Quota 1 applications: Increase at Aarhus University driven by popularity of new IT programmes
This year, 11,834 applicants put a degree from Aarhus University at the top of their academic wish list. This is a five per cent increase over last year. Strong interest in three new English-taught IT programmes offered by the Faculty of Natural Sciences is main driver of the increase in first-choice applications.
The deadline for applying to a higher education degree programme in Denmark was 12 July. This year, Aarhus University received a total of 11,834 first-choice applications – five per cent more than last year. According to preliminary figures, the university received a total of 31,367 applications.
The Faculty of Technical Sciences saw the greatest increase in applications: 64 per cent more first-choice applications than last year. This is primarily due to strong interest in three new English-taught IT degree programmes.
There was also a five per cent increase in first-choice applications to Aarhus BSS, while there was a slight decline in first-choice applications to Arts, Health and Technical Sciences. However, first-choice applications to engineering degree programmes at Technical Sciences and Aarhus BSS increased six per cent over last year.
Pro-rector Berit Eika is delighted that so many applicants put AU at the top of their list this year:
"Society needs a high skilled workforce, so it’s positive that so many of our young people think that a university education has value. At the same time, it’s positive that so many applicants have a degree from Aarhus University in particular at the top of their wish list. This says a lot about the quality of our programmes and the excellent academic environment that we’re committed to offering our students.”
Berit Eika also singles out the considerable interest in AU's three new English-taught IT programmes , particularly among applicants from other EU countries: in fact, the number of qualified applicants far exceeds the number of places available.
"It's really good news that our three new IT programmes are off to such a great start. They will deliver more of the specialists society needs in an areawhere there’s a severe shortage of qualified labour. However, due to the cuts required by sector resizing, we’re offering a quite limited number of places on the programmes, which means we will have to turn down many qualified international applicants who would otherwise have been an asset to the Danish labour market," she says.
All applicants will find out whether they have got a place on Monday 28 July.
Note: This article is based on preliminary application stats. Final stats will be available on the AU press site this week.
Facts about 2025 applications to Bachelor’s degree programmes:
- Total first-choice applications to AU: 11,834 (5% more than in 2024)
- Total applications to AU: 31,367 (7% more than in 2024)
The faculties
- Arts: 2,223 first-choice applications (4% fewer than in 2024)
- Aarhus BSS: 4,748 first-choice applications (5% more than in 2024)
- Health: 1,940 first-choice applications (1% fewer than in 2024)
- Natural Sciences: 1,352 first-choice applications (64% more than in 2024)
- Technical Sciences: 1,571 first-choice applications (2% fewer than in 2024)