Implementation of the master’s reform at Aarhus BSS

On 27 June 2023, a broad political majority in Denmark agreed on a framework to reform university education. The reform aims to either shorten or restructure a significant number of the master’s programmes and make them more career-oriented to enhance graduates’ attractiveness to the job market. Additionally, the agreement includes an 8% reduction in admissions to bachelor’s programmes by 2025, known as sector resizing. The agreement also provides the opportunity for an increase in the number of student places at English-taught master’s programmes, which are in high demand by Danish companies.

After discussions about the various elements of the master’s reform and their effect on the school’s overall educational portfolio, we have decided to address the reduction of student places, the allocation of additional international student places, and the restructuring of master’s programmes as interconnected elements at Aarhus BSS. The ambition is to further strengthen the quality of our study programmes and maintain the close link between the programmes and the labour market.

Resizing of bachelor’s enrolment

In mid-August 2024, the implementation of the sector resizing at AU was announced. For Aarhus BSS, this resizing means that the school must reduce bachelor’s enrolment by 218 places compared to the average intake from 2018-2022. Compared to the 2023 intake, this corresponds to a reduction of 141 places, which will be distributed as follows: (reduction in brackets): Business Administration and Commercial Law (18), Economics and Business Administration at BTECH (26), Economics (21), Political Science and Social Sciences (43), and Psychology (33).

From 2025, Aarhus BSS will have a maximum intake of 2,015 bachelor’s students.

All the affected bachelor’s programmes will be reduced proportionally by the same factor (approx. 14 percent). In order to achieve the same relative reduction at BTECH, which implies that the intake on the Danish-taught BSc in Economics and Business Administration is put on hold (36 places), the admission to the English-taught BScB at BTECH will increase by 10 additional student places, amounting to a total reduction at BTECH of 26 student places. At the same time, in light of previous decisions regarding the relocation of ITKO from Aarhus to Herning, the number of student places at BTECH will increase by 117 places.

More international student places

As part of the reform, the wide political majority agreed to the distribution of additional international student places at master’s programmes. Collectively, universities can create 1,100 additional English-taught student places annually from 2024-2028 and 2,500 places annually from 2029. In 2024, 180 of these places were allocated to AU, with Aarhus BSS receiving half. The faculty management has decided to allocate the extra places to the English-taught MSc in Economics and Business Administration, initially in Aarhus, but eventually, according to the faculty management’s plan, both in Aarhus (75 student places) and Herning (15 student places).

Restructuring of master’s programmes

A significant part of the reform still requires discussions within the master’s committee, particularly regarding coordination between universities, before the committee can present its final recommendations for the future landscape of master’s programmes in autumn 2024.

We have been evaluating which of our master’s programmes are likely to have the best potential for a successful restructuring, including where the transition to the job market is expected to be most seamless. In discussions with the faculty management team about the various versions of master’s programmes, two programmes have emerged as the most promising candidates for the restructuring, allowing for both a short and a long version of the programme, namely the two largest master’s programmes at Aarhus BSS:  Law and Economics and Business Administration (cand.merc.). MSc in Business Administration and Commercial Law and MSc in Business Economics and Auditing will remain as 120 ECTS programmes.

We are in ongoing contact with other educational institutions, and the implementation of the master’s reform at Aarhus BSS aligns with the agreements made with the deans of our sister institutions. Final decisions on the restructuring will, of course, be made in the autumn, once the master’s committee has completed its work and submitted its final report. This also gives the faculty management team the opportunity to consider possible responses from the school to our plan for implementing the master’s reform.

As part of the considerations on how to create both short and long high-quality master's programmes, all master's programmes at Aarhus BSS will be reviewed during 2025/2026 to ensure they offer progression and academic coherence between the programme elements and to maintain an appropriate portfolio of master's programmes.