Aarhus University: admission for international applicants

Aarhus University takes international bachelor applications through optagelse.dk and assesses all of them in quota 2. Its English deadlines page lists 15 March 12.00 noon CET as the deadline for non-EU applicants, applicants with a non-Danish school exam and IB holders, and it names no year, so read it as a standing date. Tuition is free for EU/EEA and Swiss citizens; everyone else generally pays, and the latest rates published are for academic year 2026/2027.

This chapter gives the five facts Aarhus University (AU) publishes that you need before you read on. The application system opens on 1 February, and the deadlines page gives day-and-month dates only.

The English-taught list on AU's English bachelor page names IT Product Development, Economics and Business Administration, Computer Science, Economics and Business Administration in Herning, and Data Science. Cognitive Science is taught in English today, but its page says it is expected to switch its language of instruction from English to Danish for the 2027 intake. The next chapters cover each programme.

What catches international applicants out

• Finish school first. AU's tuition page for 2026/2027 says a paying applicant is assessed only if the qualifying exam was finished prior to 15 March in the year of application.
• Danish. The majority of AU bachelors are taught in Danish and require a Danish A level; the English-taught list above is the exception.
• The signature page. AU says you must submit a signature page for each programme you apply for; applications completed with a Danish MitID do not require a signature page.
• No bachelor scholarships. AU's tuition page, which names academic year 2026/2027, states that it does not offer scholarships for any of its Bachelor’s degree programmes.

The Bartholin Building at Aarhus University seen from the park lakes

What AU names for 2027

The admission pages name the 2027 cycle only in places. The Danish uniTEST page says the test is held on 24 April 2027 at AU, the Cognitive Science page names the 2027 intake, and the page on new programmes lists Global Management and Manufacturing in Herning as Expected start: 2027 ; AU's page says that they have not yet received final approval. The deadlines are standing day-and-month dates, and tuition appears only for academic year 2026/2027. Neither is confirmed as the 2027 rule; check them on AU's pages when 2027 entry opens.

Aarhus University (AU) calls itself Denmark's second largest university with 37,000 students, five faculties and campuses in Aarhus, Herning, Viborg and Emdrup. This report prints no world positions from ranking publishers: the only ones here come from AU's own pages, which name no edition.

On its rankings page AU says that in most international rankings it is placed in the top 80-130 out of more than 17,000 universities, and that within Europe it typically ranks among the top 50. Read that as the university describing itself. The page does not say which edition of each ranking it quotes.

AU's top-reasons page says AU is most recently placing 85th in the Shanghai Ranking and 101st in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Read both the band above and these positions as AU describing itself and check the current Shanghai, THE and QS editions on the publishers' own sites.

Size and international students

AU's own pages give two different student counts, and the pages do not explain the gap. The top-reasons page says Denmark's second largest university with 37,000 students, while the education page says 36.000. Treat both as AU's own rounded figures.

AU says around 12 per cent of its students are international, "from over 120 countries" on one page and over 100 nationalities on another. Treat both as AU's own rounded figures.

Research

AU's Nobel page names Jens Christian Skou, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1997 for the sodium-potassium pump, and Economics Professor Dale T. Mortensen, who shared the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2010.

This chapter uses the selection figures Aarhus University publishes: quota 1 grade cut-offs for 2026 on each programme page and the 2026 split of places between quota 1 and quota 2. Those figures describe who got in, not how many applied.

An AU page on the master's reform said that a number of degree programmes at Aarhus University would offer fewer student places in 2025. That is a statement about places, not about how many people applied.

What a cut-off means

A cut-off is a result, not a rule. AU says the GPA cut-off is first known on 28 July, once the admission process is completed. The figures above come from the 2026 round. AU lists a standby figure beside each cut-off and does not define it on the same page, so we do not interpret it.

Quota 1 is not the route for every international applicant. AU assesses all of them in quota 2 and only sometimes in quota 1, depending on the qualifying examination. The quota 1 columns therefore tell you the level of the Danish-scale GPA that was enough in 2026, and nothing about the odds of a given international applicant. The next chapter explains how quota 2 works.

Second round

AU's second-round page says that there are currently no available student places on our English-taught Bachelor’s degree programmes. That is the page's wording and the page is not tied to a year, so check it again after the main round.

Aarhus University allocates bachelor places in two quotas, and all international applicants are automatically assessed in quota 2; depending on your qualifying entry examination you may also be assessed in quota 1. You cannot choose the quota, and AU says the quota has no effect on your studies after you have been admitted.

AU defines the two routes in one sentence each: quota 1 admissions are allocated according to the grade point average of your upper secondary education, and quota 2 admissions according to various selection criteria. It adds that the two are equally good. For both quotas you need a qualifying entry examination and the specific admission requirements of the programme.

