Exchange and guest students at Roskilde University

An exchange programme at Roskilde University typically reflects the specific learning principles of Roskilde University namely that every semester consists of 50% project work and 50% courses.

Academic year
Autumn semester: 1 September – 31 January
Spring semester: 1 February – 30 June

The university is in general open all weekdays except public holidays and between Christmas and New Year.
Some public holidays are fixed on dates and others are moving. You can always find the current dates by searching online.

The last two weeks of a semester are always reserved for project exam period.

Bachelor

Roskilde University has made suggestions for semester packages taught in English for exchange and guest students within the bachelor subjects below.
For more information and a suggestion for a semester package click on the specific subject.

Bioprocess Science

Business Administration

Business Studies

Chemistry

Communication Studies

Computer Science

Cultural Encounters

Environmental Biology

Global Humanities

International Studies

Mathematics

Molecular Biology

Physics

Social Psychology of Everyday Life

Master

Roskilde University has made suggestions for semester packages taught in English for exchange and guest students within the master subjects below.
For more information and a suggestion for a semester package click on the specific subject.

Business Administration and Leadership

Chemical Biology

Computer Science

Environmental Science

Global and Development Studies

International Politics and Governance

Mathematical Bioscience

Media and Communication

Nordic Urban Planning Studies

Physics and Scientific Modelling

Social Entrepreneurship and Management

Get to know us

Exchange student or guest student?

Roskilde University welcomes approximately 200 exchange students every year through exchange agreements with partners all over the world.

Special rules apply to exchange within the framework of student mobility programmes such as ERASMUS+, NORDPLUS/NORDLYS, bilateral exchange etc. Please contact the International Office at your home institution about going on exchange.

Please note that we require exchange students to be full time students. Full time studies equal 30 ECTS per semester.

You can also apply for admission as a guest student. Studying as a guest student will not entitle you to a degree (Bachelor or Master). Although there can be other reasons to apply, enrolling as a guest student is mainly useful if:
1) You have a home university somewhere else, and you can transfer the credits for your studies at RUC to this university, or
2) You wish to apply to RUC as a regular degree student later on

Principles of Learning

Interdisciplinarity

We believe that problems in the real world rarely can be solved using only one academic discipline. Interdisciplinarity is a cornerstone in the scientific approach at Roskilde University.

Interdisciplinarity is about crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries and creating different scientific traditions of working together in untraditional ways.

In practice, this means that we give you an opportunity to combine our many different specialized academic studies within and across disciplines.

Project Work

Unless otherwise agreed, it is compulsory for exchange students to do a problem based project and write a project report in a study group each semester. Depending on the size of the group a project is normally between 60-100 pages. A project grants you with 15 ECTS. The specific topic and problem area to be investigated is defined by you and your fellow students and supported by academic supervisors.

Examples of project work:

Civil Society in Zimbabwe – „to engage or not to engage with the state ” (Master in Global Studies)
Design and Implementation of a Path Finding Robot Simulator (Master in Computer Science)
Facebook -The Virtual Identity (Bachelor of Arts)
Men's parenthood (Master's thesis Psychology)
Bamboo as a potential material used for windmill turbine blades (Master in Technological and Socio-Economic Planning)
CSR and Corporate branding - Estee Lauder (Master's thesis Business Studies)
Nanoparticle-induced cell death (Bachelor in Natural Sciences)

Problem orientation

Learn to ask the right questions: To solve a problem you need to learn to ask the right questions. You learn how to identify and frame a problem through problem-oriented projects. In projects you work deeply and exploratory with a problem chosen by you and your fellow members of the project group.

Throughout the process you will be guided by one of our talented researchers. Project groups consists of students like yourself who are passionate about the same issues and findings as you.

Our pedagogical model

Student life at Roskilde University

At our university focus is not only on academic studies, but also on the social environment. Students are affiliated with so-called "houses", which is a distinguishing feature of RUC. When you begin your studies at RUC, you belong to a house together with about 120 students; this is where you attend classes and it is the workplace for your professors and supervisors. Each house is equipped with study rooms for group work, computers, printing facilities and a kitchen. It is your house, which you have your own key to, and the house structure means that you have a close contact to your fellow students, professors and supervisors. You will therefore quickly establish a social network and a place where you feel at home.

The Danish education system

Information about the Danish education system, principles for education in Denmark, structure of the system and more can be found at The Ministry of Higher Education and Science's website.

The Danish education system

Code of Conduct

The Danish higher education institutions have agreed on a common Code of Conduct for offering higher education programmes to international students. Roskilde University undertake to comply with the code of conduct.

Code of Conduct

Policy Statement Erasmus Students

Erasmus Policy Statement.pdf

Charter for Higher Education Erasmus

Erasmus Charter for Higher Education