Entry requirements

The following Bachelor Programmes from SDU and from other Danish universities offer access to the Master´s Programme in Population Studies:

• Sociology 
• Political Science 
• Biology 
• Applied Mathematics 
• Computer Science 
• Economics and Business Administration 
• Public Health 
• Mathematics 
• Mathematics-Economics 
• Economics 
• Medicine 
• Physics 
• Geography 

We require 20 ECTS in demography and population studies related courses. There is a minimum requirement of at least 10 ECTS in a quantitative foundation, while the other 10 can be from a variety of related fields. Both of the 10 + 10 must be fulfilled to be admitted to the programme. It is your responsibility to argue why the degree and its courses are relevant.

Such as any course on population studies aspects, i.e. mortality, fertility, migration, ageing societies, demographic impact on welfare states, political consequences of demographic changes or other demographic change and its related aspects.

Note: This list is not exhaustive. Courses cannot count towards both the quantitative foundation (10 ECTS) and subject-specific requirements (10 ECTS)

In addition to the above-mentioned ECTS requirements, we require:

• 5 ECTS of a course on Research Methodology and Theory of Science or
• a Bachelor thesis (Minimum 10 ECTS). A thesis is defined as an independent scientific work written at the end of the study program.

If your qualifying degree does not contain ECTS points – you need to fill out this self-assessment form.

English language requirements

The programme is taught in English. Therefore, you are required to submit proof of your English proficiency unless your Bachelor's gives you a legal claim for admission. See the English language requirements.

Supplementing your degree

It is possible to supplement your Bachelor’s degree with the course Introduction to R (5 ECTS) to meet the admission requirements. The course is offered at SDU in August and must be completed before study start.

Introduction to R
The purpose of the course is to introduce the students to the programming language R. R is one of the most widely used programming languages in Population Studies and other quantitative sciences. In the course, students will get to work with and analyse data from a broad range of disciplines: health, population, economics. By the end of the course, the students will be able to use general programming features, analyse and visualise data.

Ranking criteria

This programme has a limited number of study places. If the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of available study places, study places are allocated between two sorting groups, non-fee-paying and fee-paying applicants. All applicants are assessed according to the following ranking criteria.

• Grades in key subject areas related to Population Studies: Demography, Statistics, Mathematics, and Quantitative Methods. A grade of 02 (according to the Danish 7-point grading scale) in a subject area will give 0.5 point, a grade of 4 will give 1 point, a grade of 7 will give 2 points, a grade of 10 will give 3 points, a grade of 12 will give 4 points. Note that grades obtained after the application deadline are not included.
• Statement of academic interest (0-4 points). In your application, you must upload a statement of academic interest in which you describe how your courses and the knowledge you have gained during your Bachelor’s degree have prepared you for pursuing the Master’s degree programme in Population Studies. You have a maximum of 400 words. Writing more than 400 words will lead to a reduction in points.  

Points for grades in key subject areas and statement of academic interest are added to form a total score. Applicants are ranked based on their scores. Available study places are offered to the applicants who achieve the highest total score.