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Exemption from the Master’s degree rule

If you have completed a master's degree programme, you are subject to the Master’s degree rule. SDU may decide to waive the Master’s degree rule in exceptional circumstances.

Form to apply for exemption or special permission
Use the form if you want to apply for exemption or special permission.
You can apply from October 1 to November 15 at 12 noon.

What is the Master’s degree rule?

The Master’s degree rule limits your ability to be admitted to a new education programme if you have completed a master’s degree programme either in Denmark or abroad (for the latter, the level of the programme must be equivalent to a Danish postgraduate level). 

The rule means that you can only be admitted to a new programme if there are fewer applicants than student places on the programme you are applying for.

Read more about the Master’s degree rule here. 

Who can apply for an exemption?

SDU can decide to grant an exemption from the Master’s degree rule. You must be able to prove that you can no longer use your Master's degree for professional purposes due to exceptional circumstances. 

The term ‘exceptional circumstances’ only means that you are no longer able to work in the profession for which you were trained, e.g. due to a loss of working capacity. 

You cannot therefore obtain an exemption on the basis of e.g.:

  • changed career aspirations or interest in other education
  • that you have not put your Master’s degree to use
  • amended legislation
  • labour market conditions, e.g. unemployment
  • non-occupational disease

  • The Admissions Office at SDU always makes an individual and concrete assessment of your situation. 
    We will grant an exemption from the Master’s degree rule if it is documented and demonstrated that you can no longer use your master's degree programme professionally due to exceptional circumstances.





Apply for admission and exemption by 15 March at 12.00 noon

When applying for an exemption from the Master’s degree rule, you must apply no later than 15 March at 12.00 noon. Before the closing date, you must: 

  • Fill in the SDU applicattion form for exemption
  • Submit your application for admission and upload relevant documentation as attachments at www.optagelse.dk 

Along with your application at www.optagelse.dk you need to upload: 

  • Master’s degree certificate 
  • Documentation supporting the impossibility of using your Master’s degree programme professionally.

  • Documentation from professionals should generally include: 

    • Your name, CPR (Civil Registration System) number or date of birth  
    • Dates of first and latest consultation, hospitalisation, therapy session or similar. 
    • Description of whether professional judgements have been made on the basis of the professional’s examinations or the patient’s statements 
    • Description of condition and ability to study 
    • Date of issue/printing of the documentation 
    • Name of professional and hospital department, private practice, educational institution or similar. CBR no./provider no., signature/stamp 
    • Printouts from Sundhed.dk or Lectio must state the URL (website address). 

    Any costs associated with obtaining a medical certificate from your doctor or another professional are at your own expense. 

Getting a reply

You will receive a reply to your application via SDU’s self-service solution, optag.sdu.dk.

Initially, you will be informed of whether you will be granted an exemption. If you are granted an exemption, your application will be considered on the same basis as other applications. This also means that an exemption does not guarantee admission.

If you are not granted an exemption, SDU will continue to process your application for admission under the Master’s degree rule. 

  • If you know well in advance that you want to apply for admission, you can apply for pre-assessment. You can apply for a pre-assessment from 1 October – 15 November of the year before you apply for admission.
    Apply here.

    The pre-assessment can only be used for the next intake (ie once), after which you must apply for a new one.

    If your application is pre-assessed, you must upload the decision as an attachment when subsequently applying for admission at optagelse.dk.

    Please note that for pre-assessments, we reserve the right to make changes to the admission order.

    SDU requires non-EU/EEA-citizens to pay an application fee of 100 EUR/750 DKK. The application fee must be paid prior to submission of the application. 

  • Decisions are valid only for the admission for which you have applied.

    If you re-apply for admission, you must go through the application process again and upload the relevant documentation. 

 

Admission Office University of Southern Denmark

  • Campusvej 55
  • Odense M - DK-5230
  • Phone: +45 6550 1051

Last Updated 15.03.2024