Master of Science (MSc) in Immunology and Inflammation

About the programme

The MSc in Immunology and Inflammation qualifies you to find solutions as well as design new therapy strategies to combat human diseases. As an immunologist you have highly specialized knowledge of and competences within immunology, autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases, allergies, tumour immunology, and related topics such as immune-pathology, -toxicology, -pharmacology, -therapy, and translational medicine.

What makes the programme at UCPH unique?

You will join an international and interdisciplinary study environment, as the programme welcomes students from a great variety of nationalities and academic backgrounds. Education includes the newest methodologies and research and is closely linked to industry. An extensive thesis work allows you to specialise, while working with established research groups and getting hands-on experience.

Who studies this programme?

Apart from a great variety of nationalities among the students, the academic backgrounds also vary and create an interdisciplinary environment, contributing with different perspectives in the education. The students have bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry, biotechnology, molecular biomedicine, microbiology, veterinary medicine, pharmacy and more.

Online Open House

Join us for Online Open House and Application Web Meeting on 8 January at 16:00-18:00

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.

Click here to submit your application

Opens 15 November for applicants from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland, and 16 January for applicants from within the EU/EEA/Switzerland.

Academic admission requirements

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

There are no bachelor’s degrees that give legal right of admission to the MSc in Immunology and inflammation.

If you hold one of the degrees listed below from a Danish University, you are considered to meet all academic admission requirements and have direct access to apply to the master’s degree programme in Immunology and Inflammation.

Biology
Biochemistry
Medicine
Molecular Biomedicine/Molecular Medicine
Veterinary Medicine

Please note that having a bachelor’s degree that fulfil the admission requirements does not guarantee you admission to the programme.

If you have a bachelor’s degree, professional bachelor’s degree or equivalent from a Danish or international universities you are qualified for admission if your programme is within the following areas:

Biology
Biochemistry
Medicine
Molecular Biomedicine/Molecular Medicine
Veterinary Medicine

Furthermore, you must have obtained at least 30 ECTS within cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biomedicine, and genetics.

Please note that having a bachelor’s degree that automatically fulfil the admission requirements does not guarantee you admission to the programme.

You must have earned your bachelor’s degree within a maximum of 5 years prior to the start of the first semester of the master’s programme, e.g. for the intake in the autumn of 2025, you must have graduated by September 2021 or thereafter. In exceptional circumstances the Admissions Committee may waive the graduation year requirement.

If your bachelor’s degree is too old, you can apply for an exemption from the graduation year requirement. If you choose to apply for an exemption, you must submit the following documents along with your application for admission:

A letter explaining how you have maintained your academic qualifications since graduation (e.g. relevant work, internships, further studies)
Relevant documentation (e.g work contracts, diplomas etc).

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.

Please read more about limitation on second degrees

When we assess whether you meet the admission requirements for the master's degree program, Danish legislation only allows us to assess your bachelor's degree. Consequently, you cannot study supplementary courses between bachelor's and master's degree programs in order to meet the admission requirements.

If you have passed courses/projects before you complete the qualifying bachelor's degree, these can be included in the assessment, even though they are not part of the bachelor's degree program.

It applies to courses/projects you have taken as single subjects and courses/projects you have taken as part of another study program.
A maximum of 30 ECTS credits of these courses/projects may be included.

Language requirements

To gain admission to a master's programme taught in English, all applicants must document qualifications on par with the Danish upper secondary school ‘English level B” with a weighted average of minimum 3 or ‘English level A’ with a weighted average of minimum 2 on the Danish grading scale.

We accept the following ways of documenting this:

An English taught qualifying upper secondary school diploma, bachelor’s degree or master’s degree from USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK or Ireland will exempt you from the language requirement.

Applicants from countries in e.g. Asia and Africa where English is the official language of instruction, must also document English language proficiency by taking an English language test.

