University of Copenhagen

Overview

The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479 and is a public university with six faculties. In October 2026 it announced a reorganization that merges and splits faculties in 2028 and 2029, still ending with six. Its campuses are inside the city: City Campus near the old centre (medicine, social sciences and others), North Campus in Nørrebro with the natural sciences, South Campus on Amager for humanities, law and theology, and Frederiksberg Campus for life sciences. UCPH is usually abbreviated KU in Danish, from Københavns Universitet.

The language question comes first

For a Canadian or American student, the key fact is simple. UCPH says that all its bachelor programs are taught in Danish and that it does not offer any full-degree bachelor program in English; detailed undergraduate information is published only in Danish. For programs taught in Danish, you must document sufficient written and oral Danish by the time the program starts, and each faculty publishes which Danish tests it accepts.

If you are not already fluent, two realistic routes exist. You can spend a semester or a year at UCPH as an exchange or study abroad student through your home university, using English-taught courses, or you can complete a bachelor degree elsewhere and apply to one of its English-taught master programs, which UCPH lists as more than fifty (54 when checked in October 2026).

How the Danish application system works

Danish bachelor admissions are coordinated nationally through optagelse.dk and assessed by each institution. You can apply for up to eight programs. Applicants with international or IB qualifications, or any non-Danish qualification, must apply by 15 March at 12 noon CET. Danish applicants who rely only on their grade average use a later July deadline.

1. Check the general, specific and language requirements for each program on the UCPH Danish pages.
2. Apply on optagelse.dk by 15 March, ranking your choices.
3. Print the signature page that optagelse.dk generates for each program, sign it by hand, and send it to UCPH as instructed. Do not upload it to optagelse.dk.
4. Upload your diploma and transcripts, and watch the institution document deadlines.

Entry requirements

Danish programs set three layers of requirements: a qualification at the level of a Danish upper secondary leaving certificate, program-specific subjects and grades, and language. A North American high school diploma is assessed individually against this standard, and specific subject levels, for example in mathematics, often matter. Because UCPH publishes its program rules in Danish, contact the relevant faculty if anything is unclear.

Fees and permits

Students from the EU and EEA do not pay tuition at Danish public universities. Students from outside the EU and EEA and Switzerland are generally charged tuition, set by the university; check the UCPH fees information before applying. Canadian and US citizens need a Danish residence permit to study, handled by the Danish immigration authorities. This summary is not immigration advice.

Preparing with StudyBrix

If you plan an exchange semester or a later master degree, build strong study habits now with the study skills deck and the academic writing course. Our Denmark guide compares Danish universities, including those that do teach some bachelor programs in English.