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Studying at the University

Aarhus University admits new students once a year, and courses usually start on 1 September. The academic year is divided into two semesters: autumn and spring.

There is restricted admission to all degree courses at the University, but in recent years the University has received a growing number of international exchange and guest students outside the ordinary admissions system. They attend courses of varying durations and sit examinations, usually with a view to integrating modules from the courses at Aarhus University with courses in their countries of origin. Further information on these possibilities can be obtained from the International Secretariat.

In most fields of study the first years have a fixed syllabus requiring attendance at a number of seminars and lectures, while at higher levels of the degree course there is more emphasis on training the student to work independently with written assignments, field studies, research, etc.

It is common for students at the University to work together in study and project groups. Besides enhancing their knowledge of their special subjects, this trains them in methodological skills such as cooperation, presentation, and coordination.

Student exchange

Together with thirty other universities from within the EU, Aarhus University is a member of the Coimbra Group. The group takes its name from Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal, which hosted the founding meeting in 1985. The group members work together within the framework of the EU's student exchange programmes, but also collaborate on the transfer of examination credits, joint research projects, and cultural activities.

The University sends out students and researchers under the auspices of the EU's ERASMUS, TEMPUS and COMETT programmes, and also the NORDPLUS programmes of the Nordic Council of Ministers. But there is very much a two-way flow, inasmuch as an ever-increasing number of students and researchers are finding their way to Aarhus. The University is involved in seventy-one different networks under the ERASMUS programme, covering all fields of study at the University from semiotics to nuclear physics.

The University collaborates with various research institutions in Central and Eastern Europe, and - through one of its consultancy centres, UniConsult International - has established training programmes for students from Indonesia and Thailand.