How quota 1 works

Quota 1 is allocated by grade point average, and only the GPA from the first exam can be used in quota 1; a retake exam can never be used. Grades from supplementary courses you take to meet the admission requirements are not part of it, because AU says they will not be used in the quota 1 assessment. The Economics and Business Administration page adds a floor: a minimum GPA of 6.0 on the Danish 7-point grading scale is needed to be assessed in quota 1, and below that the application can only be assessed in quota 2. The previous chapter lists the 2026 cut-offs.

How quota 2 works

For the English-taught programmes, the quota 2 assessment is an overall assessment of the grade point average of particularly relevant quota 2 subjects and the applicant’s relevant qualifications, all completed and documented no later than 15 March. The quota 2 GPA is the average of the quota 2 subjects for the programme(s) you are applying for. AU shows a worked example with a quota 2 GPA of 9,7 on the Danish 7-point scale; the example is an illustration, not a typical result. If your school record has an English language test instead of an English grade, you go through an automatic special assessment which will compensate for the missing grade. You can see your quota 2 GPA on MyApplication.au.dk during June.

Relevant qualifications can raise the result: AU says it can add for example 0.4, 1.0, 1.5 or more to your quota 2 GPA. Qualifying activities are work experience (paid and unpaid), internships, passed education, military enlistment or a folk high school (højskole) stay. Without any, the application is still assessed on the quota 2 GPA, and AU notes that if you graduate the same year that you apply, you will usually not be able to document relevant qualifications.

Documenting relevant qualifications

AU says you generally need to document activities of minimum 4 months and maximum 12 months, and the documentation must show your name, the duration with start and end date, the scope such as hours weekly or ECTS points, and proof of authenticity with a stamp or signature.

Several things do not count. AU lists references from teachers and personal statements among its examples of non-relevant qualifications.

Standby places

AU calls standby a place on the waiting list. If you are offered a standby place for a programme, AU says you will not be offered a student place on lower priority programmes. If you have been granted preapproved admission from the previous year, you must make a new application before 15 March at 12.00 noon (for holders of a Danish qualifying exam the date is 5 July).

The six English-taught bachelors at Aarhus University select in quota 2 on the grade point average of particularly relevant quota 2 subjects and relevant qualifications.

The standardised test AU does run, uniTEST, belongs to Medicine, Odontology and other science programmes. The English-taught Computer Science, Data Science and IT Product Development pages name two quota 2 criteria and no test, and the Data Science page points applicants with Danish A to Datavidenskab, the corresponding Danish-taught programme.

On meetings, the EBA Herning page says the programme offers a meeting to match expectations for all applicants who apply for admission in quota 2. AU also lists references from teachers and personal statements among things that are not relevant qualifications.

SAT, ACT and AP

AU's bachelor rules mention College Board AP tests in two roles: a US high school diploma or GED qualifies with 3 AP tests from the College Board, each passed with a minimum score of 3 and from different academic subject areas, and for supplementary courses outside Denmark AU accepts the AP-test from College Board as equivalent to A-level in Denmark.

uniTEST

uniTEST measures general study skills, in Danish "generelle studiekompetencer", not subject knowledge. AU's Danish page says that it is only for some programmes, lasts two and a half hours with 95 multiple choice questions, and takes place on site at Aarhus. It is part of quota 2 for Medicine, Odontology and a list of science programmes. On Medicine the quota 2 GPA and uniTEST weigh equally; on Odontology the same, with extra points for relevant qualifications; on the other science programmes with uniTEST the quota 2 GPA counts 1/3 and uniTEST two thirds. If you also apply to SDU, you take uniTEST at SDU and the result is shared with AU.

Entrance tests for Musicology and Sport Science

Two programmes have their own entrance test: AU's Danish admission page says that Musicology and Sport Science have an entrance test and that you must apply no later than 15 March at 12.00 noon. In 2026 the Sport Science tests were held on 13 and 14 June and the Musicology tests in weeks 21, 22, 23 and 24. AU's Danish deadlines page puts these tests at the end of May and the beginning of June. The 2026 dates have passed; treat them as the pattern, not as the 2027 dates.

You apply to Aarhus University through www.optagelse.dk, and AU's English deadlines page sets 15 March 12.00 noon CET as the application deadline for all international applicants, with answers on 28 July. The page prints day and month only, so this chapter treats every date as a standing date and does not turn it into a 2027 date.

The calendar below follows AU's deadlines page. Check each date on the page when the application system opens on 1 February.

