The Danish Government Scholarship is a state programme through which the University of Copenhagen offers a limited number of tuition waivers and grants to highly talented master’s students from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland.
There is no separate scholarship application: every eligible applicant offered admission is considered automatically, on academic achievement alone. Each faculty sets its own terms and quota; recipients study on campus in Copenhagen, most programmes lasting two years.
Benefits & funding
- A full or partial tuition waiver, an amount for basic living costs, or both; living-cost payments are taxed in Denmark unless a nationality is exempt.
- Science: tuition plus 22 months of living costs.
- Health and Medical Sciences: tuition and living costs, or tuition only.
- Theology: partial waivers only, usually decided after fees are charged; pay on time or lose the place (refunded if awarded).
- Science and Health and Medical Sciences also give a few second-year awards to top fee-paying students.
Eligibility
- Citizenship of a country outside the EU, the EEA (EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Switzerland.
- Admission to a University of Copenhagen master’s (MA/MSc) programme, which needs a relevant bachelor’s degree, completed or in progress.
- A time-limited Danish residence permit for higher-education study.
- Barred: anyone with a legal claim to Danish citizens’ rights, anyone eligible for Danish state student grants (SU), and certain children of foreign permit holders admitted on a family permit.
- Science: only applicants admitted to their first-priority programme with a bachelor’s GPA above 90%.
- Social Sciences: September intake only.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · Andorra · Angola · Antigua and Barbuda · Argentina · Armenia · Australia · Azerbaijan · Bahamas · Bahrain
+ 156 more
Bangladesh · Barbados · Belarus · Belize · Benin · Bhutan · Bolivia · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Botswana · Brazil · Brunei · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Canada · Cabo Verde · Central African Republic · Chad · Chile · China · Colombia · Comoros · Republic of the Congo · Costa Rica · Cuba · DR Congo · Djibouti · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Egypt · El Salvador · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Fiji · Gabon · Gambia · Georgia · Ghana · Grenada · Guatemala · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Guyana · Haiti · Honduras · Hong Kong · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Côte d'Ivoire · Jamaica · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Kiribati · Kosovo · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Macau · Madagascar · Malawi · Malaysia · Maldives · Mali · Marshall Islands · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mexico · Micronesia · Moldova · Monaco · Mongolia · Montenegro · Morocco · Mozambique · Myanmar · Namibia · Nauru · Nepal · New Zealand · Nicaragua · Niger · Nigeria · North Korea · North Macedonia · Oman · Pakistan · Palau · Palestine · Panama · Papua New Guinea · Paraguay · Peru · Philippines · Qatar · Russia · Rwanda · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Samoa · San Marino · São Tomé and Príncipe · Saudi Arabia · Senegal · Serbia · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Solomon Islands · Somalia · South Africa · South Korea · South Sudan · Sri Lanka · Sudan · Suriname · Syria · Taiwan · Tajikistan · Tanzania · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Togo · Tonga · Trinidad and Tobago · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Tuvalu · Uganda · Ukraine · UAE · UK · USA · Uruguay · Uzbekistan · Vanuatu · Vatican City · Venezuela · Vietnam · Yemen · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Education required
Bachelor Enrolled · Bachelor
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We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Pay the DKK 1,120 application deposit, then apply for admission through the portal between 15 November and 15 January at 23:59 (CET); this is also the scholarship cut-off.
- 2Rank up to three programmes.
- 3Submit no scholarship form; eligible applicants are assessed automatically.
- 4Nominees hear through the application portal; at Social Sciences the admission offer itself states the outcome.
- 5Accept the study place by 18 March.
Program timeline
Application portal opens
Nov 15, 2026
Application deadline, 23:59 (CET)
Jan 15, 2027
Admission decisions (dates page; application page says by 15 May at the latest)
Mar 13, 2027
Deadline to accept the study place
Mar 18, 2027
Studies start
Sep 1, 2027