Everything you need to know about admission

You can apply for exemption from the master's degree rule if special circumstances exist. If you wish to apply for exemption, you must write an application for exemption and provide documentary evidence of special circumstances. Please enclose both with your application for admission.

In each individual case we make a specific assessment of whether special circumstances exist to justify exemption from the master's degree rule.

According to UCN's practice, exemption can be granted to applicants who are able to prove – by documentary evidence – that exceptional circumstances prevent them from using their completed master's degree in the labour market.

According to UCN's practice, exemption cannot be granted on the grounds of the following:

• Labour market conditions, including that the applicant has a master's degree within a field that employs relatively few people.
• Unemployment, including that it may be difficult for recent graduates to find employment, and including that the applicant has not yet been able to use their master's degree in the labour market.
• The applicant’s motivation for pursuing a new education and for changing their career prospects, including that the first choice of education proved not to be the right one, and including that the applicant expresses a great interest in the study programme and that they have the right skills for completing the programme and subsequently holding a job within the field of that particular programme.
• Non-work related illness

If your application includes an application for exemption from the master’s degree rule, you must apply through the quota 2 scheme. Please see application deadlines and procedures for quota 2 applicants.

Applicants who come under the master’s degree rule and who have not applied for dispensation or who have not been granted dispensation from the master’s degree rule can be admitted to the programme if there are available places. If the number of applicants who come under the master's degree rule exceeds the number of available places, the places will be distributed according to the quota 2 scheme criteria.

If you want to apply for admission to one of UCN's undergraduate programmes, and you do not satisfy the formal entry requirements, you can apply for an individual concrete assessment (IKV). We will evaluate whether your qualifications can be considered equivalent to the formal entry requirements for that particular programme.

Qualifications that may be considered equivalent to the formal entry requirements can include individual upper secondary single-subject courses completed at the required level, other formal education qualifications, unskilled work experience or work experience as a self-employed individual, long-term stays abroad, folk high school attendance, a trade union representative or similar position in a workplace, volunteer work, etc. Or perhaps you have entirely different qualifications and experiences.

Application deadline

When applying for an IKV, you must apply through the quota 2 scheme. The application deadline is 15 March at 12 noon (Danish time).

How to apply for an IKV of your qualifying exam

Apply for an IKV alongside your quota 2 application at optagelse.dk:

1. Select your entry qualification
   When filling in your application, please select the tab "Entry qualification" and at "Entry qualification type" select: "No qualifying exam" and please tick the box "I am applying for admission with special permission".
   
   
2. Prepare an IKV document
   Create a separate document entitled "IKV" and upload it in the tab marked "Attachments". In this document, please describe the competencies you have that may substitute or be considered equal to the qualifying exam. Do not forget to upload documentary evidence of the competencies you describe.

How to apply for an IKV of one or more specific entry requirements

Apply for an IKV along with your quota 2 application at optagelse.dk:

1. How to document your qualifying exam
   • If you have a Danish upper secondary qualification, it will automatically be listed in the "Entry qualification" tab. You do not have to do anything further. If there is nothing, you will need to upload your qualifying diploma.
   • If you have a Danish vocational education, please select the "Entry qualification" tab and at "Entry qualification type" select: "Vocational education and training (VET)". Next please select the particular VET qualification that you hold. In the field "Graduation year", please enter the year in which you completed your VET.
     
     
2. Prepare an IKV document
   Create a separate document entitled “IKV” and upload it in the tab marked “Attachments”. In this document, please describe your competencies that may substitute or be considered equal to the specific entry requirement(s). Do not forget to upload documentary evidence of the competencies you describe.

Remember documentary evidence

We want to consider everything you have learned and achieved to determine whether it may be equated with the formal admission requirements for a particular programme. For this reason, it is important that you very carefully document all your relevant experiences and competencies and upload documentary evidence of your education, experience and other competencies:

• CV (stating your educational background, completed courses, work experience etc.)
• Documentation of all the formal education, courses, and work experience that you have stated in your CV.
• Any other documents that should be included in your quota 2 application (please see the quota-2 selection criteria under the study programme you are applying for admission to).
• Application including your motivation for applying
• IKV document (stating which competencies may substitute one or more specific entry requirements) as well as documentary evidence in support of your competencies.

Reply and decision

You will receive a reply to your application for an individual concrete assessment (IKV) through nemStudie.dk.

• If you receive a positive reply
  If you receive a positive IKV reply, it means that we have found that you do have competencies that equate the formal entry requirements for the programme. The reply does not mean that you have been admitted to the study programme, but it does mean that you will be assessed on equal terms with other applicants. The decision will only apply to that particular study programme and only at UCN. The assessment will only be valid for that particular admission year/intake.
  