Bachelor programmes at AU start in late August or early September; Medicine and the engineering bachelors also have a January or February start, and AU says the process and deadlines are the same either way.

The steps

• Apply on optagelse.dk. The Coordinated Enrolment System (KOT) lets you apply for up to eight different bachelor programmes, admits you to the highest priority possible and admits you to only one of them.
• Send the signature page. You must submit a signature page for each programme you apply for; applications completed with a Danish MitID (the Danish electronic ID) do not require a signature page.
• Track the application on Myapplication. At midnight on 28 July you can see whether you have been offered a place and accept or decline it.
• Accept in time. AU says you must accept no later than 3 August or you forfeit the place. You receive only one answer however many programmes you applied for.
• No Danish CPR number? The letter of admission or rejection then arrives by e-mail, and you can also check Myapplication from 28 July at 00.01.

Paying applicants (non-EU) and the application fee

Students from outside the EU are generally required to pay tuition and the application fee, with a few exemptions. The Danish page calls them "udenlandsk selvbetaler", a foreign self-paying applicant, and says that for them both the application deadline and the documentation deadline are 15 March at 12.00 noon. The answer follows by 1 June, although some paying applicants who meet the requirements but rank too low for early admission get a notification by 1 June and a reply on 28 July.

AU's tuition and fee page, which names academic year 2026/2027, says a paying applicant is required to pay an application fee of 150 EUR (1.125 DKK) per applicant. The payment deadline is 15 March; unpaid applications are not processed. AU refunds the fee if you accept an offer, have paid your tuition fee and are still enrolled at AU by 1 October. Paying applicants must also have finished the qualifying exam prior to 15 March in the year of application; an application from someone who finishes later cannot be assessed.

Which deadline is yours

Almost all Aarhus University bachelor programmes require qualifications comparable to Danish secondary school English at B-level. You meet it either through the English subject of an accepted school exam, or with a test such as IELTS Academic at 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each section. Applicants with English-medium schooling from countries outside AU's list still need a test.

AU's Danish admission page adds that a few bachelor programmes require English at A-level. Check the programme page for which level applies to you; the tables below show both levels.

AU accepts the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition. Read the TOEFL score minimums on AU's language requirements page before you book a test.

Tests AU does not accept

AU lists as not accepted TOEFL ITP, TOEFL Essentials and MyBest Scores paper-based tests, and Oxford Online Placement Test, Duolingo English test, Trinity ISE III, Pearson PTE, Euroexam and Michigan Language Assessment. A result must be verifiable on the test centre's website: AU notes that IELTS and TOEFL tests can usually not be verified online if they are more than 2 years old, while Cambridge tests do not expire.

When you do not need a test

The English subject of some school exams already fulfils the requirement. AU's list covers a Danish or Nordic qualifying entry examination, or one from the Duborg School or A.P. Møller School and the International Baccalaureate (IB diploma programme). AU's country pages add what counts as English B in several systems:

• Germany: Englisch (LK/eA).
• France: an English language test fulfilling the minimum score, or a passed English subject on a Baccalauréat avec Option Internationale: Americain or Britannique.
• USA: minimum 2 years of English (10th, 11th or 12th).
• European Baccalaureate: L III - 4 years, completed after 5th grade, or L IV - 4 years (4 hours, completed after 7th grade).
• Poland: a passed English language subject plus an English language test fulfilling the minimum score; Italy: a passed English language subject plus an English language test fulfilling the minimum score.
• A completed Danish 3-year professional bachelor programme taught in English.

Everyone else submits a test: AU says applicants with an English language qualifying examination or degree programme from all other countries must submit an English language test.

When the test must be ready

AU's page on supplementary subject levels says that the language requirement of English B can be fulfilled by taking an English language test. For a test you have not yet taken, it sets two deadlines: you must have uploaded a registration by 5 July and sent in the documentation of the completed test by 5 September. Paying applicants should plan for an earlier date: AU's deadlines page sets 15 March 12.00 noon CET for non-EU applicants, and AU says it is not possible for paying applicants to have supplementary courses taken into consideration if these are completed after 15 March. For applicants with a Danish entry examination the deadline is 5 July 12.00 noon CET.

Aarhus University says that the majority of its bachelor programmes are taught in Danish and require a Danish A level, which for international applicants means Danish at upper secondary level. The English-taught bachelor pages list English B and a Mathematics level among their requirements instead. AU's pages name a short list of ways to meet Danish A if you apply to a Danish-taught programme.

The Danish version of the page says the same in its own words: because teaching is in Danish on most bachelors, your Danish qualifications must correspond to upper secondary Danish A level if you apply for a Danish-taught programme. The second-round page describes the level as Higher Level Danish. AU's Danish quota page lists the English-taught bachelors in a separate block.

