SDU’s new master’s degree landscape in 2028

During 2024, the Master’s Degree Reform, which has been politically adopted, has been discussed by the Master’s Degree Committee, which consists of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, the rectors of the universities and student representatives. The Master’s Degree Committee has submitted two reports with proposals for the implementation of the reform.

Based on the work of the Master’s Degree Committee, in December, the parties behind the Master’s Degree Reform entered into a supplementary agreement that changes some of the framework for the future landscape of master’s degree programmes.

The supplementary agreement includes a number of adjustments that make it more realistic to fulfil the political ambitions of establishing master’s degree programmes for working professionals.

SDU’s Executive Board has discussed the adjusted framework and approved a list of the master’s degree programmes that SDU will restructure towards the start of studies in 2028.

The list of master’s degree programmes for 2028 will serve as the basis for SDU to inform applicants to bachelor’s degree programmes starting in 2025 about the master’s degree programmes available to them upon completing their bachelor’s degree in 2028. The information must be available to the first prospective students at Open Day events from 1 February 2025.

New types of education programmes

The Master’s Degree Reform means that Denmark’s eight universities will have a framework for determining how many students can be admitted to the traditional 120 ECTS master’s degree programmes, as they are currently known.

Going forward, students admitted beyond the stipulated framework must be admitted to new types of master’s degree programmes.

The new types of master’s degree programme include one master’s degree programme of 75 ECTS and two variants of the master’s degree programme for working professionals of 75 and 120 ECTS.

SDU’s master’s degree landscape in 2028

At SDU, the different degree programmes will be implemented across the individual programmes and faculties.

The presentation Restructuring of master’s degree programmes at SDU lists the master's degree programmes that are offered entirely or partially as new types of master's degree programmes per faculty.

The overview lists the programmes that SDU will be restructuring as a minimum. There will be an opportunity to develop other full-time master’s degree programmes of 75 ECTS and master’s degree programmes for working professionals towards 2028.

New opportunities in the master’s degree landscape

‘With the Master's Degree Reform, SDU has been assigned a task that is anything but easy. Our success in terms of the master’s degree programme for working professionals and the 45 ECTS supplementary programmes will depend on strong collaboration and effective partnership agreements with both public and private employers, but establishing cooperation with businesses may prove challenging. If we are to succeed with the new degree programmes, they must be designed so that the students are employed alongside their studies,’ says Pro-Rector Helle Waagepetersen. She continues:

‘SDU will leverage the opportunities provided by the reform in the development of the new degree programmes, as well as the continuing and further education programmes. With the supplementary agreement, new opportunities have arisen, especially for the Master's degree programme for working professionals, through the combination of full-time and part-time formats, which can now be designed in various ways.

FACTS

SDU’s future master’s degree landscape will include:

Traditional master’s degree programmes (120 ECTS), which continue as full-time studies with student grants (SU).

• Master’s degree programmes of 75 ECTS, which are shorter full-time programmes with SU, focusing on quicker transitions to the labour market while also providing new opportunities for further and continuing education.
• Master's degree programmes for working professionals (75 and 120 ECTS), which are part-time study programmes without SU, focusing on linking academic skills and competences directly with relevant work tasks.
• In addition to the currently offered types of Master’s degree programmes for working professionals, it will also be possible to combine models. For example, full-time study with SU of six months or a full year can be followed with subsequent part-time study over two to three years while working at the same time. However, a variant with a full year of full-time study will be reserved for MSc in Engineering programmes and other select IT and STEM programmes. It is expected that the universities will have flexibility in terms of organising the length and ECTS credits of the combination models.

To learn more, see Restructuring of Master’s degree programmes at SDU .