 15 ECTS corresponding to Microeconomics I + Microeconomics II at the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics, UCPH)
  • Macroeconomics (a minimum of 15 ECTS corresponding to Macroeconomics I + Macroeconomics II at the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics, UCPH)
  • Econometrics/Statistics (a minimum of 15 ECTS corresponding to Probability Theory and Statistics + Econometrics I at the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics, UCPH)
  • Mathematics (a minimum of 10 ECTS on the same level as Mathematics A + Mathematics  B at the Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics, UCPH)
  • English language proficiency corresponding to at least the Danish upper secondary school 'English level B. (For information on how to meet the language requirements, please click here).


At this point in time, no Professional Bachelor's degrees qualify for admission to the MSc in Economics, incl. the following Professional Bachelor's degrees:

  • Finans
  • Offentlig administration
  • Sport management
  • Økonomi og informationsteknologi
  • Procesøkonomi og værdikædeledelse
  • Dataanalyse
  • Skat
  • Event management og økonomi
  • Diplomingeniør - kemiteknik og international business
  • Diplomingeniør - it og økonomi
  • Finansøkonom

The list is not exhaustive. It is assessed on an annual basis whether any new Professional Bachelor's degrees may qualify for admission. 

Language requirements

If you have legal right of admission to the degree programme that you are applying for you are not required to document your proficiency in English.

All other applicants
All other applicants must document qualifications on par with the Danish upper secondary school ‘English level B'.

The English language requirement must be fulfilled and documented by the application deadline.

If you need to take a language test/exam, your scores must be available to the Faculty by the application deadline. To ensure that your test/exam scores are available to us on time, it is important that you sign up for a test/exam taking place well in advance before the deadline. You should expect 3-4 weeks from the test date until you can make the results available to the Faculty.

If you have already taken an IELTS or TOEFL, remember to check that your test is no older than two years on the date that you commence your studies.


Do I fulfil the English level B requirement?
Read more about it below.

Read more about how you document your language requirements

Application deadlines

Study start in September

1 March at 23:59

Application deadline for Danish applicants and applicants from within the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Open for applications from 16 January. You will receive a reply by 10 June.

15 January at 23:59

Application deadline for applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Open for applications from 15 November. You will receive a reply by 1 May.

Study start in February

15 October at 23:59

Application deadline for Danish applicants and applicants from within the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Open for applications from 15 August. You will receive a reply by 10 December.

1 September at 23:59

Application deadline for applicants from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Open for applications from 15 July. You will receive a reply by 1 December. 

Application procedure

Before you apply to the master's degree programme in Economics, please make sure to acquaint yourself with all the important information on the application procedure, application deadlines and details about how to apply. Select an option below to read more about your application.

How your application is assessed

Prioritisation of applicants

As the Master’s degree programme only admits a limited number of students each year, meeting the admission requirements does not in itself guarantee admission to the programme. Allocation of student places is based on an overall assessment.

If more applicants than the maximum intake allows for fulfill the admission requirements, a selection will be made on the basis of a comprehensive evaluation, with emphasis on the following criteria:

  • Grades from the qualifying bachelor’s degree. The assessment of grades is made solely on the basis of the transcripts and grades submitted before the application deadline. Grades submitted after the application deadline will not be included in the selection of applicants.
  • Grades achieved for bachelor courses relevant to the MSc in Economics, i.e. microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics.
  • Relevant academic experience, including work experience. If the applicant possess any academically relevant experience, including work experience, the applicant must submit a statement which describes the experience acquired and its relevance towards the MSc in Economics.

Admission Restriction

The programme accepts a maximum of 40 students in September 2024.

Any improved grades are not considered. This is due to the fact that in Denmark it is not possible to improve grades in courses that has already been passed on the Bachelor's degree programme. Thus, if you have been awarded more than one grade in the same course, we will only consider the grade that you were awarded the first time that you passed the course when calculating your grade point average.

All applicants from non-Danish universities must, consequently, upload a complete transcript showing all examination attempts, the date of each examination attempt and the appurtenant exam result. If the applicant is unable to obtain a complete transcript from the home university, a confirmation that the applicant's transcript does not contain improved grades issued by the current home university is required instead.

Random checks of the applicant's basis for admission may also be made to the home university. In the case of admitted students, any fraudulent information in terms of grades may result in the student being deregistered from the degree programme in case of admission without entitlement.

However, any grade awarded on the basis of an appeal against the original grade will be considered. In this case, it must be clearly stated that this is an improved grade as a result of a complaint. Any such grade must be made available to the Faculty no later than the deadline for applications. Otherwise, the grade can only be considered in subsequent application rounds.

Random checks of the validity of international exam results will be carried out.

Please contact the Student Advisory Service, if you are in doubt about the rules or have questions about your entry qualifications.

If you already have a master's degree from Denmark or another country, you can, in principle, only be admitted to a new degree programme if there are places available on the programme for which you are applying for admission (the master's degree admission rule).

In exceptional cases, we may grant dispensation from the master’s degree admission rule. Read more about the master's degree admission rule and the possibility of applying for dispensation here.

Programme structure

The MSc in Economics is a two-year degree programme of 120 ECTS.

You can select from a wide range of courses such as: Advanced Microeconometrics, Advanced Macroeconometrics, Behavioral Economics, Development Economics, Monetary Policy, Health Economics and Environmental Economics – and many others.

