Are you considering going abroad to study for a semester or complete your entire degree? And are you in doubt about the rules for the udlandsstipendium for studies abroad? By investing a few minutes in this article, you will be provided with information about everything you need to know about studying abroad financed by the udlandsstipendium.
Read also: Guide: SU when studying abroad
The Danish government has truly proven their urge to internationalize the skills of students from Denmark with this financial option. Since the udlandsstipendium scheme was introduced in 2008, students have been entitled to receive a subsidy from the Danish government to pay the tuition fee abroad udlandsstipendium with a non-loan based subsidy which gives you the chances to pick and choose which university you want to study at. In short, you simply get the taksameter money your educational institution would otherwise have received, directly in your bank account to cover your tuition fee. The udlandsstipendium is not taxable.
Read also: Guide: Udlandsstudielaanet
The udlandsstipendium can be used for 120 ECTS, the equivalent of 2 years of full-time studies abroad. It is completely up to you how you distribute the subsidized 120 ECTS of international studies.
A simple way to see the udlandsstipendium is as a subsidy-ticket for 120 ECTS, where you decide yourself how you would like to distribute them. You can use the udlandsstipendium for:
• A pre-approved semester abroad (Study Abroad), which is part of your bachelor's or master's degree.
• Pre-approved summer courses if they form part of your bachelor's or master's degree
• A full master's degree program of 1-2 years' duration (60-120 ECTS).
Important notes: You are entitled to the udlandsstipendium for a Study Abroad semester and summer school as long as your home university in Denmark pre-approves the courses - That is done internally through your home university's intranet. If you are not sure where to find the form for pre-approval of courses, simply ask your study administration to forward you the link for it.
For a full masters degree, your degree abroad must appear on the Fast Track list on the official SU website. If this is not the case, you must apply to have it included in the list. If it is an artistic or cultural degree, the education abroad must be on the udlandsstipendieliste in order for you to receive a udlandsstipendium to support you with the tuition fee.
The subsidy for the courses or programme corresponds to the subsidy that the Danish state provides for a similar education in Denmark. So it depends on what you study. Underneath you'll find a rough overview. If you're in doubt about your specific programme, ask us in the live chat. Actually, you can do that right now in the bottom right corner. Chances are that you'll have a reply before you finish reading this article.
Rate 1. 💵 22.000 kr. per semester: Trade, economics, business, marketing, management, law, language, theology and philosophy.
Rate 2. 💰 32.000 kr. per semester: Communication, sports, health, management and media studies.
Rate 3. 💵 46.000 kr. per semester: Medicine, veterinary science, engineering, chemistry, biology and IT.
Note: The amount may vary and it is the SU office that calculates your udlandsstipendium rate, and you will be paid the maximum amount corresponding to your tuition fee abroad. You can also see the rates on su.dk's website right here.
Example: Simon is studying Software Engineering at Aarhus University and is eligible for approx. 46.000 DKK. If Simon decides to study IT courses at Technological University of the Shannon in Ireland where the tuition fee is 37.500 DKK, Simon will maximum receive 37.500 DKK.
When you apply for the udlandsstipendium for a credit-bearing study abroad semester stay, your university abroad does not need to appear on any list. If only your Danish home institution has pre-approved your study stay, then they have thereby also certified the university abroad. With pre-approving your stay abroad, it is meant that your home university pre-approves the courses you are intending to take at the host university. You will get a confirmation from your home university once your pre-approval of your courses has been confirmed.
You can see the pre-approval of courses as a contract between yourself and your home university that your semester stay abroad is approved and that you will get your ECTS credit-transferred if your pass the courses abroad. The rules and rates apply regardless if you're going for a study abroad semester as part of your bachelors or masters degree.
Note: If you want to study a summer course abroad, the process is the same. You simply get the course(s) you intend to take abroad pre-approved in order to apply for the udlandsstipendium to support you in paying the tuition fee.
When you apply for the udlandsstipendium for an entire master's degree abroad, you need to be aware of the bulletpoints below:
• The university must appear on the SU site's Fast Track list of programs and universities that are approved for the udlandsstipendium.
• The university must be approved as SU-eligible, if the university or degree is not eligible, you can apply for it to be on the official SU website.
