Career Colleges and Vocational Schools in Denmark

"Vocational school" covers several different things in Denmark. In the formal system, vocational education and training (VET, erhvervsuddannelser) leads to a skilled trade through a mix of school and paid training in a company. Above it, business academies and university colleges offer short-cycle and professional bachelor's programmes with a strong link to practice, many of them in English. Alongside both sits a Danish tradition with no exams at all: the folk high school.

SpainExchange lists three schools in this category in Denmark, one of each kind: VIA University College (Horsens and other campuses in Central Denmark), International People's College in Helsingør and DNS - The Necessary Teacher Training College near Ulfborg.

How vocational education works

According to the Danish Ministry of Education, the VET system offers more than 100 programmes in four main areas: care, health and pedagogy; administration, commerce and business service; food, agriculture and hospitality; and technology, construction and transportation.

• Basic programme: two school-based courses of 20 weeks each, ending with an examination
• Main programme: typically three to three and a half years, alternating between school and a company; the student needs a training agreement with an approved company
• Completion: normally a journeyman's test
• eux: a combined route that leads to a journeyman's certificate and the general upper secondary diploma
• euv: VET programmes for adults over 25, based on prior learning and work experience

Professional higher education and folk high schools

Denmark has seven business academies and seven university colleges. Business academies focus on technical and commercial academy profession (AP) programmes; university colleges train many teachers, nurses and social workers. Professional bachelor's degrees take 180-240 ECTS credits, or 90 ECTS as a top-up after an AP degree. VIA University College, for example, has eight campuses in Central Denmark and offers more than 20 programmes in English to around 18,000 students.

Folk high schools are boarding schools where students live together and choose their subjects; there are no exams and no entry qualifications, and the minimum age is 17½. Around 70 are approved by the Ministry of Culture. International People's College is one where everything happens in English, with long courses of four to six months and students from more than 30 countries each term. DNS, at the Tvind school centre, runs a four-year teacher training programme that starts with a four-month bus journey.

Admission and residence

For VET, a non-Danish qualification must be comparable to the Danish lower secondary (Folkeskole) leaving certificate, with an average of at least 2.0 in mathematics and the language of instruction. For AP and professional bachelor's programmes, applications go through the national portal optagelse.dk; the deadlines are 15 March (applicants with foreign qualifications) and 5 July, 12 noon CET.

Students from outside the EU/EEA can get a study residence permit for AP and professional bachelor's programmes from New to Denmark (processing fee DKK 3,060 in 2026), with the right to work 90 hours a month from September to May and full-time in the summer. For a folk high school, they need a visa for stays under three months or a residence permit for longer ones; the school sends an ST-1 document once the fee has been paid.

Costs

Higher education, including AP and professional bachelor's programmes, is free for EU/EEA and Swiss students. Other full-degree students pay fees of about €6,000-16,000 a year, according to Study in Denmark. A long course at a folk high school typically costs around DKK 1,900 a week (range about DKK 1,200-2,500), including tuition, accommodation and all meals.

How to choose

• Goal: a skilled trade, a professional degree, or a personal development year without exams
• Language: check the language of instruction; many AP and professional bachelor's programmes, and some folk high schools, teach in English
• Recognition: a professional bachelor's degree is a formal qualification; a folk high school course is not
• Residence: check that the programme qualifies for a study residence permit before you pay
• Location and housing: campus town, residential school or city

Frequently asked questions

What is a folk high school in Denmark?

A residential school where adults live together and choose their subjects, with no exams and no entry requirements. Around 70 are approved by the Danish Ministry of Culture, and long courses typically cost about DKK 1,900 a week including food and housing.

How long does vocational training in Denmark take?

A VET programme has a basic programme of up to two 20-week courses, followed by a main programme that typically lasts three to three and a half years.

Can I study a professional degree in English in Denmark?

Yes. Many academy profession and professional bachelor's programmes are taught in English; VIA University College alone offers more than 20. Students from outside the EU/EEA pay tuition fees.