01 - Denmark - Historical overview
Higher education is offered at three levels: Short-cycle higher
education, medium-cycle higher education and long-cycle higher
education. Approximately 45 % of an age group attends the higher
education programmes. The responsibility for higher education is
divided between three ministries, namely the Danish Ministry of
Education (short-cycle and medium-cycle), the Ministry of Science,
Technology and Innovation (long-cycle) and the Danish Ministry of
Culture (medium and long cycle education in the arts).
In 1479,
King Christian I got the Pope’s permission to establish the University
of Copenhagen (Københavns Universitet). And it was for nearly 400 years
the only higher education institution in Denmark, but during the 19th
century a number of specialised institutions were established i.a.: the
Technical University of Denmark (Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), the
Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (Den Kgl. Veterinær- og
Landbohøjskole), and the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences
(Danmarks Farmaceutiske Universitet). In the 20th century eight new
universities were added to the already existing, namely the University
of Aarhus (Aarhus Universitet), University of Southern Denmark
(Syddansk Universitet), Roskilde University (Roskilde
Universitetscenter), Aalborg University (Aalborg Universitet),
Copenhagen Business School (Handelshøjskolen i København), Aarhus
School of Business (Handelshøjskolen i Århus), the Danish University of
Education (Danmarks Pædagogiske Universitet), and The IT University of
Copenhagen (IT-Universitetet i København).
During 2006 a process
to reduce the number of universities was started. The reason for this
process was to strengthen research, education and innovation in
Denmark. This has resulted in a new map of Danish universities and
research institutions in 2007. Today long-cycle higher education is
concentrated at eight universities, among these three major
universities where approximately 2/3 of all university activity is
concentrated. The three major universities are: the University of
Copenhagen, University of Aarhus, and The Technical University. The
last five universities are the University of Southern Denmark, Aalborg
University, Roskilde University, Copenhagen Business School and the IT
University of Copenhagen.
Eurydice - the information network on education in Europe
Date: 2009