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Application guide for applications to English taught MA programmes

General information about the supporting documents

• Language requirements: Supporting documents must be in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, English, German or French. Supporting documents in other languages can only be accepted if an authorised translation into one of the above languages is enclosed.
• Send copies! If you are sending your application by post your supporting documents must be photocopies of original documents.
• Supporting documents will not be returned!
• Put your name (and CPR-number, if applicable) on all documents for loose leaf applications: Your full name must be written on all supporting documents. If you have a Danish CPR-number, your CPR-number must also be written on all supporting documents.
• Applying for more than one programme: You can apply for more than one programme, however you have to send two separate applications, one for each MA application. Your supporting documentation cannot be shared between two or more applications; each application must have its own supporting documentation. 

Verification of degree certificates and other supporting documents

The University of Copenhagen reserves the right to verify all information that you have given in your application. If any documents or information is forged, fake or in any way misleading, you will be reported to the police and your admission or enrollment will be immediately cancelled.   

Which documents must I enclose?

Here is a list of the documents you need to enclose with your application. Application without the required documents will not be considered for admission. Which supporting documents you need to enclose depends on your citizenship, your BA (or equivalent) degree, and which MA programme you are applying for. Below there are explanations of the requirements If you are still unsure about which supporting documents you must enclose, you can contact our Full Degree Guidance Counsellors with your questions.

• Copy of official transcript of records
• Copy of qualifying degree
• Description of you BA (or equivalent) programme
• Documentation of the prescribed degree requirements for your BA (or equivalent) degree
• Documentation describing the grading system for your BA (or equivalent) degree
• Curriculum Vitae
• English language test
• Copies of official documents confirming your residency status
• Special supporting documents requirements (including applying for scholarship) 

Copy of official transcript of records

These documents need to show which courses you have taken, the grades you have obtained and the credits or course hours per course. 

Copy of qualifying degree

If you are on your last semester of your BA programme (or equivalent), you may apply without a degree certificate. A degree certificate must be submitted before enrollment.

Description of you BA (or equivalent) programme

Include programme descriptions, curriculum and course descriptions. The course description is typically a description written by your professor of what the students will learn in a course. This you can often find in course catalogues or on your university’s website. 

Documentation of the prescribed degree requirements for your BA (or equivalent) degree

Number of years of study (full time) as well as the number of credits/units/hours needed for obtaining the degree (e.g. "The BA programme in Art History is a 3-year full time programme requiring 180 ECTS credits for obtaining the degree.")

NB! For some programmes you need to prove that you have at least a certain amount of ECTS credits within the field of study to be accepted. To figure out if you have enough you need to convert the credit point system used at your university to the ECTS credit point system we use at the University of Copenhagen. To calculate how much one year of full-time study at your university is worth you take the number of ECTS/credits/points it takes to obtain a bachelor’s degree at your university and divide it by the number of years the degree is supposed to take. (e.g. at the University of Copenhagen a bachelor’s degree is composed of 180 ECTS credits, and is supposed to take three year to obtain. 180 ECTS credits / 3 years = 60 ECTS credits per year.) Then you take the number of ECTS credits/units/points you get per year and compare it to the 60 ECTS credits per year at the University of Copenhagen. 

For example, at University of Wisconsin-Madison it is supposed to take four years and you need 120 units to obtain a bachelor’s degree. This means that 120 units / 4 years = 30 units per year. If you get 60 ECTS credits per year at the University of Copenhagen and 30 units per year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison then 1 unit = 2 ECTS credits.

Documentation describing the grading system for your BA (or equivalent) degree

We need information about the grading system used at your university to compare your grading scale to the one used at the University of Copenhagen. We need to know the grading scale and what constitutes good, medium, and bad grades.  

Curriculum Vitae

Please include your full name, birthday, address, and e-mail address on your CV. 

English language test

To ensure that all applicants have the required academic English skills, you must either 1. Be a citizen of a country where English is the primary language, 2. Have grown up in a Nordic country, or 3. Provide a TOEFL, IELTS, or CPE (Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English) that is no more than 2 years old. You can find the required scores on the MA programme’s website.  

Your results must be sent directly from the test centre to the Faculty of Humanities. The TOEFL institutional code for the faculty is 3312. 

Other language tests than TOEFL, IELTS, or CPE (Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English) are not accepted.

Copies of official documents confirming your residency status

If you have a permanent residence permit or a temporary residence permit with the option of getting a permanent residence permit please attach a copy of this to your application. If you do not have a residence permit for Denmark then please indicate this in the application form.  

Special supporting documents requirements

Some MA programmes require additional supporting documents for all applicants. These are:  

• Master of Arts in Cognition & CommunicationWhen applying for admission into the Master of Arts in Cognition & Communication you must include a letter of motivation describing in no more than 1000 words your qualifications and your interest in the programme.  
• Master of Arts in Applied Cultural Analysis (MACA) When applying for admission into the Master of Arts in Applied Cultural Analysis (MACA) you must include a letter of motivation (2 page maximum). You must state your motivation for studying at MACA, your visions for a future career and your skills in cultural analysis.  

Supporting documents required for applicants holding non EU/EEA citizenships who are applying for a Danish Governmental Scholarship

If you are a highly academically qualified applicant from a non-EU/EEA country, who wishes to come to Denmark on a student visa (temporary residence permit), you may apply for a Danish Governmental Scholarship which consists of a tuition fee waiver. It does not include subsistence support. To be considered for the scholarship you must include a application letter (1-2 pages) and 2 letters of recommendation from current or former university lecturers or professors.