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The Danish Educational System
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| From the Danish government as well as from the general public, a lot of emphasis is put on the importance of education. The majority of schools and institutions of higher education are statefinanced and state-regulated, and the (relatively few) private schools and institutions are heavily subsidized.
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Primary and lower secondary education
It is compulsory for children to attend 9 years of comprehensive education from the age of 6 or 7 to 16 years. This is primary and lower secondary education in the Danish municipal school, the Folkeskole. Most pupils also attend an optional pre-school class. After the 9th form pupils may either leave school, attend the optional 10th form of “Folkeskole” or continue their education at upper secondary level.
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Upper secondary education
Upper secondary education can be divided into two categories: academically oriented and vocationally oriented education. Academically oriented secondary education comprises the Gymnasium (three years of general upper secondary education) or Højere Forberedelseseksamen - HF (two years of higher prepatory examination courses) for students who have completed the optional 10th form of Folkeskolen or for adults who have already been in the work force. Both the Gymnasium and HF qualify students for admission to higher education. The vocational upper secondary courses i.e. the higher commercial examination course (Højere Handelseeksamen (HHX) and the higher technical examination course (Højere Teknisk Eksamen (HTX) may either qualify the students for the labour market as skilled workers or for admission to higher education.
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Higher education
Danish institutions of higher education can be divided into two groups: the university sector and the college sector.
The college sector comprises institutions offering courses of education of 3-4 years within a certain professional field, i.e. engineering, social work and teacher training. Many of these specialised colleges offer study programmes that are comparable to the level of a Bachelor’s Degree, e.g. the engineering colleges, the colleges of education and the regional business schools. In other countries these courses will generally be offered by universities.
The University sector in Denmark only comprises institutions which offer education up to the highest academic level, i.e. up to the doctoral level, as well as fulfil the obligation of carrying out research. There are five multifaculty universities in Denmark: University of Copenhagen, University of Aarhus, University of Southern Denmark, Roskilde University and Aalborg University. In total Denmark has 16 specialised universities / institutions of higher education.
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Educational Structure
Denmark has the Anglo-American educational structure by introducing Bachelor and PhD degrees. The general structural sequence of higher education is: Bachelor’s degree (3 years) followed by Master’s degree (2 years) and finally by the PhD degree (minimum 3 years).
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Information