If you have not studied a full degree in English, you must:

Either document that you have passed Danish upper secondary school 'English level B' (Engelsk B) with the minimum weighted average grade of 3 on the Danish grading scale
Or document that you have passed Danish upper secondary school ‘English level A’ (Engelsk A) with the minimum weighted average grade of 2 on the Danish grading scale
Or document that you are holding a Nordic entrance examination with an English level which is considered comparable to a Danish B level in English by the Danish Agency of International Education. And with a weighted grade comparable to at least 3 on the Danish grading scale See a comparison of the Nordic subject levels and grades: Nordic subject levels (in Danish)
Or you must pass an IELTS Academic, TOEFL, Cambridge Advanced English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) test.

Name of documentation

Minimum grade

Documentation required

English level B

(Engelsk B)

Weighted average of 3

Danish Upper secondary school diploma
VUC diploma

English level A

(Engelsk A)

Weighted average of 2

Danish Upper secondary school diploma
VUC diploma

Please notice:

There is no period of limitation for validity of Danish upper secondary school 'English level A’' (Engelsk A) or ‘English level B’ (Engelsk B).
You must send us your documentation as soon as possible and no later than:
- 1 June Non-EU, -EEA and -Swiss citizens
- 15 August Danish, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

Name of test	Minimum score	Information required for online check of test
IELTS (academic) IELTS Home Edition	6.5 (overall test score) 6.5 (overall test score) Only overall score will be considered.	TRF Number (Test Report Form Number)
TOEFL Internet-based test (IBT) TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition ITP TOEFL-test (MyBest Scores are not accepted)	83 83 560	Registration number
Cambridge Advanced (CAE)	Passed at level C1 or C2	ID-number and Secret Number
Cambridge Proficiency	Passed at level C1 or C2	ID-number and Secret Number

Please notice:

IELTS and TOEFL tests older than 2 years are not accepted (counted from the programme application deadline). There is no period of limitation for validity of the Cambridge tests.
If you have not yet completed a language test by the programme application deadline, please upload a document in which you explain when you will be forwarding the results. You are required to send us your test score as soon as possible and in no case later than:
- 1 June Non-EU, -EEA and -Swiss citizens
- 15 August Danish, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens

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.

How to apply

Choose your category and read how you apply for admission. You can also find information about deadlines and documentation requirements.

Please note that you must also select according to your citizenship:

Citizen from Denmark, EU, EEA or Switzerland (EU)
Citizen from countries outside EU, EEA or Switzerland (NON-EU)

International bachelor's degree - EU

Danish bachelor's degree - EU

International bachelor's degree - NON-EU

Danish bachelor's degree - NON-EU

Apply as a current- or former student

How we assess your application

The programme accepts a maximum of 30 students. One third of the seats may be reserved for students from outside the EU.

If the number of qualified applicants to the programme exceeds the number of places available, qualified applicants will be prioritised according to the following criteria:

Grade point average from the bachelor’s degree
Experimental laboratory experience
Relevant internships and/or work and relevant stays abroad
Relevant courses within immunology

Admission rules

Important dates

Application help

Have you submitted your application?

Admission statistics Immunology and Inflammation 2023
Admitted	27
Admission distribution (legal right/other)	0% / 100%
Applicants	144
Age average	23
Legal gender distribution (cpr. - m/f)	33% / 67%
Nationality (dk/international)	22% / 78%
Available spots	No

Programme structure

The MSc in Immunology and Inflammation is a 2-year programme taught in English, and there are approximately 30 students in a year. The programme consists of approximately:

37 % mandatory courses
13 % elective courses
50 % thesis

Education is student-centered and includes lectures, project work, student presentations and laboratory exercises.

During your first year, you will complete a number of compulsory and elective courses. The mandatory courses provide you with a thorough introduction into key areas of immunology, autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases, allergies, and tumour immunology. In your second year you can specialize in an area of research during your extensive thesis project.

