University of Southern Denmark

SDU offers English-taught courses in a variety of areas. Click here to browse SDU's faculties and available courses! A summary of each faculty and the types of courses offered is below. 

When looking at courses, pay attention to the campus where each course is taught. Students are expected to live & study at 1 campus. It is not possible to take courses from multiple campuses in the same semester. 

Business & Social Sciences: Business (including Sport Management), Danish Language, Economics, Environmental/Resource Management, European Studies/International Relations, Scandinavian Area Studies, and Sociology. View course offerings for Fall semester here and Winter semester here. 

Sciences: Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science (including a unique Interaction Design program), Math, Physics. View course offerings here.

Health Sciences: Health Science, Psychology, Sport Science/Kinesiology (4th-year only). View course offerings here.  

Humanities: Assorted culture & language studies that vary each semester. View course offerings here.

Engineering: Biomedical, Chemical, Civil, Electrical (4th-year only), Energy, Manufacturing, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Robotics, Software, and Environmental/Sustainable Engineering (4th-year only). View course offerings here, and more info for Engineering exchange students here.

Note: if you have completed at least 3 full years of study at UCalgary before the time of your exchange, you may be eligible to take masters-level courses at SDU.

Exchange students are expected to take 30 ECTS credits per semester. 1 UofC Half Course Equivalent = 6 ECTS credits. Most courses at SDU are worth 5 or 10 ECTS.

The academic year is divided into 2 semesters:

• Autumn semester runs from early September to late January
• Spring semester runs from early February to late June

The exchange student orientation starts a few days before each semester.

Note for Autumn semester: some courses have final exams in December or an online final assessment, so students may be able to return to Calgary early. Currently, we know this is possible for SDU's Health Science faculty (e.g. Sport Science courses). If you have questions about this, or any other faculties, please contact study.abroad@ucalgary.ca. 

Exchange students are guaranteed housing at their campus, as long as they follow SDU's instructions and apply for housing by the deadline. 

Each campus provides different arrangements, but housing is all off-campus and typically falls under the category of "student halls" (private rooms and shared facilities) or "student flats" (private or shared apartments). The type and location of each residence determines the cost of rent. More information is available online here.

Student Tips: "In Odense, I lived in HCO Kolligiet with Danish students but would recommend living in Rasmus Rask, with other exchange students. You may be further away from campus but I think it is worth it so you get to meet people and take part in many activities they run."

"In Søndorborg, there are several options for accommodation, but the best one would have to be Handels Kollegiate. I lived in Ungdoms Kollegiate, but Borgermeister Anderson Kollegiate and Sønderskov Kollegiate were also nice. Hummelhøj was a long ways from the university as was Parks Kollegiate."

This exchange is open to regular, full-time students in any faculty at the U of C, who have completed at least 1 full year (10 courses) at the post-secondary level, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 (B-).

Students applying from the Schulich School of Engineering must have completed at least 2 full years (20 courses), with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 (B-). 

No Danish is required for English-taught courses, but for studies in Danish, applicants must have a command of Danish at the B2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) at a minimum - certification of language proficiency may be required.

Do I have to speak Danish?

No prior knowledge of Danish is required to participate in this exchange. SDU offers a wide variety of courses in English.

Student Tips: "They do offer a Danish course for free for those that would like to learn it. Though my courses were in English, being able to learn Danish as well meant that going to the grocery store was a little bit easier and it became very handy. It was however a bit of an adventure because many of the foods eaten in Denmark are not the same as in Canada and the names are not familiar. However, even without the Danish course one can survive in Denmark. Most people can speak some level of English. I would recommend taking your mentor (or someone who speaks English) to help you with some of the administrative tasks like setting up a bank account."

What's so special about SDU?

SDU has five main campuses: Odense, Esbjerg, Kolding, Slagelse, and Sønderborg. Check out the university's exchange student guide for a comparison of each campus & city!

Student Tips: "In Odense, there was a nice gym that was cheap to go to. The library is also nice and the printing is very convenient. The food vendors were amazing! You can get a buffet lunch on a porcelain plate with real cutlery and then bring it to class with you!"

"Because of the small campus at Sønderborg there isn't a recreation facility on campus, but there is a club (SSF) that organizes sporting activities weekly and there is a sailing club as well (my location was 5 minutes from the ocean)! There are gyms and a squash club in the community but I found that the services and facilities that were offered were more than adequate for what was needed."

What resources are available for new students?

SDU organizes Introduction Days at the start of each semester. There are Introductions specific to international students as well as to each faculty of study at your campus. See more information online. 

Student Tips: "ESN (Erasmus Student Network) organized events and trips for students at Odense. There were trips to different places in Denmark like Copenhagen and Lego Land, and sometimes quiz nights, scavenger hunts, etc. The one trip I would very highly recommend is the trip to Lapland! I also joined a drop-in soccer facebook group where people from the building would go and play. It's easy to make friends with your buddy (as a part of the buddy program) as well."

"There were a lot of planned social activities at the Sønderborg campus. There was a group of students who formed what was called the Intro Team and they were in charge of the social aspect of student life at SDU. There was semester beginning and ending parties as well as a LAN party. There was also movie nights held in one of the classrooms. It was fairly easy to make friends with the local students as the university is very small and a majority of the students studying at the university are not from Denmark. There were a few members of the Intro Team that were Danish and that was one of the easiest ways to “meet the locals.” Some advice for making friends and meeting people: go to Intro Team events. Even if you do not participate in the activities or events, getting out and going to the events allows you to meet a lot of people." 

What supports and accessibility resources are available?

Students who meet the criteria may be eligible to receive Special Needs Support services. SDU also offers counselling services, which are managed out of Odense campus but have counsellors at every campus site. To make an enquiry about eligibility or available services, please contact your UCalgary exchange advisor and/or refer to the counselling centre webpage.

For information on accessibility and support services at campuses across Europe, please check out Inclusive Mobility. For city-specific services and places in Europe, the Jaccede interactive platform (website and/or smartphone app - both Android and iOS) also provides a searchable user-built database to identify important accessibility information of public places and locations.

UCalgary's Engineering and Science faculties have a special arrangements for exchange students to attend the SDU Summer School. Click here to view the list of available courses. Students may select 1 course, and courses are offered at either the main campus in Odense or the Sønderborg campus.

Note: The courses offered at SDU Summer School are worth 5 ECTS credits each. Exchange students can arrange to do an extra course component in order to receive 6 ECTS. This should allow it to transfer back as 1 UCalgary course, however, it is important to confirm in advance with your academic advisor & department head if/how the course would be counted at UCalgary.

2022 SDU Summer School dates: August 6 - 20, 2022
(2023 dates TBD)

The summer school was held in person for 2022 and is expected to be held in person next year, too. SDU assists nominated exchange students with arranging suitable housing, and coordinates an orientation & many social activities throughout the month to introduce you to Danish life. Click here for more information about how the summer school works.