  
• If you receive a negative reply
  A negative reply means that if you apply for admission to the study programme your application will be rejected. The decision is final. You cannot file a complaint concerning our assessment of your qualifications. However, you do have the option to file a complaint with the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science if your complaint concerns legal matters. This means that you can only file a complaint if you believe that our decision violates current legislation, including regulations for good administrative practice.

If you want to apply for admission to one of the available places in one of UCN's undergraduate programmes or top-up programmes and you do not satisfy the formal entry requirements, you can apply for an individual concrete assessment (IKV). We will assess whether your qualifications can be regarded as equivalent to the formal entry requirements for that particular programme.

Qualifications that can be considered equal to the formal entry requirements are e.g. relevant formal education, relevant work experience, completed courses, stays abroad or volunteer work. Or perhaps you have entirely different qualifications and experiences.

How to apply

You must apply for admission to an available place through nemStudie.dk which is the Danish national application portal. You will apply for an IKV alongside your application for an available place:

1. Select your entry qualification
   When filling in your application, at "Entry qualification" please select: "No, I do not have a qualifying exam and am applying for admission on the basis of other qualifications."
   
   
2. Prepare an IKV document
   Create a separate document entitled "IKV" and upload it in the tab marked "Attachments". In this document, please describe your competencies that may substitute or be considered equal to the qualifying exam. Do not forget to upload documentary evidence of the competencies you describe.

Remember to upload documentary evidence

We would like to consider everything you have learned and achieved to determine whether it may be equated with the formal admission requirements for the programme. For this reason, it is important that you very carefully document all your relevant experiences and competencies and upload documentary evidence of your education, experience and other competencies:

• CV (stating your educational background, completed courses, work experience etc.)
• Documentation of the formal education, courses, and work experience that you have stated in your CV.
• IKV document (stating which of your competencies may substitute one or more formal entry requirements)
• Application including your motivation for applying
• Any other documents that should be included in your application (please see the selection criteria for available places at the study programme you are applying for admission to).

Reply and decision

You will receive a reply to your application for an individual concrete assessment (IKV) through nemStudie.dk.

• If you receive a positive reply
  If you receive a positive IKV reply, it means that we have found that you do have competencies that equate the formal entry requirements for the programme. The reply does not mean that you have been admitted to the study programme, but it does mean that you will be assessed on equal terms with other applicants. The decision will only apply to that particular study programme and only at UCN. The assessment will only be valid for that particular admission year/intake.
  
  
• If you receive a negative reply
  A negative reply means that you will also receive a rejection to your application for admission to the study programme. The decision is final. You cannot file a complaint concerning our assessment of your qualifications. However, you do have the option to file a complaint with the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science if your complaint concerns legal matters. This means that you can only file a complaint if you believe that our decision violates current legislation, including regulations for good administrative practice.

You can apply for re-registration as a student if you have passed what corresponds to the first academic year of a study programme in its current form at UCN.

If you are in the social education programme, you must also have completed "fundamental social education competencies".

Application deadline

• If you would like to take up your studies in August/September, the application deadline is 15 April in the same year.
• If you would like to take up your studies in January/February, the application deadline is 1 November the year before.

You must satisfy the entry requirements

You must meet the admission requirements for the study programme, including any grade requirements, and the study programme must have an available place to give you.

Your exam results will remain the same

Passed exams cannot be resat unless they have expired according to study programme regulations. Used exam attempts will be transferred to your new admission/registration as a student.

You can re-register as a student after five months

Re-admission or re-registration cannot take place earlier than five months after you were de-registered or withdrew from a programme. This applies if the educational institution de-registered you and if you withdrew from your programme on your own initiative.

There are regulations governing when a higher education programme must be completed

The ministerial order for your particular study programme will state the timeframe within which a student must have completed the programme. You must be able to complete the programme within the stated latest date of completion, which is calculated from the first time you were admitted to the programme.

If it appears at the time of re-admission that you will be unable to complete the programme within the latest date of completion, a so-called other relevant study condition will be laid down for you, here in the form of a new latest completion date, in the event that the programme decides to re-admit you as a student.

Places will be allocated on the basis of several criteria

If there are more applicants than available study places, the places will be allocated according to an overall assessment of the following selection criteria:

• The applicants' achieved results/grades in the programme applied for
• The applicants' motivation for re-registering as students

For this reason, students should attach a copy of their student records and a motivational letter to their application for re-registration.

In case you were de-registered by your educational institution, please note

If your prior enrolment on the programme was interrupted because you were de-registered as a student by your educational institution, you will only be considered for a study place if our study programme finds – based on a statement from you backed with documentary evidence – that your chances of successfully completing the programme have increased significantly.

The programme's findings may involve for instance academic and health-related facts.

This also applies if your previous educational institution could have de-registered you, but you withdrew voluntarily before they could do so.

