Applying with non-Danish qualifications

If you want to apply for a PhD scholarship/fellowship at Arts but you are not sure if you should apply for 4+4 or 5+3 you can get your non-Danish qualifications assessed by the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education.

If your degrees are equivalent to a Danish 2-year Master’s degree you may apply for 5+3.
If your degrees are equivalent to one year of Master’s study in Denmark you may apply for 4+4.

Please see this page for further information: https://ufm.dk/en/education/recognition-and-transparency/get-assessment

General assessments of degrees from specific countries
If you can find the country your degrees are from on the list of assessed countries you do not need to get your diplomas assessed.
Get your qualifications assessed
- Application form
The assessment itself free of charge. This excludes any other expenses such as for translation of documents.

Examples

England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Bachelor’s degree in English Literature (3 years): 120 British credits per year = 360 British credits in total.
Master’s degree in English Literature (1 year): 180 British credits.

Although the total sum is 540 British credits you cannot apply for the 3-year PhD fellowship (5+3 scheme) event though we write the following about the 5+3 scheme:
To begin a 3-year fellowship you must have passed a qualifying examination that corresponds to 300 ECTS credits (e.g. a Bachelor’s degree allocated 180 ECTS credits and a Master’s degree allocated 120 ECTS credits).

The British credits are not equivalent to ECTS credits. This means that you cannot compare the two types of credits.

Here you can see the Danish Agency for Higher Education's standards for assessing higher education qualifications from England, Wales and Northern Ireland:

The Ministry of Higher Education and Science in Denmark does not acknowledge diplomas stating that 180 British credits are equivalent to 90 ECTS. A Master’s degree from England (1-year, 180 British credits) is equivalent to one year of studies at Master’s level in Denmark which corresponds to 60 ECTS credits. This means that you may apply for the 4-year PhD scholarship (4+4 scheme) but not the 3-year PhD fellowship (5+3 scheme).

Only a Master of Philosophy is equivalent to a Danish 2-year Master's degree which means that you may apply for the 3-year PhD fellowship (5+3 scheme).

If you have not yet submitted your Master’s thesis for assessment you must upload a list of the courses you have passed and any examinations you are signed up. Your Master’s degree programme must be completed no later than the day before the PhD enrolment starts.

India

Here you can see the Danish Agency for Higher Education's standards for assessing higher education qualifications from India:

The above degrees from India are assessed to be equivalent to a Danish Bachelor's degree plus one year of Master's studies. This means that you may apply for the 4-year PhD scholarship (4+4 scheme) but not the 3-year PhD fellowship (5+3 scheme).

Pakistan

Here you can see the Danish Agency for Higher Education's standards for assessing higher education qualifications from Pakistan:

The above degrees from Pakistan are assessed to be equivalent to a Danish Bachelor's degree plus one year of Master's studies. This means that you may apply for the 4-year PhD scholarship (4+4 scheme) but not the 3-year PhD fellowship (5+3 scheme).

Only if you have a 4-year Bachelor's degree + a 2-year Master's degree which includes a final dissertation then you may apply for the 3-year PhD fellowship (5+3 scheme). Please make a note in the cover sheet.

Please also see "Difference: Having a Master's degree or still enrolled?" on the "Open and Specific Calls" page.