Ukrainian-Danish cooperation

General information about Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark is situated in North Europe between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. The state includes the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland in the North Atlantic Ocean. It consists of the peninsula of Jutland and an archipelago of 443 named islands, of which 70 are inhabited. The total length of the coastline of Denmark is 7314km. The highest natural point is 170.86 metres. By the area of agricultural land ( 62% of the total area of the country) , Denmark ranks first among other European contries.  As of 2022, it had a population of 5.92 million (1 September 2022), of which 800,000 live in the capital and largest city, Copenhagen. The country is one of the most ethnic homogeneous nation in the world, because 97% of the population in Denmark is dane. Danish is the  national language of Denmark. A large majority (86%) of Danes speak English as a second language, generally with a high level of proficiency. The Kingdom of Denmark is constitutional monarchy. The current constitution of Denmark is from 1953. Queen Margrethe II has been Denmark’s reigning monarch since 1972. Denmark ,just like other countries of Scandinavia, has a powerful social security system and fairly uniform level of income of the population because of the kingdom has effective industrial and agricultural policy and tax regulation.

Higher education

There are about 200 thousand students in Denmark. 6,5 thousand students were international in 2006. Danish higher education comprises a university sector, college sector and an academy sector. As of 2007, there were 8 university (University of Copenhagen,  Aalborg university, Aarhus University, the Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen Business School, the IT University of Copenhagen, Roskilde University and University of Southern Denmark). All university programs are based on active research work; degrees (including a doctorate) are awarded on university and postuniversity levels. University of Copenhagen is the largest university in the country, where about 35 thousand students study, in other universities – 3-6 thousand.

 Danish higher education has three degrees:

• Bachelor’s degree – three-year study with a focus on two main subjects. The bachelor programmes give a chance to students to work in the profession or to study at master’s program.
• Master’s (candidate’s) degree is conferred after fife-year study. It entitle to work in the specialty or conduct academic research. Master’s degree program consists 1-2 main subject from bachelor’s program. It involves working on a dissertation for six months. Also, Universities offer 1 or 2-year international programmes. Mag. Art. (master of arts – bachelor + 1-year study) is a less common degree, which is awarded for results case studies or defend a dissertation.
• Students can get degree of doctor (PhD) after postgraduate studies. In general academic and research experience of PhD should be minimum 8 years, but in addition, they must prepare and defend a thesis. Students are usually accepted to doctoral studies if they have degree of candidate; the study program is 3-year.

All educational programmes in Denmark are regulated by the Ministry of Education (besides these specialty: architecture, music, art and library science, because the Ministry of Culture manages them). In vocational schools diplomas are issued after 2-year professional training program, which are based on the secondary education or appropriate vocational training.  Most of them provide access to further education in this area in order to get bachelor’s degree. These programs allow students to do practical tasks based on theoretical analysis. In addition to studying theory, students have to present a diploma project, which are related ,for example, to such spheres as agriculture, textile and clothing design, food industry, building, hotel business and tourism, information technologies and communication, industrial production, laboratory equipment and international marketing at the end of the program. The duration of training in colleges is 3 or 4 years, which match university bachelor’s program in terms of level. Also, there are programs of mid-cycle, their goal is training of professional staff. Among specialties are pedagogy, social work, journalism, nursing, engineering and etc. Study programmes of theoretical courses and applied disciplines, practice and preparation of project work. Most of the plans allow continuing vocational training and be admitted to education in master’s degree or , under certain conditions, in special candidate’s program. Small regional colleges often unite to form centers of higher education with wider profile(CVU), which closely cooperate with universities. The Ministry of Education runs professionally focused colleges and specialized schools.

Stipend

Denmark spends 8 % of gross domestic product(GDP) on education. The state finances all types of higher education institutions. Danes can free higher education, but for international students it’s paid. Students , who are at full-time or extramural studies, don’t get stipend and lessons for learning Danish language from ,,zero’’. Must be borne in mind that stipends don’t cover all period of studying on bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate degree. Agency ,,Sirius’, which operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, divides them.

The procedure for providing stipend

If you get a stipend by the government of Denmark, you should apply in advance to obtain an entry visa and a residence permit( if your staying in Denmark is more than 90 days). In this case, you should consult Embassy of Denmark in Kyiv. Don’t forget, obtaining of the residence permit takes at least 90 days, so you have to apply about it a minimum of 3 months until date of entry in Denmark.

The amount of stipend

In these days, the stipend covers the cost of studying and health insurance (in case if your staying in Denmark is more than 3 months). In addition, monthly subsidy is paid in amount of 5 thousand Danish krone (about 670 euro). Additional payments for family members, who accompany a fellow, aren’t provided. Fellows can’t get a job in Denmark during validity period of the stipend. Stipends are provided for a certain period of academic year. Autumn semester starts 1^st September, spring semester – 1^st February.

Language of instruction

Despite the fact that Danish is the official languge of higher education of Denmark, a lot of universities offer courses in English and other languages ( there is a list:  http://www.ug.dk). In addition, special courses can be organized for international students. If you want more information about it, you can contact with administration certain university or college.

Where can I get more information?

Embassy of Denmark in Ukraine.

Information about getting a visa

You need a visa for short-term study in Denmark (less than 90 days). A residence permit is needed for studying 90 days and more. Applicant should schedule an interview in Embassy of Denmark for it.