1st year

Blok 1	Blok 2
Basic Immunology (7.5 ECTS)	The Immune Response to Infection (7.5 ECTS)
Computational Immunology (7.5 ECTS)	The Immune Defence and Cancer (7.5 ECTS)

Blok 3	Blok 4
Clinical Immunology (7.5 ECTS)	Electives (15 ECTS)
Skin Immunology (7.5 ECTS)	Electives (15 ECTS)

2nd year

1st semester	2nd semester
Master’s thesis (60 ECTS)	Master’s thesis (60 ECTS) - continued

You can choose your electives from different departments but the following two are offered by the MSc in Immunology and Inflammation:

Applied Immunology (7.5 ECTS)
Laboratory Animal Science, Immunology and Inflammation (7.5 ECTS)

You choose the subject for your thesis according to your own preferences within the field of immunology.

You will write an extensive thesis founded on your experimental work. The thesis is a full-time study year (60 ECTS), enabling you to start research early on.

The master's project gives you substantial experience in individual experimental work.

Researchers at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences can offer inspiration within a wide range of thesis subjects that enables you to tailor a programme that matches your personal interests.

Read the programme curriculum

Career opportunities

The MSc in Immunology and Inflammation is a theoretical and experimental programme within the natural and health sciences. It qualifies you to find solutions as well as design new therapy strategies to combat human diseases. As an immunologist you have a wide range of career opportunities.

When you graduate with an MSc in Immunology and Inflammation you have completed a research-based degree programme enabling you to work in the field of immunology. You will acquire the following knowledge, skills and competences.

Knowledge

Possess highly specialized knowledge of immunology, pathogenesis of infectious diseases, immune prevention, autoimmune, allergic and other inflammatory diseases with emphasis on immune-pathology, -toxicology, -regulation, -pharmacology, -therapy, infectious diseases, spontaneous and virus associated cancers, microbiota and the immune system, and translational medicine within diverse areas of immunological research, disease prevention, and healthy aging.
Be able to identify complex problems related to immunological research and possess knowledge, based on the best international research, of theories and methods used to address such problems
Possess practical skills as well as knowledge allowing them to critically reflect upon their knowledge of immunological research on a scientific basis.
Possess insight into the field of innovation and the research and development (R&D) value chain from an industrial point of view.

Skills

Demonstrate ability to critically evaluate the established knowledge within immunology.
Demonstrate ability to plan, perform, analyse, and critically evaluate own, and others’ immunological research.
Critically evaluate, discuss and prioritise among scientific literature and key methodologies in the field of immunology, with regard to validity, reliability, and applicability.
Apply biological models and methods to quantify complex immunological processes from molecular-, to whole body level, considering the impact of genetic, physiological and environmental factors.
Communicate and discuss evidence-based immunological knowledge with researchers (specialists, and non-specialists) or lay-persons within or outside the employing organization.

Competences

Identify, and handle complex issues of immunology research, interpreting information in a systematic and competent way to make informed judgment and design programs and solutions to problems that arise, based on the best international research, of theories and methods.
Evaluate, validate and disseminate existing data and design, carry out and co-ordinate scientifically valid and focused research, to advance knowledge in a particular problem area or issue of immunology.
Perform research and develop and disseminate knowledge at various levels based on broad academic knowledge of immunology, and immune-related topics.
Advise on, and formulate effective responses to complex practical immunological issues.
Work effectively with cross-disciplinary problems on an individual basis as well as in teams, and be able to provide evidence-based solutions to immunological based pathologies.
Independently assess and organize their own learning process and assume responsibility for continuous professional development with a view to life-long learning.
Identify potential candidates for novel targets for future immunomodulatory-, or immune-based therapies.

With a degree in Immunology and Inflammation you have a wide range of career opportunities.

You can work within the medical and pharmaceutical industries, at hospitals, within research or education.

As a graduate you will be in high demand, and approximately 90% of graduates continue with a Ph.D. and pursue a career in research.

Student life

When you study Immunology and Inflammation you will be part of an international, interdisciplinary and vibrant study environment.

Students join the programme from all corners of the world to study their common field of interest, supporting each other, offering different perspectives, and organising social events.

You will primarily be studying at the University of Copenhagen’s North Campus, joining students from other programmes within the health and medical sciences.

The North Campus includes state of the art facilities for research and education and a view of the city form the top of a 15- floor tower, which below houses a light dining hall, auditoriums, classrooms and laboratories.