Denmark UCEAP Advising Notes

Denmark

UCEAP Advising Notes

Objective

This document is an advising tool written by a Berkeley Study Abroad (BSA) Adviser to review

program-specific details that may impact a student’s decision to apply for a UCEAP program.

The document is not a summary of eligibility requirements, academic, housing, application, and

other logistical details freely available to students on the UCEAP and BSA website. If any

concerns you have are not addressed on the UCEAP website or the Advising Notes document,

please contact the BSA Adviser for this program.

Study Abroad in Northern Europe Info Session

Table of Contents

Summary of Programs

Visas

Aarhus University

Copenhagen Business Summer School

University of Copenhagen

Students with Disabilities

LGBTQIA+ Identifying Students

Working Abroad

Summary of Programs

Summer

Fall

Year

Spring

Aarhus University

Copenhagen Business Summer School

University of Copenhagen

UCEAP Advising Notes – Denmark Page | 1

Visas

US passport holders will be provided instructions on how to apply for a residence permit to

study in Denmark after being admitted into the program. US passport holders do not need a visa

to participate in programs lasting less than 90 days.

Non-US Citizens may need a visa in addition to a residence permit to study in Denmark.

Aarhus University

Aarhus is the second largest city in Denmark. It is a bike-friendly city on the water with a lot to

offer. There are several pubs, restaurants and shops as well as a beautiful art museum.

Housing

Housing is guaranteed for University of California students studying at Aarhus. All students live

in their own room. A variety of options exist and may be a short bus or bike ride from campus.

Students must accept their housing offer shortly after they receive it via email.

Academics

Aarhus University offers hundreds of courses in a variety of fields in English including but not

limited to arts, business, social sciences, sports medicine, chemistry, and computer science. It is

important to click on “Exchange” in the online course catalog (which you can find in the UCEAP

Academics section of the website ) to see which courses are open to you. Please choose

courses that state English only, not Danish + English.

In addition to disciplinary courses, Aarhus offers Scandinavian culture courses for exchange

students. It is not possible to take Danish language at Aarhus University but students interested

in learning the language can do so at a private center for a fee. Unfortunately, there are no

public health courses offered in English at Aarhus University.

Student Life

Aarhus University offers exchange students a buddy. These are Danish students who have

committed to assisting your transition to Aarhus. Each department runs its own buddy system

and so they may run a bit differently depending on your field of study.

Aarhus University’s International Office hosts Intro Days for all exchange students where they

provide assistance with the Danish Registry, share tips on academic culture, teach students

about renting and riding bikes, and more.

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The Student House is a non-profit organization that provides extracurricular programs for all

Aarhus University students, including exchange students. They focus on bridging the gap

between business, students and culture in Aarhus. They provide a social welcoming program

the first two weeks of each term, and host 2-3 events per week including trips around Denmark,

game nights, a weekly international night, a second hand bazar, language training, and more.

The house includes a café, concert venue/cafeteria and bar.

Copenhagen Business School Summer

Ten Lessons I Learned from my Experience in Denmark

by UC Berkeley student Garrett K

Protecting Inner Peace: the Danish Experience

by UC Berkeley student Sofia C

More Than Just Vikings and Pastries: My Dream That was Copenhagen,

Denmark

by UC Berkeley student Kamieko G

You do not have to major in Business in order to apply for this program so it’s a great choice for

all students who want to take business courses.

University of Copenhagen

Berkeley Stories - Jared H, Spring in Copenhagen

UCEAP Advising Notes – Denmark Page | 3

Berkeley Stories - Delaney L, Spring in Copenhagen

What I Learned Studying Abroad, Morgan I

University of Copenhagen Info Session

3 Minute Travel Guide: Copenhagen

Program Capacity Constraints

The University of Copenhagen program has limited spaces available and qualified applicants

are accepted on a first-come, first serve basis.

The fall 2024 application opens on November 1, 2023 at 9am and the UCEAP application

submission is the timestamp for consideration of admission to the program.

