Student mobility

Students attending a higher education have three different options to choose from if they want to study abroad:

• Degree programmes: The student completes a full educational programme and gains a diploma or degree;
• Exchange programmes: The student typically completes a four to six months course or work placement abroad. The course/work placement is part of the student’s Danish educational programme. The exchange is either organised through programmes such as bilateral agreements, Erasmus+ etc. or organised on the student’s own initiative;
• Short-term study programmes and summer schools: The student completes single courses abroad within their field of study and have the opportunity to earn credits to the Danish educational programme.

There are no national targets for outward or incoming student mobility in Denmark. The individual Danish higher education institution and a foreign higher education institution make agreements concerning exchange programmes and short-term study programmes.

Financial support for studies abroad

Danish students are entitled to public support in the form of the State Educational Grant and Loan Scheme (SU) when they study abroad if a course meets the same conditions for recognition as Danish courses. Foreign students are also entitled to public support when studying in Denmark or abroad if the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science assesses that they should have the same rights as a Danish citizen.

The Danish state offers scholarships to students who want to take their master's degree abroad. The scholarships cover a part of or the whole tuition fee. Furthermore, the higher educational institutions also have the opportunity to grant minor scholarships to students’ exchange stay. Additionally, many Danish private funds support students’ studies abroad.

Mobility programmes for students

Erasmus+

A central part of Erasmus+ is to support the mobility of students. The programme provides mobility opportunities for students at academy, bachelor, master and doctoral levels. Since Denmark is a programme country in Erasmus+ programme, students at Danish higher education institutions can follow or complete courses abroad with a duration of three to 12 months. When the exchange is over, the Danish higher education institution recognises the credits the students have received. Work placement with a duration of two to 12 months is another way for the students to spend a part of their education abroad.

Nordplus Videregående

Nordplus videregående focuses on higher education. The Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, as well as the autonomous areas the Faroe Island, Greenland and Aland, and the Baltic countries Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia participate in the programme. The purpose of the programme is to strengthen the mobility and network cooperation between the participating countries, higher education institutions and other organisations that work with higher education.

The programme supports two kinds of activities relating to student mobility:

• Student exchange and work placement abroad with a duration of one to 12 months;
• Express mobility which is a short exchange stay. 

The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science promotes and supports the programme.

The Cultural Agreement Programme

The Cultural Agreement Programme is a bilateral scholarship programme. At present, Denmark has bilateral agreements with Brazil, China, Egypt, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and Turkey.

The programme supports Danish students’ long-term exchange and foreign students’ participation in summer courses in Danish language and Danish culture at higher education institutions.

The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science promotes and supports the programme.

Fulbright

The Danish-American Fulbright Commission offers scholarships and guidance to Danish and American students and researchers. The Commission’s purpose is to create a mutual cultural understanding through academic exchanges in higher education. The Danish and American states' budgets fund the Commissions work.

Assessment of foreign degrees

The assessment and validation of foreign diplomas, degrees, or certificates take place in various ways.

Students, who do not have a Danish general upper secondary education, are eligible for admission to a Danish higher education programme if they fulfil three kinds of requirements:

• General access requirements: Qualifications comparable with a Danish upper secondary school certificate;
• Specific access requirements: Requirements applying to the specific higher education programme – typically it includes a certain level of grades and a particular subject combination in upper secondary school;
• Language requirements: Certain education programmes require sufficient knowledge in Danish or English.

Students can apply for an official assessment of their qualifications at the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science. The agency’s assessment briefly states what the qualifications correspond to in Denmark. However, the assessment is only a guideline for the higher education institutions when processing an application for admission.

If a Danish student wants to study or work abroad, the rules of the country in question applies.

Academic Staff mobility

The mobility options for academic staff are either through bilateral culture agreements or through the mobility programmes Erasmus+ and Nordplus Videregående.

There are no national mobility targets for outgoing or incoming academic staff in Denmark. It is up to the individual higher education institution to decide on issues such as salaries, social security, housing etc. for its academic staff. The institutions are also responsible for monitoring participation rates and analysing the impact of programmes.

Mobility programmes for academic staff

Erasmus+

The Erasmus+ programme provides exchange possibilities for the academic staff at Danish higher education institutions so they can teach at a higher education institution or train in a company in one of the other programme countries. The duration of the stay must not exceed two months and it is required that the teacher teach a minimum of eight hours per week.

Nordplus Videregående

Nordplus Videregående also supports the following types of activities relating to academic staff mobility:

• Establishment of networks;
• Joint study programmes;
• Exchange in the form of either teaching, tutoring, or development of teaching materials;
• Intensive courses with the duration between one week and a month.

The lectureship programme

The purpose of the Lecturer Scheme is to provide and enhance knowledge about Danish language, Danish literature, and Danish society abroad.

The Lecturer Scheme supports over 80 locally employed researchers and lecturers on 70 different international universities all over the world. Furthermore, 27 foreign universities have employed lecturers recommended by the Danish Lecturer’s Committee, who teach students in and about the Danish language.

The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science administers the Lecturer Scheme.

References

Bibliography

European Commission, 2015: Frequently asked questions. [Accessed 23 April 2019]

European Commission, 2019: What is Erasmus+? (Hvad er Erasmus+?). [Accessed 23 April 2019]

European Commission, 2019: Higher Education:(Videregående uddannelser). [Accessed 30 April 2019]

Ministry of Higher Education and Science, 2018: Application Forms for Assessment of Your Foreign Qualifications. [Accessed 26 April 2019].

Ministry of Higher Education and Science, 2018: Fulbright (Fulbright). [Accessed 30 April 2019].

Ministry of Higher Education and Science, 2018: Grants to Exchange Programmes and International Projects (Tilskud til udveksling og internationale projekter [Accessed 27 April 2019].

Ministry of Higher Education and Science, 2019 :Admission to higher education for holders of foreign qualifications. [Accessed 26 April 2019].