Financing your Studies in Denmark

The Danish higher education system

Denmark splits its higher education into two main types of institution. Research universities teach a wide range of subjects, from literature to chemistry, while University Colleges (Professionshøjskoler) train you for a specific profession. Alongside these sit the Business Academies (Erhvervsakademier) and a number of artistic and specialised institutions. Most of these come under the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, while many of the artistic programmes come under the Ministry of Culture.

There are eight research universities in Denmark, of which five are full universities. Profession-based programmes are offered at the University Colleges and at the Business Academies. If you want to study the arts, you can also look at the specialised institutions run under the Ministry of Culture, among them the Danish National School of Performing Arts, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, the Rhythmic Music Conservatory, the National Film School of Denmark, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and the architecture and design schools. Denmark takes learning seriously, and it also offers a wide range of further education for adults, aimed at older students who already have life and work experience.

The system follows the Bologna process across three cycles:

• Bachelor (first cycle): usually 3 years, 180 ECTS at university.
• Master (second cycle): usually 2 years, 120 ECTS.
• PhD (third cycle): usually 3 years after a master’s.

Degrees you can earn

Through a university or a University College you can earn a University Bachelor’s degree, a Professional Bachelor’s degree (Professionsbachelor), an Academy Profession (AP) degree, and postgraduate degrees such as a PhD. A Professional Bachelor’s degree usually runs to 180 to 240 ECTS and includes a work placement. An Academy Profession degree is a short-cycle, two-year, practice-oriented qualification of around 120 ECTS (sometimes 90 to 150), with a work placement, offered at University Colleges and Business Academies. From an AP degree you can move up to a top-up Professional Bachelor’s degree.

The most common fields of study are teaching, engineering, nursing, journalism, music, architecture, and business. Denmark is particularly strong in engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, sustainability and renewable energy, life sciences and biotech, business and logistics, and design and architecture.

Universities and their funding

Public universities make up the majority of Danish institutions and receive direct state grants. There is no public funding mechanism for private universities. The system is made up of state-run and self-governing institutions (universities, Business Academies and University Colleges) that receive direct state grants, and only a few private programmes recognised by the Danish Accreditation Institution run on a fee-funded basis. The Danish government plans to raise the basic funding of universities by DKK 3.8 billion (about €509 million) over its strategy period, to reduce their dependence on external funding.

To give you a sense of where Danish universities stand internationally, the University of Copenhagen ranked 101 in the QS World 2026, 90 in the THE World 2026, and 35 in the ARWU 2025. Aarhus University ranked 131 (QS 2026) and 101 (THE 2026), and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) ranked 107 (QS 2026) and 121 (THE 2026).

Recently added funding for your studies in Denmark

See more

What your studies cost

Tuition fees

If you are from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, studying at a public university in Denmark is free. You also have your education paid for if you are on an exchange programme or hold a permanent residence permit. Students have free access to libraries and the internet.

If you are from outside the EU or EEA, you typically pay between €6,000 and €16,000 a year, or DKK 45,000 to 120,000. The exact fee depends heavily on the programme, so always check with the specific institution. A few examples for 2026/2027:

• IT University of Copenhagen (bachelor): €8,250 per semester (about DKK 61,650), with the full bachelor coming to about €49,500.
• Royal Danish Academy (architecture and design): €9,000 per semester.
• University of Copenhagen: about €18,000 a year.
• Aarhus University: about €16,600 a year, with rates ranging from €8,000 to €17,300 depending on the programme.
• University of Southern Denmark (SDU): from September 2026, humanities about €10,800 a year and business and social sciences about €15,000 a year, with IT master’s programmes up to €17,300 a year.

Cost of living

Monthly living costs for a student run to around DKK 6,000 to 10,000 (roughly €800 to €1,340) for rent, food and transport, with Copenhagen and Aarhus the most expensive cities.

Denmark has no tradition of on-campus accommodation, so you have to find somewhere to live yourself, usually in a student hall (kollegium) away from campus. A room in a kollegium costs about DKK 2,000 to 4,500 a month (roughly €270 to €605), and a private room about DKK 3,000 to 6,500 a month (roughly €400 to €870). The deposit is usually three months' rent.

If you need a student visa, you must show proof of funds of at least DKK 7,426 a month (about €993), up to a maximum of DKK 89,112.

Funding for a semester or year abroad

See more

Financing your studies

Public support: the SU system

Public support for students in Denmark is excellent. The main state scheme is the Statens Uddannelsesstøtte (SU), the State Educational Support. It is administered by the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science, part of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science. The Agency handles applications, communicates with the institutions, pays out grants and loans, and sets budgets. The Ministry does the general planning and budgeting and is responsible for any changes to the system. From 1 May 2026, the payout of SU and SVU is being transferred to ATP Lifelong Pensions.