The programme consists of 4 modules: 22.5 ECTS compulsory courses, 15 ECTS seminars, 52.2 ECTS electives, 30 ECTS thesis

Teaching
There are two types of teachings: courses and seminars. Courses are offered as classes of 50 students with a professor presenting the curriculum. The seminars offer a more practical approach with assignments, class presentations and discussions. Finally, you have to write a master's thesis.

Recommended year 1

Semester 1Semester 2
Microeconomics III (compulsory)Economic seminar
Macroeconomics III (compulsory)Elective course
Econometrics II (compulsory)Elective course
Elective courseElective course

Recommended year 2

Semester 1Semester 2
Elective courseMaster's thesis
Elective course 
Elective course 
Economic seminar 

Microeconomics III, Macroeconomics III and Econometrics II. The compulsory courses are placed in the first semester.
If you have already passed equivalent courses as part of your admission qualifications, you must take elective courses corresponding to 22,5 ECTS instead.

2 seminars of 7,5 ECTS each. We recommend that you register for seminars on the second and third semester.

At least 20 ECTS of these must be assessed with grades. If you have passed Econometrics II, Microeconomics III and Macroeconomics III as part of your admission qualifications, then at least 42,5 ECTS elective courses must be graded.

The thesis must be written during the second year. As an MSc student at the Department of Economics, you can choose freely from a wide selection of electives offered in English. This gives you the possibility of narrowing down your focus to one specialized area of study.
Below is an list of previous thesis topics at the Department of Economics:

  • An Empirical Study of Preferential Trade Agreements
  • Getting the Story Right. A Growth Diagnostic for Tanzania
  • Unconventional Monetary Policies
  • Damages from Abuse of Market Power in Electricity Markets
  • Does the Threat of Participation in Active Labour Market Programs Affect Wage?
  • Predicting Sovereign Debt Crises - Designing and Evaluating Early Warning Systems

Specialisation

Students on the Master’s degree programme in Economics may choose one particular track of specialization, i.e. the Finance Track.
To complete the specialization in Finance, students must have taken at least 45 ECTS F-marked finance courses, completed at least one F-marked seminar, and written their Master's thesis within the field of financing.

On the diploma, the specialization in financing will appear on the list of completed courses that the student has completed.

Students who wants this specialization on the diploma must contact the study administration the latest the day after you receive your last grade of your education.

Read more about the degree program in the curriculum of the MSc degree programme in Economics

See also the Faculty of Social Science's common part of the curriculum 

Career opportunities

The MSc in Economics is deeply theoretically founded. Studying for an MSc in Economics requires knowledge of mathematical theory and calculus, hard-core statistical devices such as SAS, and an intuitive feel of macroeconomics and microeconomics.

Students have the option of choosing a general approach to Economics or a more specialised approach focusing on subjects like finance, development economics, public spending policy and much more. No matter what you chose as your focus, you will attain the title of MSc in Economics upon graduation.

The intention of this flexibility in course choice is to offer an MSc degree programme full of diversity, reflection and knowledge-sharing.

The recent economic crisis has increased the demand for skilled economists enormously. There are infinite career opportunities for an MSc in Economics, such as:

  • Consultant - Work in a private company and find solutions to problems like: “Should we invest in public transport or in highways?” or “How do we get consumers to buy more iPhones?”
  • Government Official - Work within a ministry and work with problems like: “How do we increase trade with China?” or “What can we do to increase the level of investment in green technology?”
  • Politician - Many politicians are economists. The role of a politician is to decide which laws should be implemented to accommodate the proposals from government officials, the public or others.
  • Financial sector - Work in insurance or banking with problems like: “Which asset should we invest in?” or “How do we measure the risk?”
  • Teaching and research - Become a teacher and/or a researcher - teach young prospective economists and contribute to modern Economic Theory.
  • You will be equipped with a strong foundation in Economics.
  • You will be able to understand, describe and use economic theory on a high academic level.
  • You will be able to make cost-benefit-analysis to aid decision-makers solve problems on both the microeconomic and macroeconomic level.
  • You will be able to use calculus and statistics to describe the society we live in and create models that can give a qualified estimate of what the future will hold.

Student life

Studying Economics is not only about sitting nose deep in your books. There are many social events and other facilities that give you a chance of being a part of the study environment.

“Cafélitten” is the place where you can play PS4 or table football and discuss the unfair amount of homework with other students of Economics. Find “Real l’Hôpital” on Facebook to play football with fellow students; go grab a beer at “Kommunen” and stay all night for the Friday party, which is alternately hosted by one of the six departments on Campus.

There are study trips twice a year; one in Europe and another one outside of Europe, and moreover, there is an annual skiing trip to France during the winter.

These social events are just a handful of the many things that you can spend your spare time on.

If you want to improve the academic level and general state of the Department of Economics, you can become a member of the student organization called “Politrådet”.

City Campus

The Faculty of Social Sciences (SAMF) is part of City Campus and is located at the old Municipal Hospital (called Centre for Health and Society, CSS) in central Copenhagen.

Contact student guidance

Questions about the programme

For information on academic content, assessment of education, study, or career opportunities.

Contact the Student Advisory Service

Questions about admissions

Please write admissions-guidance@samf.ku.dk if you have questions about:

  • Admissions requirements
  • Language requirements
  • Application procedure
  • Accepted documentation of qualifications
  • Tuition fees and/or scholarships

 Please write admissions@samf.ku.dk if you have questions or require guidance in relation to:

  • A pending application (en ansøgning du har sendt af sted)
  • Technical guidance in relation to the Application Portal
  • Visa and Danish residence permit

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