The Danish education system

Pre-primary education

Pre-primary education is available for all children between six months and six years. There is a wide variety of nurseries, kindergartens and pre-school classes. Read more about pre-primary schools.

Primary and lower secondary education

Primary and lower secondary schools can be divided into two categories, the first being Danish municipal schools and the second being private, independent schools. The level of teaching is the same at the two types of school, but the way in which the teaching is done might differ significantly from school to school, especially within the private, independent schools. Read more about primary and lower secondary education.

In the ninth or tenth grades, pupils can also choose to attend a residential school, a so-called 'efterskole'. Read more about efterskole.

Upper secondary education

Everyone who has completed lower secondary education qualifies for an upper secondary educational programme. This stage can be divided into education qualifying for higher education, and technical/vocational education focused primarily on access to the labour market. Read more about upper secondary education.

Higher education

Danish institutions of higher education offer a range of programmes taught in both Danish and English. You can choose between three types of institutions of higher education: universities, university colleges, and academies of professional higher education – each with a different profile but all offering high quality education.

Danish institutions offer more than 500 degree programmes (most of them at Master's level) and over 1000 individual modules taught entirely in English. Read more about higher education.

For further information about the selection of higher educational programmes taught in English, application requirements, student life, etc., please visit studyindenmark.

Adult education and continuing training

There is a broad range of adult education and training programmes available. Adult education can be divided into formal and non-formal education. The formal education leads to qualifications that parallel the mainstream education system. It ranges from lower secondary level to higher educational levels.

The aim of informal adult education is personal development, and Denmark has a long tradition of providing this type of education, an example being the Danish Folk High Schools (højskoler).

Read more about adult education and continuing training.

Read more about Folk High Schools (højskoler).

Guidance

Educational and vocational guidance is given high priority in Denmark. Two different types of guidance centres exist:

• Youth guidance centres responsible for guidance related to the transition from compulsory school to youth education
• Regional guidance centres responsible for guidance related to the transition from youth education to higher education

Read more about guidance in the Danish education system.

General information

The Danish Agency for International Education offers an abundance of general information about the Danish education system. Visit the Danish Agency for International Education.

The Ministry of Education has developed a series of fact sheets describing the Danish education system. View fact sheets.

The Ministry of Education has also collected a list of Frequently Asked Questions related to education. View frequently asked questions.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Education has produced a presentation film about Denmark, the Danish education system and labour market. View presentation film.

See a visual overview of the Danish education system.