Strong interest in SDU's education programmes
Despite new admission requirements, SDU is experiencing an overall increase in applications. The university's education programmes are attracting great interest from Danish and international applicants, and new programmes such as Psychology in Esbjerg are attracting record numbers of applicants.
This year, the University of Southern Denmark has received more than 20,000 applications for its bachelor and professional bachelor's degree programmes, which is more compared to last year. This is according to the preliminary figures after the quota 1 application deadline, which expired at 12:00 on 5 July. This is despite the fact that SDU has introduced a minimum grade requirement of 7.0 for admission to almost all education programmes.
- We are pleased that more people have applied to SDU - even though we have introduced a general grade requirement of 7.0 in quota 1 and tightened the admission requirements in quota 2. This confirms that we are on the right track: We want to ensure a better match between students and the education programme and create even better learning environments at SDU, where students thrive and have the best conditions for development. Our ambition is to educate skilled graduates who are well equipped for a labour market with high demands, says Helle Waagepetersen, Pro-rector at SDU.
High interest in the major education programmes
SDU's large and popular education programmes in law, medicine and business administration attract many applicants, which make up a significant proportion of the total number of applications.
Psychology in Esbjerg, which is admitting students for the first time this year, has received as many as 806 applications - a testament to the university's focus on strong, regional educational environments. This also applies to SDU Kolding, where Business Economics and International Business Communication in English with Social Media play a key role in maintaining a stable number of applications.
In Sønderborg, applications remain at the high level set with a record number of applicants in 2024. The technical diploma and civil engineering programmes in particular attract many applicants - especially for the education programmes in Electronics and Mechanical Engineering. SDU's educational environment in Sønderborg maintains its relevance and attractiveness.
Increasing first priority numbers
At the same time, there is an increase in the number of first priority applications to SDU's education programmes compared to previous years. In particular, there are increases in first priority applications for education programmes within the health sciences and natural sciences.
- It is very positive that we are seeing both high and increasing interest in some of our largest and most sought-after education programmes - both in health sciences and natural sciences. This shows that we are strong in our core programmes, says Helle Waagepetersen.
A new intake and a long-term strategy
The 7.0 grade requirement was decided by SDU's executive board in 2023 as part of the university's strategy to strengthen the quality of education, reduce dropout rates and ensure a better match between students and study choices.
- We know that students who start with a solid academic foundation are more likely to thrive and achieve better results in their education programme. That's why we maintain our ambition to attract the right students - not necessarily as many as possible. Committed and talented students are essential for SDU to deliver top-class learning and education programme. We need strong graduates from all disciplines - in the humanities/humanities, social sciences, health sciences and the STEM areas (science, technology, engineering and maths), says Helle Waagepetersen.
Unfortunately, the humanities education programmes are experiencing a decline in applications again this year. This is partly due to the higher admission requirements, but it also reflects a broader trend whereby applications have fallen in favour of STEM programme over a number of years.
Answers on the way on 28 July
Applicants who have applied to SDU will receive an answer on 28 July. They then have until 4 August to confirm whether they want to accept a student place. In the meantime, SDU is working to create the best possible framework for a good study start for the prospective student(s).