Number of full degree applications plunge

Especially Swedish applicants have been hit by new English-language guidelines, interprets University of Copenhagen office, as the pile of full degree applications gets smaller

by Mike Young

The number of international applications for a full degree at Danish universities from the rest of Europe has dropped by an unprecedented one third in 2011 compared to the year before.

This is according to data released from the Danish University and Property Agency (DUPA). The University Education Services of the University of Copenhagen confirms to the University Post that it has also seen a substantial drop in numbers.

In all, a total of 2,113 applications have come in for a full degree at Danish universities, down 33 per cent from 3,150 the year before, according to the DUPA. No specific figures are yet available from the University of Copenhagen.

Sharp drop in Swedes

Most of the drop in numbers is due to a sharp reduction in the number of Swedish and Norwegian applicants. There are for example 452 fewer applicants from Sweden, a drop of 45 per cent.

Traditionally, a large proportion of applicants from Sweden have been for the study of medicine in Denmark. According to University of Copenhagen’s Education Services, the sharp drop in applications seen in the DUPA figures is mostly due to new criteria for evaluating the English-language level of Swedish and Norwegian applicants’ exams.

»The obligatory English level at Swedish upper-secondary schools is no longer considered level B, allowing admission to Danish universities,« explains Pernille Kindtler of Education Services.

Tough admissions reputation

The same goes for Norwegian applicants’ obligatory English level, which is no longer good enough, and must be supplemented.

To add to the new guidelines, Denmark is getting a tougher reputation among the Nordic countries:

»Over the course of the last few years, it has been more openly discussed in Sweden and Norway that Denmark is a hard country to gain a university admission to,« says Pernille Kindtler.

No figures are yet available from the University of Copenhagen on specific applicant nationalities.

miy@adm.ku.dk

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