How to apply for re-registration as a student

Fill in the transfer and re-registration application form:

Transfer and re-registration form

Do not forget to attach relevant documentary evidence – see the section about documentation.

Re-registration usually comes into force at the start of a semester, and for that reason, we must have received your application by 15 April if your study start is in the next autumn semester, or by 1 November if your study start is in the next spring semester.

You should expect to receive an answer to your application no later than four weeks before semester- or study start.

You can apply for re-registration as a student if you did not pass what corresponds to parts of or all of the first academic year of a study programme in its current form at UCN.

You must satisfy the entry requirements

You must satisfy the programme's entry requirements, including any grade requirements.

Places will be allocated on the basis of several criteria

If there are more applicants than available study places, the places will be allocated according to an overall assessment of the following selection criteria:

• The applicants' achieved results/grades in the programme applied for
• The applicants' motivation for re-registering as students

For this reason, students should attach a copy of their student records and an application stating their motivation for applying to their application for re-registration.

Your exam results will remain the same

Passed exams cannot be resat unless they have expired according to study programme regulations. Used exam attempts will be transferred to your new admission/registration as a student.

You cannot be re-admitted earlier than after five months after leaving

Re-admission cannot take place earlier than five months after you were de-registered from a programme. This applies if the educational institution de-registered you and if you withdrew from your programme on your own initiative.

There are regulations governing the time at which a higher education programme must be completed

The ministerial order for your study programme will state the timeframe within which you must complete the programme. You must be able to complete the programme within the stated latest date of completion. The date is calculated from the first time you were admitted to the programme.

If it appears at the time of re-admission that you will be unable to complete the programme within the latest date of completion, a so-called other relevant study condition will be laid down for you – here in the form of a new latest completion date – in the event that the programme decides to re-admit you as a student.

In case you were de-registered by your educational institution, please note

If your prior enrolment on the programme was interrupted because you were de-registered as a student by your educational institution, you will only be considered for a study place if our study programme finds – based on a statement from you backed with documentary evidence – that your chances of successfully completing the programme have increased significantly.

The programme's findings may involve for instance academic and health-related facts.

This also applies if your previous educational institution could have de-registered you, but you withdrew voluntarily before they could do so.

How to apply for re-admission

Apply for re-admission at optagelse.dk.

The application deadline for re-admissions is the same as the deadline for quota 2 admissions. Please see application deadlines and procedures for the quota 2 scheme.

Re-admission to or re-registration for an undergraduate programme

You must enclose documentary evidence to prove that you satisfy the admission requirements for the study programme in question, including any minimum grades or grade point averages (GPAs).

You must also enclose a copy of your student record with your application for re-admission.

You must inform about and enclose documentary evidence of any work experience and passed or completed educational elements from all prior Danish and foreign education periods at the same or higher level of education than the programme to which you are applying for re-admission.

Re-admission to top-up programme

If you withdrew from the programme earlier, please enclose the following:

• Results/grades achieved in the programme applied for
• Application stating your motivation for applying for re-admission

If you were de-registered as a student by the educational institution, please enclose the following:

• Results/grades achieved in the programme applied for
• Application stating your motivation for applying for re-admission along with a description of your significantly improved chances of completing the programme.
• Documentary evidence of your significantly improved chances of completing the programme, for instance a statement from your medical practitioner.

If you were previously registered as a student on the same programme but at a different higher education institution, we kindly request that you give your consent to allow UCN to collect information about passed subjects, your number of used examination attempts for failed subjects, statements from previously completed or interrupted internship periods, enrolment periods and other information that is relevant to our processing of your application for re-admission. If you do not give us your consent, UCN will have to reject your application for re-admission.

Who is eligible to apply through the quota 1 scheme?

You must hold a complete Danish upper secondary school certificate with a total grade point average (GPA) to be eligible to apply through the quota 1 scheme. You must also have passed the courses mentioned in the specific entry requirements for your programme.

This means that you can only apply through the quota 1 scheme if you:

• Only want us to assess your GPA
• Satisfy all entry requirements for the study programme you are applying for admission to.

How to apply

Go to optagelse.dk to fill in and sign your quota 1 application and upload your relevant supporting documentation. Select “Higher education” and then select the programme you want to apply for admission to. 

The quota 1 application scheme is open from 16 March to 5 July at 12 noon (Danish time).

Entry requirements for quota 1 applicants

To be admitted for a programme through the quota 1 scheme, you must hold a Danish upper secondary leaving certificate. This means one of the following Danish qualifications:

• stx, hhx, eux, htx, hf, or “gymnasialt indslusningskursus for fremmedsprogede” (Danish upper secondary supplementary courses for individuals with a mother tongue other than Danish)

Applicants will be admitted according to the highest upper secondary exam GPAs, which means in practice that the applicants with the highest GPAs will be admitted until all quota 1 places have been filled. Admissions will be made according to the Danish 7-point grading scale. GPAs based on the obsolete 13-scale will be converted to the 7-point grading scale.

