Student mobility
Denmark participates in a number of mobility programmes at higher education level.
In addition to grants from mobility programmes, Danish students can be awarded state educational grants (SU) for a study period abroad if the Danish educational institution accepts the study period abroad as part of the student’s Danish study programme. This means that credits must be awarded for the study period.
It is also possible for students to apply for a scholarship to partly or wholly cover the tuition fees of an entire education programme abroad. In addition, students can obtain state educational grants (SU) for a whole study programme abroad. However, they must fulfil both the general requirements for being granted SU as well as a number of specific requirements.
The Erasmus+ programme
As an EU member state, Denmark participates fully in the Erasmus+ programme. The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science administers the programme, including the organisation and implementation of the programme.
Higher education institutions can apply for grants to send and receive students on international exchange through the Erasmus+ programme. The programme enables students at bachelor, master, and PhD level to participate in study visits and traineeships with a duration of two to 12 months.
Through the programme, the higher education institutions can apply for grants to two types of mobility activities for students:
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Study visits at a higher education institution inside or outside of Europe, provided that the two institutions have entered a bilateral agreement about exchange of students;
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Traineeships abroad at workplaces for students enrolled in higher education.
The funding for the institutions consists of three different types of grants:
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Grants to cover the student’s subsistence expenses and travelling expenses;
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Grants to cover the institution’s work with coordinating, organising, and implementing the activities;
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Grants to ensure that more students with special needs can be included.
Nordplus Higher Education
Nordplus Higher Education is a sub-programme within the Nordic Council of Ministers’ mobility and network programme Nordplus, which focuses on lifelong learning, education, mobility, and languages.
Nordplus Higher Education is aimed at universities and university colleges in the Nordic Countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden), the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), and the autonomous regions of Åland, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland.
Individual students cannot apply for the programme but can participate in the activities via their home institution. A higher education institution applies on behalf of a network, which must consist of at least three institutions from three different participating countries.
Through the Nordplus Higher Education programme, students can obtain grants for three different kinds of exchange and traineeships:
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Long-term mobility (three to 12 months) in another Nordplus country;
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Short-term mobility (one to two months) in another Nordplus country;
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Express mobility (less than a month) in another Nordplus country.
The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science promotes and supports the Nordplus Higher Education programme.
The Fulbright programme
The Danish-American Fulbright Denmark programme offers grants and guidance for Danish students at their master’s or PhD degree programme who wish to study in the US. The purpose of the programme is to create a mutual cultural understanding through academic exchanges in higher education.
Fulbright Denmark is based on a bi-national treaty from 1951 and is publicly funded by the Danish and the American state. In Denmark, the day-to-day management of the programme is under the auspices of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.
Academic staff mobility
The Erasmus+ programme
Through the Erasmus+ programme, higher education institutions can also apply for grants to send and receive academic staff on international exchange. The higher education institution applies for the grant on behalf of the academic staff.
Through the programme, the higher education institutions can apply for grants to two types of mobility activities for academic staff:
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Teaching visits at a higher education institution inside or outside of Europe, provided that the two institutions have entered a bilateral agreement about exchange of academic staff;
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Continuing education and training visits at a higher education institution inside or outside of Europe.
The mobility activities for academic staff must have a duration of a minimum two days and a maximum of two months.
The funding for the institutions consists of three different types of grants:
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Grants to cover the academic staffs’ subsistence expenses and travelling expenses;
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Grants to cover the institution’s work with coordinating, organising, and implementing the activities;
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Grants to ensure that academic staff with special needs can be included.
Nordplus Higher Education
The Nordplus Higher Education programme also offers grants for academic staff mobility.
Individuals cannot apply for the programme but can participate in the activities via their home institution. A higher education institution applies on behalf of a network, which must consist of at least three institutions from three different participating countries.
Higher education institutions can apply for funding through the Nordplus Higher Education programme to conduct, among others, the following activities for academic staff:
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Teacher mobility;
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Development projects within higher education including curriculum development;
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Establishment of new networks.
The Fulbright programme
The Danish-American Fulbright Denmark programme also offers grants for Danish scholars who wish to study in the US. Two different kinds of grants exist for scholars:
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Grants for visiting scholars employed as an assistant professor, an associate professor, or a professor at a higher education institution in Denmark;
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Grants for postdoc visiting scholars with Danish citizenship. For this grant, the scholar is not required to be employed at a higher educational institution in Denmark.
Fulbright Denmark is based on a bi-national treaty from 1951 and is publicly funded by the Danish and the American state. In Denmark, the day-to-day management of the programme is under the auspices of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.
References
Bibliography
Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science, 2024a: Conditions for obtaining state education support for whole study programme abroad. [Accessed 6 September 2024]
Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science, 2024b: Scholarships for study abroad. [Accessed 6 September 2024]
Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science, 2024c: Studies abroad. [Accessed 6 September 2024]
Fulbright Denmark, 2024a: Fulbright Grants for Danish Scholars. [Accessed 6 September 2024]
Fulbright Denmark, 2024b: Fulbright Grants for Danish Students. [Accessed 6 September 2024]
Ministry of Higher Education and Science (Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet), 2024a: Fulbright Denmark (Fulbright Denmark). [Accessed 6 September 2024]
Ministry of Higher Education and Science (Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet), 2024b: KA131: International outgoing mobility supported by EU’s funds for domestic policy (KA131: International udgående mobilitet støttet af EU's fonde for intern politik). [Accessed 6 September 2024]
Ministry of Higher Education and Science (Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet), 2024c: Mobility for students and employees (Mobilitet for studerende og ansatte). [Accessed 6 September 2024]
Ministry of Higher Education and Science (Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet), 2024d: Nordplus Higher Education (Nordplus Videregående). [Accessed 6 September 2024]
Nordplus, 2024: Higher Education. [Accessed 6 September 2024]