Grades needed on the Study-test

AU says the Study-test in Danish must be passed with grade 2 in each discipline. Some programmes ask for more: Medicine and Odontology want a minimum of 7 in each discipline, the Spanish and French programmes a minimum grade of 7 in the written discipline and 2 in the others, and International Business Communication a minimum grade of 10 in each discipline.

Engineering and the English-taught bachelors

AU's pipeline page lists two English-taught Bachelor of Engineering programmes, Global Management and Manufacturing in Herning and Agricultural Systems in Viborg, each with expected start 2027; you cannot yet apply for them, as they have not yet received final approval.

Learning Danish once you are there

AU strongly recommends that all international students take Danish courses while studying at AU. AU's page says you can learn Danish for free, with a deposit of DKK 2,000 upon registration that you get back if you pass your module test within the specified time frame.

Aarhus University asks for two things: a qualifying entry examination, and the specific admission requirements of the programme. AU states numeric minimums for two credentials: an IB Diploma with at least 24 points and, for a US diploma, three AP tests each passed with at least 3.

AU says it follows the examination handbook of the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science when it assesses foreign qualifications. The exam must be passed before 5 July in the year of the application (unless you are a paying applicant). AU no longer gives early opinions: it no longer offers pre-assessments of applicants’ admission qualifications; applicants submit a regular application instead.

A programme can still turn you down on subject levels. AU reminds applicants that A, B and C subject levels all refer to Danish subject levels and not grades. It judges your levels on your specialisation, its knowledge of the exams of your country, the examination handbook and the number of instruction hours in the final 3 years.

IB

AU's English deadlines page sets 15 March 12.00 noon CET for non-EU applicants, applicants with a non-Danish school exam and IB holders. AU says all requirements must be documented by 5 July at 12.00 noon unless you earn your qualifying examination in the year of application. Results reach AU through the IBNET result service, with institution code 000150. IB results are converted to the Danish grading scale per the Danish Agency for Higher Education. AU recognises Global Politics HL as Social Science B, and Pre-IB subjects and IB MYP5 subjects as C-level. If you add subjects through VUC or GSK, at least two subjects are needed, at least 1 A-level and at least 1 B-level subject, no C-level subjects, and all must be passed. AU's 2026/2027 tuition page says a paying applicant must have finished the qualifying exam prior to 15 March in the year of application.

Missing a subject level

If your diploma lacks a level the programme asks for, you can add it. In Denmark supplementary courses are offered by VUC, and the teaching language at VUC is Danish. Outside Denmark AU accepts the AP test as equivalent to A-level, British AS-level courses as B-level and A-level courses as A-level, and supplementary courses from Nordic countries. Timing matters: AU says it is only possible to take 2 supplementary courses if they are completed after 5 July, assessed as conditional admission, and paying applicants cannot have supplementary courses completed after 15 March considered. Supplementary grades do not help in quota 1, because it is not possible to improve your Grade Point Average for quota 1 by supplementing.

Pass marks and quota 1 floors

A level counts only if you passed it: AU says the pass requirement cannot be fulfilled by rounding up the grade. Only the GPA from the first exam can be used in quota 1, never a retake. On the English-taught programme pages, quota 1 asks for a minimum GPA of 6.0 on the Danish 7-point grading scale on Economics and Business Administration and Cognitive Science, and for Computer Science, Data Science and IT Product Development a GPA of 6.0 and 6.0 in Mathematics A. AU says that below the floor an application can only be assessed in quota 2.

Documents and special permission

Along with the application you upload a certified upper secondary diploma and grade transcript, certified documentation of supplementary courses and certified higher education documentation, plus your passport or ID card, a copy of any Danish residence permit, and documentation of relevant qualifications for quota 2 by 15 March. If you hold no qualifying exam you can apply for special permission by 15 March, 12:00 noon; it brings no guaranteed place, and the application is assessed on equal terms with others in quota 2.

Aarhus University publishes pages for individual countries, and one for the European Baccalaureate, that name the qualifying exam it expects and what counts as Danish Mathematics A or English B. AU's own caveat is that the examination listed is the most common from your country, and other examinations could also be qualifying.

The table below condenses those pages. Mathematics A and English B are Danish subject levels, not grades, so each page translates them into your system.

Poland

A Polish applicant's qualifying exam is the Matura plus the Świadectwo Ukończenia, the school-leaving certificate. AU's Poland page defines Danish English B as a passed English subject plus an English language test that meets the minimum score, so the Matura English result alone does not settle the English requirement. Its mandatory documents are the Matura, the Świadectwo Ukończenia and an English language test (TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge), and History B is a passed subject in History.

