🇩🇰 How to apply to university in Denmark

Applications go through Optagelse.dk (Coordinated Admission). Programmes usually start: Late August/September; offers are sent on 28 July.

Checked on 20 October 2026 against the official sources listed below.

The essentials

Application system: Optagelse.dk (Coordinated Admission)The national application site for bachelor's and other undergraduate programmes: up to 8 choices, at most one offer. International applicants use it too.
When programmes start: Late August/September; offers are sent on 28 July.
International applicants: International applicants use the same optagelse.dk system; anyone with a non-Danish qualification must meet the 15 March noon deadline. Non-EU/EEA students pay tuition and need a residence permit from SIRI.
Language: English equivalent to Danish 'English B' (some programmes English A) — roughly IELTS 6.5; Danish (Studieprøven or Danish Test 2/3) for Danish-taught programmes.

Key dates

Add all these dates to my calendar (.ics)

Optagelse.dk opens on 1 February each year. Applicants with Danish qualifications applying on grade average alone (quota 1) have until 5 July at noon; answers come on 28 July. Check each institution's deadline for documents.

Date	What	Who	Intake	Source	Calendar
1 February 2027 –15 March 2027	Application deadline, 12 noon	Applicants with a non-Danish upper-secondary exam (quota 2), and applicants to programmes with admission tests	Autumn 2027 entry	Optagelse.dk — Apply for higher education

A window shows its opening date above its closing date. Individual universities and programmes can set earlier dates of their own — always confirm on the official page before you rely on a date. The calendar file adds each date as an all-day event with a reminder a week before.

Your checklist

The usual steps for an international student applying to a bachelor's in Denmark, in order. Tick them off as you go — your ticks stay in this browser, with no account.

1.Check that your school-leaving certificate is on a level with Danish upper-secondary education, and the programme's specific requirements.
2.Prove your English (for English-taught programmes) or Danish (for Danish-taught ones).
3.Apply on optagelse.dk between 1 February and 15 March 2027 (12 noon) — up to 8 programmes, in order of preference.
4.Upload your diplomas, then print, sign by hand and send the signature page to each institution.
5.Sit any admission test or interview the programme requires.
6.Accept your offer (sent 28 July) and pay the first tuition instalment if you're from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland.
7.Apply to SIRI for a residence permit for studies (form ST1; the institution fills in part 1), then give biometrics within 14 days.
8.Find housing — it is scarce in Copenhagen and Aarhus.

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Next steps

Sources

Written by CollegeMatcher in our own words from these official pages, checked on 20 October 2026. Dates change every year.