The spring 2025 application opens on April 15, 2024 and the UCEAP application submission is

the timestamp for consideration of admission to the program.

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Students may review the UCEAP application instructions and start preparing any required

documents for upload prior to the opening date, but cannot start the application until it opens on

Nov 1st at 9am. Be sure to submit the UCEAP application first, immediately followed by the

submission of the BSA application (within 24 hours) for all programs. Students may work on

their BSA application in advance, but cannot submit until it opens.

Because UCEAP has restricted capacity at the University of Copenhagen, it is not possible to

extend from fall to spring.

Housing

There is a sizable up-front cost for the housing deposit + one month’s rent, currently

from $3,000 to $6,000, that is required in May/early June or November/early December,

before departure for the program, and before financial aid is disbursed. Students should

plan to have a way to pay this such as a loan or credit card.

Students will apply for housing when they fill out the University of Copenhagen application,

either in April or October, depending on the term of study. Students living in kollegiums will be

required to pay the remaining total housing cost two weeks after the program starts.

The housing market in Copenhagen is extremely tight. You will be assigned a room in a

residence hall, a rented room or an apartment, depending on your preference as well as

housing availability. Within these options you may live with Danish students, UCEAP students or

international students. Students do not always get their first choice of housing, so try to remain

as flexible as possible. Your housing may or may not be close to where you take class. The

University of Copenhagen is in an urban setting, the classrooms are spread out around the city,

and you will travel 20-30 minutes by either bicycle or metro between home & class.

Academics

The University of Copenhagen has one database that lists all courses offered for the academic

year and is available for the upcoming academic year on May 1st. It is accessible from the

Academics tab on the UCEAP program website. The course description for any course will

always specify whether the course is going to be taught in Danish or English.

Students are required to take a normal load of 30 ECTS credits each semester in the Danish

system. Below is a breakdown of how ECTS convert to UC units.

5 ECTS = 2.7 semester UC units

7.5 ECTS = 4 semester UC units

10 ECTS = 5.3 semester UC units

15 ECTS = 8 semester UC units

After UCEAP accepts students into the program, the Univ. of Copenhagen will ask students to

fill out a separate application and they must choose a faculty, or department, where they will

UCEAP Advising Notes – Denmark Page | 5

take the majority of their courses. In deciding which faculty (department) to apply to, students

choose the field of study they have substantial background in. If you apply for more than one

faculty or department you will slow down the process of final admittance. As an exchange

student, once you are admitted to any faculty, if you want to take one or more courses in

another faculty you will be able to contact the department to request this.

UCEAP students are encouraged to take a mixture of courses in their faculty and Scandinavian

Culture courses that are just for international students. The Faculty of Social Science also has

courses about Danish Society, such as the Danish Welfare Model, Denmark in the EU, and the

Danish Economic System, that you don’t need to be admitted to the Faculty of Social Science to

enroll in.

In the Science Faculty courses are taught in block periods. The semester is divided into two

8-week periods; each is called a block. The first 7 weeks of the block are for instruction and the

last week is for the final. Students typically enroll in 2 courses per block. Blocks 1 & 2 are in Fall

Semester and Blocks 3 & 4 are in Spring Semester.

Undergraduates can take 1st Year Masters level courses. The Danish academic system

consists of three years of undergraduate study followed by 2 years of graduate study. Almost all

University of Copenhagen faculties, including Science, offer courses in English at the Masters

level, although there are some exceptions. Undergraduates can take first-year Masters courses

or “400” courses which are similar to upper-division courses at UC Berkeley. The

recommendation is to take only one Masters course at a time.

In Denmark, the final exam is often the sole determination for your grade in the course. This

may seem intimidating, but if you are ever uncertain about what to study or how to prepare just

approach your professor. Professors are informal (first-name basis) and very accessible and will

be happy to answer any of your questions.

Fall Semester Considerations

In the Fall semester, block 2 lasts from the third week in November until the end of January.