USA, Germany, France, Italy

US applicants need to show either the AP route or a year of study: three AP tests passed with at least 3 or one year of higher education. For the diploma itself AU asks for a High School Graduation Diploma and a certified transcript, or a GED diploma and official GED results. On the France page, English B comes from an English test with the minimum score, or a passed English subject on a Baccalauréat avec Option Internationale, Americain or Britannique. Italy's English B is a passed English subject plus an English language test.

Nordic countries and Eastern Europe

The Danish page on foreign applicants says the application deadline for all Nordic applicants is 15 March at 12:00. For Ukraine AU's row combines a school certificate with a year of university study; Romania and Portugal each have a single exam named, Hungary has a Mathematics A level; read AU's country page for anything the table leaves out.

Aarhus University's English list names six bachelor programmes: Computer Science, Data Science, IT Product Development, Economics and Business Administration (EBA) in Aarhus and in Herning, and Cognitive Science. The Cognitive Science page says the programme is expected to switch its language of instruction from English to Danish for the 2027 intake, so for 2027 entry check that page before you plan around it.

The English list on AU's bachelor page names IT Product Development, Economics and Business Administration, Computer Science, Economics and Business Administration (Herning) and Data Science, and shows Cognitive Science with the note anticipated change of the language of instruction from English to Danish in 2027.

A, B and C are Danish subject levels, with A being the highest level possible. The acceptance-rate chapter lists the 2026 quota 1 cut-offs and the split of places for each programme; the quota chapter explains how quota 2 weighs the same subjects.

Department of Computer Science, Aarhus University

Cognitive Science and the 2027 intake

Cognitive Science starts in Week 35 and is taught in English in Aarhus today. AU's page adds that if the change to Danish takes place, you would need qualifications in both Danish (level A) and English (level B) to apply, and that it expects the change to take effect around 1 December 2026. That date falls before the application system opens on 1 February. If the change takes place, applicants for the 2027 intake would need Danish A and English B, so re-check this page after 1 December 2026 and keep another programme from the table as a fallback.

Computer Science, Data Science and IT Product Development

The three programmes share the same entry subjects, English B and Mathematics A, and the same quota 1 floor: a GPA of 6.0 and 6.0 in Mathematics A. The Data Science page adds that the international programme has limited spots and is intended for international students, and advises applicants with Danish A to apply for the Danish-taught Datavidenskab first.

Economics and Business Administration

AU says the EBA language of instruction is English and all literature is in English. Courses consist of lectures, classroom instruction and study groups, with approximately 20 hours of teaching per week and about the same time expected for preparation. In the sixth semester you write a Bachelor's project in a business administration subject. The bachelor gives legal right of admission to the Master’s degree programme in Economics and Business Administration (cand.merc.), where the right applies to the 1-year programme. AU's page on new educational opportunities, in a section written for an earlier bachelor intake, says that an AU bachelor's holder is guaranteed admission to a Master’s degree programme at the university (retskrav). A national reform will come into effect for Master’s degree admissions in 2028, so check that this right still applies to your programme.

Engineering in English

AU's engineering page for international students lists Master of Science in Engineering programmes, not a bachelor. The pipeline page does list two English-taught Bachelor of Engineering programmes: Global Management and Manufacturing in Herning, Expected start: 2027, and Agricultural Systems in Viborg, Expected start: 2027. AU's own words on the page are that you cannot yet apply for these programmes, as they have not yet received final approval. Do not plan an application around them until AU lists them as open.

For scale, AU's education page says it offers more than 50 complete programmes in English at Bachelor’s and Master’s level; the six above are its bachelor part.

Medicine, Odontology (dentistry), Psychology and Law at Aarhus University are Danish-taught, and AU says its Danish-taught bachelors require Danish at A-level. For Medicine and Odontology the Study-test in Danish must be passed with a minimum of 7 in each discipline if you use that route to Danish A.

AU's second-round page says the same for every Danish-taught bachelor: these programmes require Danish at A-level, which is Higher Level Danish. The previous chapter lists the ways to show it.

A cut-off is a result of the round, not a minimum: AU says the GPA cut-off is first known on 28 July, so 2027 values appear only then. The acceptance-rate chapter explains how to read it.

Medicine

AU's Medicine page says quota 1 requires a GPA of at least 6,0 (kvote 1) in the qualifying exam, and otherwise you must apply in quota 2 by 15 March. In quota 2 AU assesses your application on two criteria of equal weight (50/50): the GPA of the quota 2 subjects and your uniTEST result. The uniTEST for Medicine and the science programmes is held on 24 April 2027, with a make-up test on 28 April for those who were ill. Study starts in week 34 (summer start) and week 4 (winter start); if more people are admitted to the summer start than there are places, the youngest are offered the winter start. AU says the process and deadlines are the same regardless of summer or winter start.

