Many students dream of studying abroad, it’s an amazing experience that can open up a world of opportunities. But when it comes to making that dream a reality, many students hesitate because of the cost. In this blog post, we’re going to break down the cost of studying abroad in Denmark
Studying in Denmark is not expensive and so can be affordable. However, there are ways to offset the cost so you don’t have to spend so much while studying and living in Ireland. You can study at a low cost in Ireland especially when proper financial plans are made before the study.
Studying in Denmark can be one of the many means to get a reputable degree without spending a fortune. Most international students get scared away from making plans to study in a country such as Denmark. This is because they feel that studying in such a country is a feat for wealthy families or families who have saved up a fortune to send their child or ward to school abroad.
You can look for scholarship opportunities to study in Denmark. Danish schools receive several government-sponsored scholarships to support non-European or international students each year. One that I know of is the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship which is fully funded and allows you to study in at least three European countries with a full grant. The scholarship usually covers all expenses including living expenses, health insurance, memberships, installation costs, and others. One of the popular destinations for this scholarship is in Denmark. You can apply for this scholarship and study in your dream country at no cost.
There are also low-cost schools in Denmark that you can apply to so you don’t have to spend a lot of money on tuition. We will examine them in the next section of this article. Applying to such schools can considerably reduce your study costs.
Now, let’s take a look at the study costs in Denmark and other costs that you may not know about. We will also take a look at the cost of studying in other countries and how they compare to the cost of studying in Denmark. Keep reading to find out more.
Tuition fees
After you have gotten an offer or admission into a Danish school, you may be required to pay the tuition upfront before your admission is finalized. It could be the full fee or part of the fee for the first year or first semester. Either way here is some useful information about tuition fees in Denmark that can be helpful to you.
It usually costs an average of 6,000 USD to 17,000 USD per year to study in Denmark as an international student. The University College of Northern Denmark is one of the cheapest schools for an international student in Denmark. The school’s tuition fee is about 6,000 USD per year.
Like most countries, international students pay more tuition fees than domestic students which is usually a result of being nationals of another country. If you are looking to enroll in a private business school, you may pay up to 10,000 USD upward since these types of schools are not funded by the state but privately.
Tuition fees of programs in fields such as science and technology will be much higher than the tuition fees for other programs. So taking up programs in this field means you will have to spend more on your overall study costs. You can look towards taking programs in arts, music, or economics. However, if you are vested in applying for programs in science or technology, you should consider public universities in Denmark to reduce your tuition cost to a considerable extent.
Like most European schools, higher education in Denmark is free for EU students and those from Switzerland. However, there are no tuition-free schools for international students in Denmark except you are an exchange student. You can only find some free Bachelor’s degree programs for Ireland citizens and some EU countries. The only way to get free education in Ireland as an international student is by applying for scholarships that will cover tuition or parts of your living expenses. There are usually scholarships available for international students that are pursuing post-graduate programs or research in Danish institutions.
You can also draw up an installment payment plan for yourself and pay the tuition per semester. This will further lessen the burden of paying high tuition at once. Check with the school to find out the minimum deposit allowed and agree on how you can pay in installments. Most schools offer installment payment plans which can be yearly or per semester.
Now let’s take a look at the living costs needed while schooling and living in Denmark.
Living Costs
After taking care of your tuition fee, you want to ensure that you make proper plans for your living costs. You may not have to bother about planning for your living costs if your scholarship covers both tuition and living costs in Denmark. Even if you get a scholarship that covers your living costs, you still want to budget carefully so as not to spend beyond what is allocated to you monthly or per year.
Your living costs include basic things such as your accommodation, feeding, clothing, transport, and other things that get you by in Denmark.
The Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity found Denmark to have one of the best quality of life in the world. Asides from this, you can cut costs on your expenses if you manage your money well by making proper and realistic plans. Accommodation is often the highest expense that you have to take care of as an international student in a new country especially if you don’t have friends or relatives that you can stay with. You may want to start cutting expenses down from your rent so it can positively affect the rest of your living costs.
You can get accommodation in student residence halls for about 250 USD – 400 USD per month. prices start from 450 USD to 600 USD per month to rent an apartment alone outside school. It is advisable to avoid expensive cities such as Copenhagen as rent can be up to 1200 USD.
