Language requirements
You must document your language skills when you have a foreign educational background, regardless of you nationality.
You must always document English proficiency, and if you apply for a Danish-taught programme, you must also document Danish proficiency.
English language requirements
What is the English language requirement?
As a student at SDU, you must document your English proficiency when you apply for a bachelor’s programme.
All bachelor’s programmes at SDU have a specific subject requirement of English at Danish level B. Some programmes have a specific requirement for English at Danish level A.
How to fulfil the English language requirement
The English requirement must be fulfilled through your upper secondary examination or supplementary courses.
Language tests (e.g. IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge, Duolingo etc.) cannot be used to fulfil the specific subject requirement English B and are not accepted as documentation for admission to SDU’s bachelor’s programmes.
Below you can see how to fulfil the English language requirement through your upper secondary education or supplementary courses:
In some cases, your educational background may be sufficient documentation of your English proficiency.
Nordic educational background
You meet SDU's general English requirement if you have passed English at a level equivalent to B in the Danish system.
If the specific bachelor's programme requires English A, you must have passed English at a level equivalent to A in the Danish system.
EU/EEA/non-EU upper secondary education
You meet SDU's general English language requirement if:
- you have passed English with a grade equivalent to at least 2.0 on the Danish 7-point scale.
- you document the number of English lessons per year and the number of years studied.
Use SDU’s Statement of Hours (pdf) for documentation. It must be signed and stamped by your educational institution. You must upload the documentation with your application via optagelse.dk when applying for at programme.
If you do not have the required subject or the required level of English from your upper secondary examination, you may be able to meet the entry requirements by completing supplementary courses.
Supplementary courses can help you meet subject requirements, but they cannot improve your grade point average (GPA).
Danish language requirement
When is Danish profiency required?
If you wish to apply for a Danish-taught bachelor’s programme, you must document Danish language proficiency. This also applies if you are a Danish citizen if your qualifications are not from a Danish educational institution.
How to fulfil the Danish language requirement
You can document Danish proficiency in one of the following ways:
If you hold a diploma from a Danish upper secondary school, you meet the Danish language requirement.
You meet the Danish language requirement if you have passed Swedish, Norwegian or Icelandic at a level equivalent to A in the Danish system.
You meet the Danish language requirement if you have passed Danish A as a single course at HF or if you have documentation for Danish A proficiency through an individual assessment.
You meet the Danish language requirement if you have passed "Studieprøven" (the study test) with a minimum grade of 2 in all courses.
If you wish to apply for the bachelor's programmes Medicine or Clinical Biomechanics, a minimum grade of 7 is required.
Programme-specific language requirements
Some bachelor’s programmes have additional or higher language requirements, such as English A.
These requirements vary by programme and are listed on the pages for the particular bachelor's programme.
Deadline for language documentation
All documentation of language proficiency must be received by SDU no later than 5 July at 12 noon (CET).
You upload your documentation when you apply via optagelse.dk.
Need help?
The admission team at SDU is ready to help you with questions about:
- admission requirements for international applicants.
- how to apply through the admission system.
You can contact SDU Admissions by email or phone.