Odontology

Odontology follows the same pattern with an extra element. Quota 2 combines your quota 2 GPA and your uniTEST result, which weigh equally, and AU's uniTEST page adds that you can get points for relevant qualifications. The 2026 place split lists Odontology with summer start only.

Psychology and Law

In the 2026 split Psychology has 90 per cent of places in quota 1 and Law 90 per cent, leaving the rest to quota 2. AU's examples of relevant qualifications for Law quota 2 are work experience such as legal secretary, higher education in the social science area, and relevant internships with a legal focus.

Aarhus University programme pages quote Prosa salary lists from January 2023, such as an average of 41,773 DKK a month for IT Product Development bachelors, plus career services. One AU page says graduates get a 1-year job seeking period with their study permit, while other AU pages describe the post-study stay differently.

Treat the figures below as a snapshot, not a forecast. The Computer Science page says its list shows what the salary was in January 2023 for privately employed individuals in Denmark with up to 2 years of work experience, 37 hours/week, with Prosa named as the source. We print only the IT Product Development figures from these lists.

The IT Product Development master row is a different degree from the bachelor, and the page discloses no bachelor quartiles. About Computer Science, AU's own page says its graduates are in very high demand for well-paid jobs in and around Aarhus or abroad. That is AU's statement, not an independent measurement.

Typical jobs on programme pages

The Economics and Business Administration page says many graduates go on to work as consultants, project managers or analysts, in industrial companies or the service sector, with accounting, sales and advertising also named. The Cognitive Science page says graduates are interesting to employers in IT, product design and neuroscience research. Students can always ask AU Career Services for advice and assistance with getting onto the Danish labour market.

Master's degree and staying in Denmark

An AU bachelor can lead to an AU master: AU's page, in a section written for an earlier bachelor intake, says a holder of a bachelor from AU is guaranteed admission to a Master’s degree programme at the university, which AU calls the legal right of admission (retskrav). A national reform will come into effect for Master’s degree admissions in 2028 and AU says some master's programmes will be converted from two-year programmes to one-year programmes.

For staying on after graduation, AU's page says students who complete a higher education programme in Denmark automatically get a 1-year job seeking period with their study permit, passport validity permitting. If you are offered a job in that period, you can apply for a work permit without limitations or for a residence and work permit based on the job offered. Other AU pages describe the post-study stay differently; the residence permit chapter sets them side by side.

Tuition at Aarhus University is free for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens. For students from outside the EU/EEA, AU's bachelor fee list for academic year 2026/2027 shows 13,000 EUR a year for Cognitive Science (English taught), and AU's international site gives a wider range of €8,000 to €17,300 a year without naming the level. That is the latest list AU has published, so do not read these as the 2027/2028 fee.

AU's fee list is a PDF whose columns are the bachelor's degree programme, the faculty and the annual tuition fee in EUR (60 ECTS). Which price applies depends on the programme; we print only the Cognitive Science row, so check your own programme in the PDF.

AU's international site quotes a range, saying that for others, tuition fees range from €8,000 to €17,300 annually, without naming the level. For a bachelor, use the programme row in the fee PDF. Tuition is paid per semester (30 ECTS) and AU does not accept payments in instalments.

Who pays

AU's tuition page for 2026/2027 says that students from outside the EU are generally required to pay tuition and application fee, with a few exemptions, and EU/EEA and Swiss citizens are not liable. You are assessed as a paying applicant if you are not an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen and do not have a Danish residence that exempts you from payment of tuition fees, and also do not have a permanent address in Denmark at the time of the application.

The exemptions AU lists include a permanent residence permit in Denmark, including Greenland and the Faroe Islands, a permanent residence permit in another Nordic country that you maintain while enrolled, EU status, or dual nationality when you enter Denmark as an EU/EEA citizen, a temporary permit under Law no. 2055 of 16 November 2021 for persons who supported Danish authorities in Afghanistan, and a temporary permit under Law no. 324 of 16 March 2022 for persons displaced from Ukraine. It does not exempt everyone with a Danish permit: applicants with a temporary work permit in Denmark, such as a green card, must pay the application fee, and a non-EU student with an EU/EEA residence permit but no EU/EEA citizenship cannot be exempted from paying tuition fees.

Paying and getting a refund

The study residence permit depends on payment, so AU's 2026/2027 tuition page strongly recommends paying as soon as possible and no later than 15 June. After that date the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration spends up to two months processing your application for a study residence permit. A full refund is possible if you contact AU before study start; no refund is made after the start of a semester. If you receive credit transfer for previous studies, your tuition fees will be reduced.