The SU is primarily for your living costs. Every student in higher education gets a monthly grant for the length of their programme, plus an extra year. The grant is a monthly rate of DKK 7,426 before tax (about €993) if you do not live with your parents, and a base rate of DKK 1,154 a month before tax (about €155) if you do, with an income-dependent supplement from your parents possible. The grant does not have to be repaid. About half of the students who are eligible for support also take up the loan.

The SU uses a punch-card system (klippekort): you have a total of 70 monthly instalments (SU-klip) to use across higher education, equal to roughly six years. This gives you leeway beyond the usual degree length. The maximum number of grants is 70, structured to cover the time usually needed to complete a degree, with an additional year on top of the standard programme.

There is an income limit (fribeløb) on what you can earn while drawing SU. The lowest monthly fribeløb for higher education students in 2026 is DKK 20,749 before tax (about €2,781), after labour-market contribution (AM-bidrag), for months in which you receive SU. The fribeløb is worked out on an annual basis from January to December: in individual months you may earn more, as long as the combined annual figure is not exceeded. In months when you do not draw SU, you may earn without limit. If you go over the fribeløb, you have to repay part of your SU grant and possibly your SU loan.

The SU loan and other loans

On top of the grant you can take the SU loan (SU-lån) of up to DKK 3,799 a month (about €509) on favourable terms. Students who are providers (forsørgere), that is students with a child, can take an additional loan on top of this, bringing the total maximum to DKK 5,699 a month (about €764). Even if you are at a university that is free of charge, you may still need to borrow to cover living costs, books and materials. The SU loan carries a fixed interest rate of 4 % a year during your studies, added to the debt each year. After you finish, the rate is the Danish central bank’s discount rate plus 1 %, which came to 3.10 % on 1 October 2026. State-guaranteed student loans carried a rate of 2.75 % a year for the second half of 2026 (and 2.50 % for the first half of 2026).

If you need more money and have used up your SU grant, you can apply for a completion loan (slutlån). It is common to use this in your final year, for a maximum of 12 or 24 months. If you fall ill or have a child, you can apply for a higher monthly loan. If you do not qualify for state support, international student loans and loans from private institutions are widely available in Denmark.

Who can get SU

Danish citizens are automatically eligible for SU once they enrol in a recognised programme. Foreign students generally cannot use SU unless they gain „equal status” (ligestilling):

• EU and EEA citizens usually qualify for equal status through worker status, typically at least 10 to 12 hours a week of paid work. The employment must be genuine and effective and must continue during your studies.
• EU citizens with a permanent right of residence can apply for equal status after at least five years of continuous residence in Denmark.
• Non-EU citizens face stricter requirements, often needing long-term residence or a Danish spouse.

Age, citizenship and income restrictions apply to both grants and loans. EU students who gain equal status receive the same support as Danish students, in line with EU rules on the financing of higher education.

The SU reform from 2027

Parliament passed an SU reform on 4 June 2024. The new rules take effect on 1 January 2027 and apply to students who start a new higher education programme on or after 1 July 2025 (including a master’s after a bachelor’s). The main change is a cut in the funding period from 70 to 58 months for these students.

The SVU scheme for adults

Alongside SU there is the SVU (Statens Voksenuddannelsesstøtte), financial support for adults in further education. It is administered by the same Agency.

Scholarships

If you have to pay fees, Denmark offers a number of scholarships:

• Danish Government Scholarships: for non-EU/EEA students, offering partial or full tuition funding and part-financing of living costs, awarded through the participating institutions. Under the Cultural Agreements, these target especially gifted exchange students from across Europe as well as China, Russia, Japan, Israel and Egypt, and some include both long-term sessions and summer language classes. To find out how each university or University College handles government scholarships, contact the institution directly.
• Nordplus: part-financing for exchanges between the Nordic and Baltic countries at all levels of study. You apply through your home institution, which sets its own deadline; the institutions apply to Nordplus in early February (2 February 2026, next round February 2027).
• Erasmus+: the EU exchange programme for bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral students, lasting 2 to 12 months per study phase. It covers tuition at your host university plus support for travel and living costs; the monthly amount varies by country.

Student jobs

Denmark is one of the best countries in the world for work, with a very low unemployment rate, and having a job while you study is common. Denmark’s focus on practical skills encourages you to gain real-world experience, so alongside your studies you can find work anywhere from a shop to something in your own field. Because student workers are so common, many Danish companies advertise specifically for them and offer to collaborate with a student on a final project, and this often leads to long-term employment.

EU and EEA students can work without restriction. Non-EU students can work 20 hours a week during the semester and full-time from June to August. Pay is typically DKK 130 to 250 an hour (about €17 to €34), with an average of around DKK 153 an hour (about €21); there is no statutory minimum wage, so pay is set by collective agreement.