Denmark

image/svg+xml Map of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) Map of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) A blank map of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and countries fully surrounded by the EHEA. Every country has an id which is its ISO-3116-1-ALPHA2 code in lower case. Members of the EU have a class="eu", all EHEA countries have a class="europe", non-EHEA countries have a class="nonehea". Image based on https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blank_map_of_Europe_(with_disputed_regions).svg by Júlio "Tintazul" Reis and Marian "maix" Sigler. Made by Colin Tück, EQAR, 2017 Released under CreativeCommons Attribution ShareAlike (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/).
  • Governmental membership
    Denmark has been a Governmental Member of EQAR since April 2008.

    Map: EHEA countries by governmental membership

  • General information on higher education

    The responsibility for higher education is divided between the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, the Danish Ministry of Culture (medium and long cycle education within the area of arts) and the Ministry of Defence. Most higher education institutions are under the auspice of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science. 

    Higher education in Denmark is taught at universities, university colleges and academies of professional higher education. 

  • National external quality assurance requirements

    Higher education institutions should be accredited every six years and there is a rotation plan for programme reviews set up on a yearly basis. Following the adoption of the Accreditation Act in 2013 (see link below) higher education institutions are transitioning from programme accreditation to institutional accreditation.

    • Institutional accreditation
      involves an assessment of the institution’s overall quality assurance system (every six year in case of a positive accreditation)

    • Programme accreditation
      until the higher education institution has achieved institutional accreditation

  • EHEA key commitment

    Fully aligned with the ESG

    A fully functioning quality assurance system is in operation nationwide, in which all higher education institutions are subject to regular external quality assurance by an agency that has successfully demonstrated compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (ESG) through registration on EQAR

  • Cross-border quality assurance

    Recognising foreign agencies based on their own framework/requirements

    The Accreditation Council may choose an EQAR-registered agency, other than the Danish Accreditation Institution for the preparation of accreditation reports (see below the Accreditation Act, Chapter 2, § 3) or accept an accreditation report from another internationally recognised quality assurance agency at the request of a higher education institution.

    • Eligibility requirements for foreign agencies: Danish higher education institutions are able to choose an EQAR-registered agency for the accreditation of Danish education programmes offered abroad and the accreditation of professional education programmes offered by transnational providers

    • Conditions for the agencies’ work (e.g. criteria to be used): The agency can use its own criteria.

    Map: recognition of cross-border quality assurance

  • European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes

    European Approach available to all higher education institutions

    The European Approach is available to all higher education institutions.

    • Joint programmes can be accredited by all “internationally recognised” agencies. If an agency is registered on EQAR, it is automatically considered “internationally recognised”; otherwise, it has to prove this in an individual procedure to the Danish authorities.

    Map: availability of the European Approach for QA of Joint Programmes


Registered agencies operating in Denmark