• You must send documentation that the university is publicly recognised. Helpful documentation for that can be found here.
Pretty simple actually, believe it or not. To receive the udlandsstipendium you need to ensure that you fulfil the requirements:
• You have to be SU-eligible and have at least 1 SU clip for the semester abroad.
• Your study abroad semester must be pre-approved and credit-bearing.
• You must have received the acceptance letter from the university where the tuition fee has to be paid.
• For a full masters degree, you must have SU clips for the full degree and the University and its degree must appear on the fast track list.
* In short, you must be SU-eligible and be in possession of a letter of admission (acceptance letter). If you go for a semester abroad you have to get your courses pre-approved by your home university before you apply. If it is for a full masters degree abroad, the programme must be on the fast-track list.
Once you have been admitted and have received the invoice from your host university, you can begin the application process. It takes place through your SU office if it is for a study abroad semester. For a full masters degree abroad, everything is handled and processed through minSU. Of course, we guide you along the road.
Here is how to apply and what you need to apply for the udlandsstipendium:
• Fill out your SU office's udlandsstipendium application form (for study abroad semester students).
• Apply at MinSU (for full masters degree abroad).
• Your admission letter from the host university.
• A pre-approval of your courses (for semester abroad students).
• An invoice stating the price of the tuition fee from the host university.
• If you have paid the tuition fee in advance, you simply attach the receipt proving your tuition payment.
For semester abroad students, you simply send all of that to your SU-office at your institution and they will process your udlandsstipendium application. It may take up to two months before the money is transferred to your bank account, so do yourself the favour and start as early as possible.
For students that are applying for a full masters degree abroad, everything will be handled online through your application on MinSU. Again, just make sure that your programme abroad is on the fast-track list. If its not, start out with applying for it to be. The material here should be helpful for that.
No, you can only receive either the udlandsstipendium or Erasmus. The udlandsstipendium is a subsidy you receive on your bank account to help you pay the tuition fee abroad, if you apply for a semester abroad around your home university's exchange agreements. If you do apply through your home university's exchange agreement and the host university is located in a country considered as Erasmus partner, usually EU/EØS countries, your can apply for a Erasmus+ scholarship. The amount you can expect to receive through the Erasmus+ scholarship depends on the living costs in your host country. So countries such as The Netherlands and Norway will grant you a higher monthly rate compared to a semester abroad in for example Poland or Czech Republic.
Your udlandsstipendie rate depends on the courses you enrol into abroad at the host university. So if you study business at your home university but decide to enrol into introductory programming courses, you will receive a higher udlandsstipendie rate. The same goes the other direction, if you study engineering and decide to enrol into business courses while studying abroad, the udlandsstipendie rate will be lowered accordingly.
If you decide to study a semester abroad with the intention of mixing courses from different study areas, your SU office will calculate a special rate that you will receive through the udlandsstipendium. As you know from this article, 30 ECTS of courses within engineering is entitled to 46.000 kr. while 30 ECTS of business courses is entitled to 22.000 kr. So if you decide to take 15 ECTS of engineering courses and 15 ECTS of business courses while studying a semester abroad, you can expect to receive the middle rate between the highest and lowest rate. This would amount to approx. 34.000 kr.
You will only receive udlandsstipendium for the courses that are pre-approved. Its important to remember as mentioned in this article, the udlandsstipendium is only supporting your studies abroad if they are pre-approved and thereby credit bearing. So if you intend to take 30 ECTS abroad and only 15 ECTS are pre-approved, you will receive half of what you are fully entitled to from the udlandsstipendium.
No. The udlandsstipendium can only be applied for summer courses, semesters abroad and for a full masters degree abroad. However, you can go for one or more semesters abroad as a bachelor student with the udlandsstipendium.
If you are receiving SU without having to work 10-12 hours per week, then yes, you can receive the udlandsstipendium. If you are an international student receiving SU on the premisses of working 10-12 hours per week, you can only receive the udlandsstipendium if you work 10-12 hours per week still while being abroad for a company that pays tax in Denmark. In other words, if your employer lets you work remotely while studying a semester abroad, you can get SU and the udlandstipendium with you abroad.
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