Perhaps your master’s degree programme follows on directly from your bachelor’s degree, and the University, your fellow students, theoretical methods and so on are well known to you. Or maybe you are switching from another education programme, or maybe even from another university, region or country, so you’ll be dealing with many new things all at once. 

Study Start is packed with academic and social activities that equip both seasoned and new students for the new challenges of the master’s degree programme. Take part in everything you can – it will give you a good foundation for student life, and the relationships you establish during Study Start will see you through the rest of your studies and perhaps also further in your career – and life.

In Odense, you can also participate in the semester start party in September, which kicks off the academic year with a bang.

As a master’s student, you’ll already be familiar with the daily life and routines of being a student, but you will still encounter new demands and new challenges. 

You have a great deal of freedom to plan your study time, but being a student is a full-time job. Even if not every hour of your weekly timetable is allocated to classes, you should expect to spend at least as many hours on self-study and preparation.

You can get guidance and good advice on study techniques and much more via the University Library of Southern Denmark.

Teaching methods

On your master’s programme, there will be different forms of teaching and work, e.g. lectures, classroom teaching, group work, projects and perhaps even internships.

Odense is SDU’s largest campus and features a wide range of great facilities that you have access to as a student:

• Reading room open 24/7
• Study booths that can be booked for group work
• Several canteens and cafés
• One of the world’s best outdoor athletics facilities
• Swimming pool
• Fitness centre
• Beach volleyball courts
• The Friday bar
• Bookshop
• Bicycle smiths
• Cortex Lab, an innovation and entrepreneurial environment.

Odense is a large city with plenty of student housing options, and the rent in Odense is significantly lower than in the other major Danish cities.

For instance, a single room at Campus Kollegiet costs less than DKK 3,500 per month. Campus Kollegiet, with 250 student housing units, is located right next to SDU's campus, and there are many other options for student accommodation around the city, as well as a range of private renting options.

Odense guarantees student accommodation, which means that Odense Municipality will help you find somewhere to live for up to three months if you're unable to secure housing yourself.

Odense’s central location in the middle of Denmark makes it easy to reach both Copenhagen and Aarhus in just over an hour by train, and the rest of Denmark is also within easy reach.

But you will probably not feel the need to travel often, as Odense has it all, and it’s easy to get around – primarily by bike, of course, but also via the tram and buses that ensure quick travel between the train station, your home and the University.

Although Odense is a large city, nature is never far away. The campus is beautifully located next to woods, ponds and open spaces where you may even spot a deer or a squirrel.

Odense boasts several lovely parks where you can enjoy the sunshine, play ball with your friends, or enjoy the free Thursday concerts and other events. And within boking distance you will find hiking trails, mountain biking routes or scenic running paths.

The island of Funen is surrounded by wonderful beaches, and there are lakes for swimming, and harbourside swimming areas in both Odense and other seaside towns, so you can take a dip in the sea all year round – and if you prefer to stay warm, there is always the University swimming pool.

When you want a break from your studies, Odense offers countless ways to get involved in sports, music, art, film, food, politics, and more. The advantage of studying in a larger city is that you’ll never run out of things to do, and whatever your interests are, you’ll find a community that suits you.

Odense is known as the city of festivals, and Tinderbox is the biggest of them all. But we have festivals for every taste, including Odense International Film Festival (OFF), Generator (freshers' festival), the Flower Festival, Hans Christian Andersen Festivals, Jazz Festival, Rosé Festival and the Spoken Word Festival, to name a few.

Even when no festival is taking place, there’s plenty to keep you busy: numerous concert venues, street food market, Student House Odense, art museums, restaurants, creative workshops and studios at Kulturmaskinen and much more.