Living costs

AU's cost-of-living page offers monthly budgets from current master's students, for example €770 with a shared flat (rent €335), €1,045 with a private flat (rent €485), and €1,093 with rent of €696. One student mentions a monthly public transport pass at 420 DKK. These are individual examples of master's students, not an average for bachelor students.

The tuition fee does not cover everything: AU says books and other course material are not covered, no living expenses are covered, and once you have a Danish CPR number health insurance is covered by the Danish state.

Aarhus University's tuition page, which names academic year 2026/2027, says that it does not offer scholarships for any of its Bachelor’s degree programmes. The funding that remains is the absence of tuition for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, a possible Danish state grant called SU, and a few ways to lower or recover what you paid.

For EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, AU's tuition page says they are not liable to pay fees. Non-EU students pay tuition, with the rates in the previous chapter, and AU has no bachelor scholarship to offset it. A general AU page gives a range of €8,000 to €17,300 annually for those who pay, without naming a level.

SU, the Danish state grant

After you apply, AU's pages point to the Danish scheme with the question how do you apply for SU, the Danish students’ Grants and Loans Scheme. One current master's student from Hungary lists SU €800 in a monthly budget, which is a personal example and not a rule.

Non-EU students need to read the other side of this. AU's page for incoming students says that on a student residence permit you must support yourself and SIRI can revoke your student residence permit if you receive social assistance benefits, and it names housing benefits and State study grants (S.U.) as examples of public benefits. Check your own position with the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration before you count on SU.

Housing at Aarhus University depends on your student classification: AU says the housing alternatives available to you are determined by your student classification. For non-EU full-degree students, AU only offers temporary housing for 6-12 months, and the rents below are individual student examples.

Start early, whichever group you belong to: AU warns that finding a room in August and September is more or less impossible, and it advises against taking the chance.

The two EU pages differ, and one of them still says that most housing for the spring of 2025 has already been rented out, a semester that has passed. Ask AU Housing which applies before you plan around either. One of the pages is written for students from EU countries, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.

The housing guarantee

A Danish-language AU programme page says there is a housing guarantee (boliggaranti) for new students who are moving to the city: it applies to all newly admitted students on a programme in Aarhus starting in the autumn semester. The EU page describes a housing guarantee provided by the Municipality of Aarhus that you can subscribe to between 1.2.-15.8.. Ask AU Housing whether this is the same guarantee as the Danish programme page's, and how it interacts with an AU Housing offer.

What it costs

AU Housing charges a booking fee of 600 DKK if you accept an offer and nothing if you decline. After an offer, payment and acceptance must arrive within 2 days or the offer is cancelled. Two current master's students list monthly rent of €335 in a shared apartment and €696 at Basecamp; use them as examples, not as typical rents for bachelor students.

Student life at Aarhus University starts with the AU Intro Days, which the International Centre arranges with the 5 faculties and the local student house, Studenterhus Aarhus. AU says you will join a group of more than 4000 international students, representing more than 120 nationalities, and describes its study environment as informal.

AU's International Centre offers a full induction and introduction programme as well as support and guidance throughout your time at AU. That is AU describing its own service.

Social life and events

AU's student life pages describe a few traditions. The Kapsejlads is a boat race in which students from different associations race against each other for “The Golden bedpan”; a Danish programme page says it takes place in the University Park in front of around twenty thousand fellow students.

There are clubs and organizations through AU, many of which operate in both Danish and English. On the Economics and Business Administration page, AU names StudenterLauget, a student association at Aarhus BSS, which is responsible for the Friday bars, the annual skiing trip and the Freshers’ Week for new students.

The city and the campuses

The main campus is in Aarhus, with further campuses in Herning, Viborg and Emdrup. AU describes its Aarhus campus as situated in the beautiful University Park. A Danish programme page adds that in Aarhus close to every 5th inhabitant is a student, with beaches and forest a short bike ride away.

Study culture

AU says that its study environment is informal, with open and critical discussions between students and professors. Treat this as AU's own description.

Non-EU students need a student residence permit from the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI), and AU says you must apply before you arrive in Denmark. AU starts the permit process after your tuition payment is confirmed, and it can take up to two months. EU/EEA students apply for a residence certificate after arrival, and Nordic citizens need neither.

The non-EU permit step by step

The application and documentation deadline for non-EU bachelor applicants is 15 March. The permit comes after admission and payment: AU says you cannot obtain a study residence permit in Denmark without having paid the tuition fee. Once payment is confirmed, AU starts the ST1 student residence permit process and fills in part 1 of the application, and you have 2 weeks to fill in the second part.