Adjustment of the grade point average of the qualifying exam

Grade point averages (GPAs) from the upper secondary exam cannot be raised or improved, not even by taking single-subject courses. If you do more than one upper secondary exam, the GPA from the exam that was passed first will count.

That is to say that if you completed your upper secondary exam after 1 May 2022 and take a supplementary course to be able to meet the specific admission requirements for a particular study programme, your GPA will be re-calculated if your supplementary course grade(s) are lower than your GPA. This re-calculation of your GPA will only be made for study programmes for which the supplementary course is a specific entry requirement. If your GPA is re-calculated, then the re-calculated GPA will be used in the assessment for admission through the quota 1 scheme.

Selection in quota 1

Under the quota 1 scheme, applicants will be selected according to their GPA from their upper secondary qualification.

If you applied through the quota 2 scheme with a Danish upper secondary qualification, or with a non-Danish upper secondary qualification that will allow us to convert your GPA to the Danish grading system, your application will automatically be transferred to the quota 1 scheme too. Please be aware that if you have a non-Danish upper secondary qualification, you must apply through the quota 2 scheme. The application deadline for the quota 2 scheme is 15 March at 12 noon (Danish time).

Admission through the quota 2 scheme is for applicants with a non-Danish upper secondary qualification, for those with qualifications other than upper secondary qualifications, for applicants who would like to be assessed on the basis of other qualifications than their GPA and for those who are applying to programmes that have an entry exam.

Who is eligible to apply through the quota 2 scheme?

Applying through the quota 2 scheme is for those who want to apply on the basis of something other than their upper secondary GPA. Other entry qualifications may be for instance:

• A non-Danish upper secondary school qualification
• A specific vocational education
• A Danish upper secondary qualification and you want to be assessed on other qualifications than just your GPA
• an individual concrete pre-assessment

The quota 2 scheme is relevant for those who:

• hold a non-Danish upper secondary school qualification
• are undergoing or have completed vocational education and training (VET)
• have passed the qualifying course for application to the Danish engineering programmes
• hold an upper secondary qualification but want to be assessed on the basis of other qualifications than their GPA
• want to apply for admission to the AP degree programme in design, technology and business (because of the entry exam)
• hold qualifications that are considered equal to the entry requirements after having had an individual concrete pre-assessment 

The entry requirements and the selection criteria may differ between programmes. For that reason, it is important that you thoroughly check the entry requirements for the particular study programmes that you intend to apply for.

Admission through the quota 2 scheme does not depend on your meeting all the selection criteria. The selection criteria are primarily used for admission to programmes that have a limited number of places to offer. This means study programmes where the number of applicants exceeds the number of places.

How to apply

Go to optagelse.dk to fill in and sign your quota 2 application and upload your relevant supporting documentation. Select "Higher education" and then select the programme you want to apply for admission to.

Please note that all relevant activities must have been stated in your application and that supporting documentary evidence must be uploaded to your application at optagelse.dk no later than 15 March at 12 noon (Danish time).

If your qualifying exam (or supplementary courses) will not be completed until after the application deadline, please indicate this in your application at optagelse.dk and attach your documentation no later than 5 July at 12 noon (Danish time).

The quota 2 application scheme is open from 1 February to 15 March at 12 noon (Danish time).

Selection criteria for quota 2 applicants

For quota 2 applicants, we have laid down selection criteria for making holistic assessments that take formal qualifications, work experience and other experience into consideration. If a study programme has a limited number of places, applicants will be selected on the basis of an assessment of their qualifications according to the selection criteria.

For this reason, when you apply through the quota 2 scheme, please enclose documentary evidence of the qualifications and activities that you would like us to take into consideration. Enclose your documentary evidence with your application for admission at optagelse.dk. Different study programmes place importance on different experiences and qualifications, so make sure you always check with the specific programmes that you are interested in to find out how they assess quota 2 applications.

All your relevant activities must have been indicated in your application no later than 15 March at 12 noon (Danish time). This means that before 15 March at 12 noon, you must have informed us of all the activities that you would like us to consider when we assess your quota 2 application. It does not matter whether you completed those activities before 15 March at 12 noon or not.

When we assess your quota 2 application, we will only consider the activities that were duly indicated in your application and for which documentary evidence was duly uploaded.

If you have a Danish or non-Danish upper secondary qualification that allows us to convert your grade point average to the Danish grading system, we will be able to assess you according to quota 1 rules as well. This means that you will only have to make one application and you will still be assessed according to both quota schemes.