You can decide to go for on-campus lodging where you get to share with two or more other students. Residents share bathrooms, kitchens, and other common areas. This is another affordable option for you when it comes to finding low-cost accommodations.
It is quite affordable to get food in Ireland. You can get a decent meal of 15 USD if you decide to eat out. On the other hand, making your food at home is much more affordable than eating out so you can get groceries for about 100 EUR per month. You can budget an average of 150 USD to 200 USD per month for your feeding as a student in Denmark depending on your eating habit.
Denmark is a country that has highly developed infrastructure for cycling so you should get a bike while in Denmark. It is cheap and saves you money and time used in waiting on a bus. However, the weather can sometimes get unfavorable for cycling so you can resort to public transportation during those times. You can get a student card for a student discount on transportation. A student said this saved them about 50% per journey. The more you use it, the bigger the discounts.
Getting accommodation in the school residence hall is a good way to cut costs on transportation. This way, you don’t have to budget for transportation to the school since the residence is on the school premises. An alternative will be to rent apartments that are not far from the school. However, you will need transportation to go to other places that are not close to the school.
Other Expenses
Apart from your living expenses, there are other expenses that you’d need to cover. These include health insurance, books, membership fees, wifi, miscellaneous, and emergencies. It is important to get your health covered through health insurance.
In Denmark, After your first six weeks, you may apply for coverage through the Danish Civil Registration System. By the Danish Health Act, you will be covered for emergencies only, such as an accident, acute illness, or chronic disease. Everything else would have to be paid by you or your insurance.
Denmark’s high-quality and free healthcare services are what make them stand out among other European countries. You can enjoy free healthcare services once you register with the Danish residence permit and register with the Civil Registration System. This shows that not only will you receive a quality education in Denmark but also free and quality health care.
Wifi is also another expense that you have to prepare for. Not all accommodations have wifi covered in the rent so you may have to pay additional fees for wifi to be able to use the internet. You can budget as low as 40 USD per month for the internet.
You are allowed to work while you study for 20 hours a week from September to May and 37 hours a week from June to August. It is possible to make up to 13 USD per hour working as an international student in Denmark. You can work on campus and off-campus. This will help you cover some of your living expenses.
You may be required to buy certain books that are important to your study so you may want to budget for this also. You can also budget for expenses that may arise as a result of growing interest or due to necessity such as membership fees, social events, and others.
Comparison to Other Countries
Now that you already have enough knowledge about the costs of studying in Denmark, we can take a look at the comparison between the cost of studying in Denmark and other popular countries.
United Kingdom
The tuition fee in the United Kingdom starts from about $10,000-$12,000. There are lots of prestigious universities in the United Kingdom which partly explains why the tuition is on the high side, unlike Denmark where you can get schools as low as $6,000 per year.
There are no tuition-free schools in the United Kingdom so you have to pay your tuition fee upon acceptance into the university, while in Ireland, there are tuition-free schools although they are only free for Danish citizens.
Living expenses can be high in the United Kingdom as a result of the high standard of living while essential things in Denmark are not as expensive.
United States
Tuition fees in the United States are relatively expensive compared to tuition fees in Denmark.
The United States usually requires students to go back to their home countries immediately after their studies while you can be granted a permit to stay back in Denmark after your studies for up to a year.
You can work for up to 20 hours as an international student in the United States and Denmark.
Germany
Unlike Ireland, you can study in Germany at no cost as an international student since most schools are tuition-free. However, you will be required to take care of your living expenses which are essential to your study in Germany.
It is more expensive to study in Denmark than in Germany as schools are free for both national and international students in Germany and basic needs in Germany are more affordable than in Denmark.
Like most countries in Europe, Germany encourages international students to stay back in the country after their programs for up to 18 months while you can stay back in Denmark after you study for up to 1 year only.
Norway
Living expenses can be higher in Norway than in Denmark. In Denmark, you don’t need to spend much to feed. You may need to have as little as $50 per week for feeding in Denmark while the same amount in Norway may not get you past few days.
Schools are free in Norway but you have to pay for living expenses in Norway while schools are not free in Denmark for international students.
You can work up to 20 hours in both Norway and Denmark.
Conclusion
Studying and living in Denmark can be affordable. You only need to budget your money carefully and make sure you are aware of all the costs associated with your study. Denmark is one of the least expensive countries to study and live in so make good use of the information in this article and start planning for your study and life in Denmark.
