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Master's degree programme for working professionals

What is a Master's degree programme for working professionals?

A Master's degree programme for working professionals is a part-time degree programme that allows you to study towards your degree while working. It normally takes four years to complete a Master's degree programme for working professionals, and you must complete the programme within 4.5 years.

Students on these programmes aren’t eligible for SU (state grants and loans for living expenses) or special educational support. However, there are no tuition fees for Master's degree programmes for working professionals for students from EU/EEA countries and Switzerland.

The following Master's degree programme for working professionals are offered at Aarhus University

Admission requirements and rules

The admission requirements and rules for Master's degree programmes for working professionals are precisely the same as for full-time Master’s degree programmes. The only difference is that applicants don’t have a legal right of admission to any of these programmes, and applicants must meet the employment requirement.

Read more about admission requirements and rules for each of the programmes by clicking on the programme name above.

When you apply for admission to a Master's degree programme for working professionals, in addition to the specific admission requirements for the programme, there are also some general rules about admission to Master’s degree programmes.

Employment requirements for applicants

If you are employed by a public-sector or private-sector business or institution, the following applies:

  • Your job must be relevant to the programme you apply to.
  • You must work a minimum of 25 hours a week on average.
  • You must be an integrated part of the workplace, in line with full-time employees.
  • You must document the relevance of your job by filling out and attaching this form about your work situation to your application.

If you are an entrepreneur, the following applies:

  • You must be able to document that you are an entrepreneur at an approved level with an academically relevant independent business.
  • The business must have revenue and income-generating activities.
  • In your application, we recommend that you attach documentation of other circumstances relevant to the approval of your entrepreneur status. For example, a business plan, market surveys, affiliation with entrepreneurship hubs or networks, patents, own investments in your business and capital injections.
  • You must fill out the solemn declaration regarding entrepreneurship activities on this form about your work situation and attach it to your application.

Contact AU Entrepreneurs before you apply if you are in doubt about the documentation requirements for approval of your status as an entrepreneur.

Employment requirements for applicants accepted to the programmes

Once you have been admitted to a Master's degree programme for working professionals, the following applies:

  • The university will check on your employment situation every semester, and you will be asked to confirm that your employment situation is unchanged or report any changes.
  • If the university finds that you no longer meet the requirement regarding relevant employment, you may be transferred to the equivalent full-time Master’s degree programme at the beginning of the following semester if you wish to continue your studies.
  • Aarhus University may obtain documentation from the Danish Customs and Tax Administration to corroborate the information you provide.

Switching between a Master's degree programme for working professionals and a full-time degree programme

If you’d like to switch from a Master's degree programme for working professionals to a full-time degree programme

  • If you’d like to switch from a Master's degree programme for working professionals to a full-time degree programme, you have to wait until the next semester. In other words, you can’t switch while a semester is in progress.
  • If you’re enrolled in a Master's degree programme for working professionals and would like to switch to a full-time degree programme, write to indskriv@au.dk.
  • If you still have a relevant job but would like to take a heavier course load than required under the academic regulations for your programme, we recommend that you sign up for more courses instead of switching to a full-time degree programme. Contact your faculty to register for additional courses.



If you’d like to switch from a full-time degree programme to a Master's degree programme for working professionals

  • If you’d like to switch from a full-time Master's degree programme to a Master’s degree programme for working professionals, you have to wait until the next semester. In other words, you can’t switch while a semester is in progress.
  • Note that the courses offered on the two types of programme won’t necessarily be the same.
  • If you’d like to switch from a full-time degree programme to a Master’s degree programme for working professionals, the procedure depends on whether you have already passed the first year of the full-time programme before the commencement of the new semester:

If you have passed the entire first academic year of the full-time degree programme

If you have passed the entire first academic year, you must apply for a change of programme through the application system.


Read more about the criteria for applying for a change of programme and where and how to apply

If you have not passed the entire first academic year of the full-time degree programme

If you have not passed the entire first academic year of the programme, you must apply for admission to the Master's degree programme for working professionals through the application system. If you are admitted to the programme, we will assess whether we can offer you credit transfer for the courses you have passed. However, note that you must meet the current admission requirements for the programme, and that there may be restrictions on admission to the programme.

Read more about the mandatory evaluation of credit transfer eligibility and when and how to apply to the degree programme.

If you aren’t sure whether you will be able to pass the entire first year of the full-time programme, we recommend that you both apply for admission and apply for a change of programme.

Revised 20.03.2024
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Master’s Web Editorial Team