Step 3: Selection quotas

If you fulfil the admission requirements, your application will go on to the selection process in either quota 1 or 2.

You cannot indicate the quota in your application for admission. The Admissions Office will decide on the relevant quota based on your type of entry qualification and uploaded documents. You must submit a motivational letter in addition to the other required documents to be assessed in quota 2. You can find a complete list of the required documents in step 4.

Quota 1 – selection based on GPA only

In quota 1, the selection criteria is based exclusively on your grade point average (GPA) obtained at your upper secondary education. You should apply via quota 1, if you only want to be assessed based on your GPA.

In order to be assessed in quota 1:

You must fulfil the admission requirements
You must be certain that you fulfil the required GPA
The GPA from your entry qualification must be directly convertible to the Danish grading system

Is my GPA convertible to the Danish grading system?

Entry qualifications from an EU/EEA country

If you hold a general upper secondary examination from an EU/EEA country, your GPA is usually convertible. However, if you hold a vocational/technical upper secondary education, your GPA is usually not convertible.

If you are not certain whether your GPA can be converted, we advise you to apply in quota 2. Quota 2 applicants with a convertible GPA are automatically assessed in quota 1 first.

If your GPA is convertible, the Admissions Office will convert it to the Danish grading system when going through your application.

Entry qualifications from a non-EU/EEA country

If you hold an entry qualification from a non-EU/EEA country, you cannot apply in quota 1, as the grades cannot be converted to the Danish grading scale.

GPA required in quota 1

GPA required in quota 1
Roskilde University has set a GPA for admission in quota 1. If you fulfil the admission requirements and meet the required GPA for quota 1 applicants, you are guaranteed admission.

In 2022 the required GPA according to the Danish 7-point grading scale are:

International Bachelor in Humanities: 8.0
International Bachelor in Social Sciences: 7.5
International Bachelor in Natural Sciences: if you fulfil the admission requirements, you are guaranteed admission regardless of your GPA

Quota 2 – selection based on an overall assessment

If you are not certain that your GPA is sufficient to apply in quota 1 or your GPA cannot be converted to the Danish grading system, you should apply in quota 2.

In quota 2, we do not consider your GPA. Instead, applicants are selected based on an overall assessment of relevant qualifications. The relevant qualifications are referred to in the assessment criteria.

In order to be assessed in quota 2:

You must fulfil the admission requirements. In special circumstances, however, you may be granted an exemption from the admission requirements, if you have other educational qualifications comparable to the admission requirements.
You must have at least one study relevant qualification (academic and/or general qualifications) acquired after completion of your entry qualification
You must submit a motivational letter.

How to write a motivational letter

The motivational letter for the international bachelor study programmes should be written in English. If you apply for the bachelor’s programmes taught in Danish, the motivational application should be written in Danish.

Guide: How to write a motivational letter

Assessment criteria

The quota 2 assessment is based on an overall assessment of your motivational letter and relevant qualifications acquired after completion of your entry qualification.

In your motivational letter, you must describe the relevance of the qualifications acquired in regards to the programme you wish to enrol in. Different assessment criteria apply to the individual bachelor’s programmes.

Applicants are prioritized based on this assessment, and the quota 2 student places are granted to the applicants given the highest priority. There are often more applicants than places, which means that not all applicants that fulfil the admission requirements may be offered admission.

Assessment criteria for the individual bachelor's programme:

CV: What to include and how to do it

You must make a CV containing at least all the activities you include in your motivational letter. You’re also welcome to write more activities than you include in your motivational letter.

You can either make your CV by filling in the designated fields on optagelse.dk (education, work experience etc.) or you can write your own CV and upload it as a PDF to your application on optagelse.dk. It makes no difference for your application which option you choose, but if you use the fields on optagelse.dk you’re sure to fill in all the relevant information.

If you make your own CV there’s no recipe or template for how to make it, but it’s very important to state the extent of each activity, meaning number of months you’ve worked, how many hours per week (on average) you’ve worked or done volunteer work etc. If you don’t state this information, it's not possible for RUC to assess the extent of your experience which could ultimately mean that it won’t count towards the overall assessment. This is why it’s important that you state the extent of your experience as precisely as possible.

A maximum of 12 months’ experience can count towards the assessment of your quota 2 application. It doesn’t necessarily need to be 12 coherent months, and you can also have activities that you didn’t do for a whole month – e.g. a 2-week course or similar. You don’t need to sort your CV as RUC will automatically choose the most relevant experience from your CV.

Documentation: What to send

Initially you must only send documentation for educational activities to RUC, e.g. supplementary courses, previous higher education and folk high school. If you passed these activities before 15 March, you must upload the documentation with your application.

If you expect to pass the activities after 15 March, you must state this in your application or motivational letter, write the expected time extent in your CV and send the documentation as soon as you pass.

You should not send documentation for travels, work, volunteering etc. to RUC, but you must be able to send the documentation on request.
You must fill in and send one digital application for each programme you’re applying for via optagelse.dk. Find the full list of required documentation here.

Join our quota 2 workshops

RUC Study & Career Guidance hosts annual workshops for applicants who are considering applying to RUC through quota 2. Check the event calendar to see when + description of the programme. The English workshops are hosted online via Zoom, so you can join from wherever you are.

Events about bachelor programmes