For exchange (semester) students the residence permit page states a monthly amount equivalent to Danish student grants, DKK 7,086 at the 2025 level; that figure is written for exchange students, not for degree students. The permit is generally valid for the prescribed time to complete your degree and can be extended by a maximum of one year beyond the prescribed degree completion time, plus 6 months for job search. If you study abroad, you can stay outside Denmark for up to six months.

Working while you study

Without an electronic tax card, your employer must withhold 55% of your salary. Check the number of hours you may work on SIRI's pages before you take a job. AU's residence permit page adds that SIRI can revoke your student residence permit if you receive social assistance benefits.

Staying after graduation: AU's pages differ

AU's pages describe the post-study stay in different ways. The page on extending your stay says graduates automatically get a 1-year job seeking period with their study permit. The bachelor permit page says it is standard practice to grant students a three-year residence permit after they complete their degree so they can look for a job, and the top-reasons page says the green card permit is valid for an additional three years after completion of the degree. Ask SIRI before you count on either length.

Aarhus University suits you if you want one of its six English-taught bachelors, or if you hold Danish A, and it is cheapest if you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, since tuition is free for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens. It is harder if you are from outside the EU and still in school: AU's 2026/2027 tuition page says a paying applicant must have finished the qualifying exam prior to 15 March in the year of application, and, according to AU's international site, pays €8,000 to €17,300 a year (the site names no level).

Outside those six programmes, AU says the majority of its bachelor programmes are taught in Danish and require a Danish A level. All international applicants are automatically assessed in quota 2, so what you did beyond school grades can matter.

Read the cut-offs as results of the 2026 round, not as 2027 requirements. Cognitive Science is the one to check first, because AU expects it to move to Danish for the 2027 intake.

Before 1 February, use the time to settle the points where AU's pages are silent or disagree: the 2027 fee, the post-study permit, and the EU housing route. Each chapter above names the gap and the page to check.

Official pages of Aarhus University, UCAS, gov.uk and the ranking publishers. Applicant reports, where shown, are self-reported and labelled.

Top reasons to choose Aarhus University · Deadlines and important dates to remember when applying at AU · Tuition fees and application fee at Aarhus University · Education at Aarhus University · Cost of Living in Aarhus, Denmark as a student, PhD, or researcher · Language requirements at AU · What you need to know about Quota 1 and 2 · Bachelor at Aarhus University · Bachelor's degree programme in Cognitive Science · How to send your application for Aarhus University · uniTEST – Hvad går det ud på? · New Bachelor's programmes in pipeline · General international information · AU in the world rankings · Nobel Laureates · New educational opportunities at Aarhus University · Computer Science · Kvotefordeling · Data Science · IT Product Development · Bachelor's degree programme in Economics and Business Administration · Bachelor's degree in Economics and Business Administration in Herning · Second Round Intake · Standby and preapproved admission at Aarhus University · Aarhus University logo · Supplementary subject levels · Specifikke adgangskrav · Bacheloruddannelsen i Idrætsvidenskab · Bacheloruddannelsen i Musikvidenskab - Aarhus Universitet · Ansøgningsfrister og deadlines for at søge ind på AU · What happens after you have sent your application · Udenlandske ansøgere · Sprogkrav på Aarhus Universitets bacheloruddannelser · Germany · France · European Baccalureate · Poland · Italy · International Baccalaureate (IB) · Learn Danish · Pre-assessment · Dispensation · Spain · Norway · Sweden · Finland · Hungary · Ukraine · Romania · Portugal · International Engineering Degree - AU Engineering, Aarhus University · Bacheloruddannelsen i Medicin · Bacheloruddannelsen i Odontologi (tandlæge) · Bacheloruddannelsen i Psykologi · Bacheloruddannelsen i Jura · Extending your stay in Denmark? · Tuition_Fee_Bachelor_2026-2027.pdf (bachelor.au.dk, linked as "Check tuition fee rates" for academic year 2026/2027) · https://international.au.dk/life/studentscomingtoau/prepareyourarrival/residence-permitcertificate · Housing options for international students at AU · Housing Through AU for Non-EU Students · Housing Options for EU Full-Degree Students Arriving at Aarhus University · Apply for housing through AU Housing · AU Intro Days · Student Life at Aarhus University - Aarhus, Denmark · Socialising and making friends · Student residence permit · Working in Denmark

Photos: Aarhus University main building seen from the University Park: photo Villy Fink Isaksen, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons · The Bartholin Building at Aarhus University seen from the park lakes: photo RhinoMind, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons · Department of Computer Science, Aarhus University: photo Mikkelmk, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons