Students who wish to study abroad may apply for a scholarship for up to two years. The scholarship is intended to partly or wholly cover the tuition fees at certain study programmes in other countries. Applications may be made for study periods or whole study programmes at master’s level starting on or after 1 July 2008.
A scholarship for a study abroad is awarded for:
Study periods abroad that form part of a Danish study programme. It is a condition that the study period abroad is fully credited in your Danish study programme. The study abroad scholarship can be awarded for up to two years. However, you can only receive the scholarship for a maximum of one year if you wish to study abroad in connection with a short-cycle education programme.
Whole study programmes at master’s level abroad. To obtain a scholarship for a complete study programme at master’s level, the programme must be included in one of the lists of approved study programmes (Fast Track list or the special list concerning studies of an artistic or cultural nature/listen over kunstneriske og kulturelle uddannelser) and it must be approved as eligible for the student grant. The prescribed period of study must be between 60 and 120 ECTS or corresponding (ECTS credit (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) is an EU standard that describes time spent and work load in a higher education programme. The credit system is used to measures credits between education programmes. All institutions of higher education in Denmark are obliged to state the number of ECTS credits for their study programmes). The lists of approved study programmes can be viewed on this website.
General conditions required to be awarded the scholarship for studies abroad
A number of conditions must be met in order to be awarded the scholarship for studies abroad:
- You must be entitled to the student grant, apply for it and fulfil the conditions for receiving it. (This applies even though you may not wish to receive the student grant).
- You must have been admitted to a study programme abroad. You must apply for admission yourself.
- You have to pay a tuition fee to your place of education abroad. You must produce documentation that you have paid the tuition fee, how much you have paid and what the tuition fee covers. The documentation must be dated, signed and stamped by the educational institution.
- You must document the progress of your studies. Every 6 months, after the first year and after you finish your studies, you must document the progress of your studies. In other words, you must document that you have followed and passed the courses and examinations that your study programme involves.
Specifically for study periods abroad
- Credit: The study period abroad must give full credit in terms of your Danish study programme. The credit must be approved prior to you commencing your study programme abroad.
- Study grant portions: You must have at least one study grant portion or/and one completion loan installment left when you commence your study period.
- Duration: You can receive a scholarship to study abroad for up to two years (corresponding to 120 ECTS credits). However, if you wish to study abroad in connection with a short-cycle education programme, your scholarship will be for up to one year only (corresponding to 60 ECTS credits).
- You must apply for a scholarship for a study period abroad at your Danish place of education.
Specifically for full master’s degrees
- Student grant approved programmes: The foreign education programme must be approved as giving entitlement to the student grant.
- Study grant portions: You must have a minimum of five study grant portions and/or completion loan installments left for each period corresponding to 30 ECTS credits that you wish to study with a scholarship for studies abroad.
- If the study is of an artistic or a cultural nature it has to be included in a special list of approved programmes. The official length of the programme must be between 60 and 120 ECTS credits. The list is published on this website.
- You must apply to the Special Educational Grants for a scholarship to take a full master’s programme abroad.
How much can you get?
There is a maximum limit to the study abroad scholarship. The amount at most corresponds to the sum received by a Danish educational institution for a corresponding study programme in Denmark. Should the tuition fees at the foreign educational institution be higher than the Danish scholarship, you must pay the remainder of the fee yourself or apply for a loan (udlandsstudielån).
It is important that you document that you have to pay a tuition fee and how much you have to pay. A scholarship is paid out for a period of maximum twelve months.
The scholarship for studies abroad will be deposited in your NemKonto at the earliest three months before studies commence. The scholarship for studies abroad is awarded independent of your personal earnings, and in principle you do not have to pay tax on the scholarship.
If the tuition fee you have paid to the foreign educational institution is refunded in whole or in part, either because you interrupt your studies or for some other reason, you must pay the amount back to the Danish Agency for Institutions and Educational Grants. If you have paid part of the tuition fee yourself, the amount you are obliged to pay back will be fixed on the same scale as the relation between the scholarship for studies abroad and your own contribution when the tuition fee was paid.
Loan
If your are attending an education after July 1st 2013 and the tuition fees at the foreign educational institution is higher than the Danish scholarship you can apply for a loan (udlandsstudielån). You have to apply for the loan in minSU. The loan will cover the difference between the Danish scholarship and the tuition fees but you can borrow a maximum of 102,617 DKK (2015).
Deadlines
You can apply for a scholarship for studies abroad for a study period or a whole master’s programme that starts on 1 July 2008 or after. You can apply for a study abroad scholarship at the earliest 12 months before the study programme commences, but you may only apply for periods of study/semesters you have not yet finished.
Guidance
You can receive guidance if you have questions concerning the study abroad scholarship and could not find the answers to them on this website.
If you wish to study abroad for a period, you should always approach the Danish educational institution where you are enrolled. If you wish to take a complete master’s programme, you must approach the Danish educational institution providing guidance concerning the study programme you wish to follow. The Danish educational institutions which provide guidance about the different study programmes are noted on the list of approved study programmes. If no counsellor is registered for the study programme you wish to follow, you must apply to the Danish educational institution where you took your Bachelor’s degree. If you do not have a Bachelor’s degree from a Danish educational institution, you must apply to the Danish educational institution offering a study programme corresponding to the one you wish to study abroad.
You can receive guidance concerning the quality of study programmes abroad, the relevance of the course of study in relation to the Danish study programme, and general guidance about Danish education regulations and their relation to education regulations abroad. The Danish educational institutions cannot provide guidance about practical matters concerning completing study programmes abroad. If you have any questions in this regard, you should contact the foreign institution where you wish to study.