Because UCB students who need to return to the U.S. for the holiday period and the start of

spring semester at UCB would miss the last 3 weeks of the course, including the finals period, it

is recommended that students not take Science courses in Block 2, but rather take a semester

course that would permit an early final exam. Year or Spring students don’t have worries about

Science courses in the 2nd block of the semester because they can remain until the end of the

course.

All other faculties have semester-long courses, with a few possible exceptions. All instruction for

semester courses ends at or by the end of December, sometimes even as early as November. It

is possible for a semester course to have a final in January. Students who have January finals

should request an early exam from the Exam Coordinator and inform the Instructor.

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When choosing courses for fall semester, the student should pay close attention to the exam

dates listed in the course description.

Research

Students can do research in lieu of taking courses. Research can be combined with course

work to obtain 30 ECTS credits. To find a research group or a project you’d like to work with,

you can email the professor of any course you think might be related to your research interests

to find out if there are any projects being conducted by Masters, Ph.D. or postdoctoral students

that you could work with. The UCEAP Program Coordinator will also be available to refer you to

someone in the department to see if it might be possible for you to work with a current research

team. The Program Coordinator and the department will help you work out the number of units

that the research will count for. Normally a paper is required at the end of the research project.

Scholarship

The Novo Nordisk International Talent Program awards scholarships to students to study

abroad at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) at third-year undergraduate or Masters level.

The scholarship is open to students at the University of Sydney and students at universities that

are, like UC Berkeley, part of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU).

The scholarship will typically amount to approximately €1,200 a month. Depending on the costs

and length of the study period, it may increase to up to €26,000 in total. The scholarship may be

spent towards the cost of tuition fees, travel, insurance, and other expenses incurred in

connection with studying abroad at UCPH. The program gives priority to applicants who display

a strong academic background and have submitted an ambitious study plan for their stay.

There are two deadlines every academic year, late October and early April.

Applicants can come from a range of fields in Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences or

Medicine. Their studies should relate to metabolism, insulin, haemoglobin, obesity, big data or

digitalisation. Students in other disciplines can also apply with projects relating to these specific

areas.

Full details about eligibility criteria and application requirements can be found here .

If you have any questions, please email UCPH at [email protected].

Student Life

There will be a question on the University of Copenhagen host university application about

whether you would like to be assigned a Danish student as a mentor or buddy. If you answer

‘yes,’ you will be assigned a mentor group from the faculty you’ve been admitted to. A mentor or

buddy may not be available right when you arrive in Denmark for the start of the program

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because school starts three weeks later for regular students. Mentors will assist with your

transition and invite you on outings during the semester with your mentor/buddy group.

Students with Disabilities

All forms of public transportation have accommodations for persons with disabilities, though

many buildings are not easily accessible. Getting to the bus stop or train station can be difficult.

Not all student halls have rooms designated for those with physical disabilities. For more

information about traveling with a disability in Denmark, visit:

Visit Denmark, Disabled Travel

Danish Association of the Physically Disabled (DHF) Visiting Denmark Resources

In Denmark, students with disabilities are under the care of the regional county and not of the

university. This means that without a Danish CPR number, students with disabilities cannot

expect to receive much help. Once you obtain a CPR number you can get limited public

assistance. You may also need to have adequate resources to pay for assistance from the

private sector. UCEAP provides instructions about how to obtain a CPR number after students

are admitted to the program.

Please review these resources about what accommodations may be available at each

university:

University of Aarhus Support Services and Special Education Support

University of Copenhagen Student Support

Please review the I am a Student with a Disability page to review the process for requesting

accommodations for a study abroad program.

LGBTQIA+ Identifying Students

Threat to safety towards the LGBTIQ community is minimal. Societal tolerance ranges from

tolerant to accepting. Review tips and resources for LGTBQIA+ Identifying Students.

Working Abroad

Semester or year long program students may be able to work up to 20 hours per week if they

have a student Residence Permit for Denmark. Past students have tutored high school or

primary school kids in English and have also worked in cafés, shops, and even the post office.

Some students have also earned minimum wage working as lab assistants for professors.

Summer students are on a tourist visa and not legally able to work.

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